Five of them gather around Oskar’s body. His head hangs as they lift him from the ground and lug him to the large fire in the center of the main cavern. Raimo points at the wielders who came with Sig. “You lot can stay outside. Come in and I’ll destroy you.” He mutters something like “obnoxious little scamps” under his breath, then points a shaking finger at Sig. “And you come with me. You owe Maarika an apology and Oskar his life.”
Sig stays where he is. The temperature drops suddenly, and he shivers. Raimo stares at the fire wielder as cold bleeds from the old man’s scrawny frame. “You can’t do this without your fellow Suurin,” he says in a low voice. “I told you that.”
“Oskar’s made it clear he has no interest in being my ally.”
“That doesn’t change a thing.”
Sig blinks at him. And then he obeys Raimo, trailing us as we rush to Oskar’s side. He’s been laid on a bundle of furs. Veikko is piling flat stones nearby, and Aira and Ismael are heating them with their fire magic. Maarika is sitting by her son, arranging the hot stones around his shoulders, the only protection she can offer. Her hair hangs in sweaty tendrils around her face, half her dress is burned away, and her skin is streaked with ash, but she seems aware of nothing around her—except for Oskar, her hope, her life.
Freya is crouched by his head, stroking her brother’s long, dark hair away from his face. Her green eyes narrow when she sees Sig. “I thought you cared about us,” she hisses.
Sig stares at the ground. “I’m sorry, Maarika,” he mutters. “I didn’t intend to hurt you.”
“Yes, you did,” Maarika snaps. “But you were going to do it by hurting Elli. And my son.” She raises her head, and her gaze is full of fury. “There was a time when I loved you like one of my own.” Her lips clamp together, and she looks away.
Sig’s eyes are glossy with tears. His jaw is clenched as he struggles to keep them inside.
“Peace, Maarika,” Raimo says gently. “He’s going to help fix Oskar.”
I kneel at Oskar’s side. His skin is a ghastly grayish blue. I lay my head on his chest. His heart thumps once, sluggishly, weakly, but it’s the best sound I’ve ever heard.
Raimo sets down his wooden box with a clatter on the stone floor of the cavern. He looks so fragile, but his voice is full of authority as he says, “Take his hand, Elli.”
Aira and Ismael give him puzzled looks as I slip my left hand into Oskar’s right. His fingers are stiff and icy. I squeeze them.
“Now take Sig’s hand.”
“What?”
Raimo rolls his eyes. “Sig, get down here.”
The fire wielder squats next to me. He gives me a veiled look as I reluctantly lay my mangled right hand over his palm. His gaze traces my scars as he carefully closes his fingers around mine.
“Elli, focus on letting Sig’s magic flow through you. Magnify its strength and send it into Oskar.”
“Wait,” says Aira. “Magic flows through her?” She’s looking at me with hard suspicion written all over her face.
Raimo waves his hand at her. “Priorities, girl. I’ll explain all of it once Oskar’s breathing again.”
I close my eyes, waiting for the fiery magic to course up my arm. But I feel nothing. I open my eyes and look at Sig. “You have to give it to me.”
Sig’s mouth is tight. “There’s a fight coming. I need it.”
“Oskar will die if you don’t.”
He gazes steadily down at our joined hands. “And I might die if I do.”
“Now who’s the coward?”
A flash of heat blasts up my arm, but it zings back the way it came a second later. I sink my three fingernails into Sig’s flesh as rage fills my empty spaces. When Oskar touches me now, his magic flows so freely, like he’s offering himself. His feelings for me are the reason he was so weak when Sig attacked. His love for his mother is why he’s dying right now. I can’t let it happen. “Sig. Look at me.”
Sig peeks at me from beneath golden lashes, every part of him trembling with tension.
“If you do this—if you save him—I’ll go to the temple with you. I’ll help you take down the priests.”
Sig’s brown eyes are fierce on mine. “Swear.” I can smell his fear. He’s spent his life surviving, doubting everyone, looking out for himself. He holds his magic so tight, afraid he’ll be helpless without it.
It’s all he is, I realize. Fire is all he is. Without it, Sig doesn’t exist.
“You have my word, Sig.” My voice is a caress. I smooth my fingertips over the divots left by my nails. “Now help me save Oskar. I know you don’t want him to die.”
Sig closes his eyes, and immediately I feel the warmth bleed from his palm and swirl along my bones. My mind becomes a sea of molten iron. Lightning. Sparks. Raging infernos. I gasp as the fire creeps its way through my body, lighting me up.
“Build on what he’s offering and give it to Oskar, Elli,” Raimo instructs.
“I don’t know how,” I murmur, caught in the dancing flames.
He pokes my shoulder. “One would think you’re a useless hunk of copper, girl. Don’t you have a will? Use it!”