Heart of Iron

Twenty-three

The moment they put her in the water she started screaming.

Will held her down, despite her weak thrashing, his teeth clenched and his body tense. Astrid had said the shock of the cold might kill her, but without it her temperature would keep rising until she died.

The ice water burned his arms, his fingers eventually numbing. He could only imagine what it felt like for Lena. And it was all his fault. His eyes blurred with heat as he held her down, whispering to her that he was there, that she would be all right.

It didn’t take long for her thrashing to subside and her body to slump into his arms. “What’s happening?” he asked. “Lena?” There was no response. Only the slight quiver of her lip as she shivered.

“Bring her out,” Astrid commanded.

Will cradled her carefully in his arms, icy water splashing all across the marble floors. They dried her off, with Astrid monitoring her temperature and the timepiece Honoria had given her.

“What now?” he asked. “Is she better?”

“Her temperature’s dropped a degree,” Astrid said, taking the thermometer away. She exchanged a glance with Honoria. “Will, I need more ice.”

“More ice?”

“For next time.”

He shook his head. Lena lolled in his arms, her skin clammy with cold, yet burning with an inner radiance. “How many times?”

“Each time her temperature goes up. Until the fever breaks.”

The hopelessness of the situation hit him. “She’s not goin’ to make it, is she?”

Astrid stroked the wet strands off Lena’s forehead. “You told me she is strong willed, no?”

“Stubborn as rock.” Tears burned in his eyes.

“Then bring more ice, Will.” Leaning down, she whispered in Lena’s ear. “You must fight, little one. Fight for your man, as he fights for you.”

The night stretched out, hour after brutal hour. A never-ending vignette as he broke the heavy ice blocks into shards and carried them upstairs, then bathed her in the water. Honoria started crying, silent tears that streaked down her face. He couldn’t look at her or he would break. Lena barely stirred when they put her in the bath now.

“Come, mo cridhe.” He kissed her forehead, wishing there was something, anything that he could do. But there was nothing he could kill here, nothing he could protect her from. His very uselessness battered at him.

Too late…

For so many things. Too late to hold her now. Too late to kiss her, to give himself over to her as he had always feared to do. To tell her that he loved her, as he knew she had longed to hear.

He had held her at arm’s bay, for fear of the very thing that was occurring now.

“I will give you the world,” he whispered, stroking the hair off her forehead. “I will protect you, I swear. I’ll never let you hurt again, I promise. Just come back, Lena. Come back and let me love you.”

But she didn’t hear him.

Lost to the fever, she didn’t hear any of them.

Too late.

***

“Her heart’s barely beating,” Astrid said in a quiet voice.

Morning had broken, sunlight streaming through the window. The room was drenched, as if someone had waged war in the bath. Perhaps, he thought, it had been a war of sorts. And now it was becoming apparent that they were losing.

He could hear the thready beat of her heart. Clasping her hand, Will held her close against his chest, waiting numbly for that horrible moment when Astrid would force him to put her back in the bath. He didn’t think Lena could take it anymore.

He barely could.

His hands were shriveled and he shivered as he held her wet body in his arms. He could barely see or hear the world around him, his body fighting to sleep, to renew itself.

All he could feel was the body in his arms, the heat of her skin as the fever raged, despite their attempts to contain it. In the last hour, her temperature had increased two degrees. A human would be long dead by now.

Come on. He rocked her, muttering lullabies he could barely remember from his youth. When his mother had not looked at him as if wondering how such a monster could have stolen her son.

Come back to me.

A soft hand touched his shoulder. Astrid. “Will, you must let her go.”

No! He snarled and shook her away. If they tried to take her, he would kill them. All of them.

Quiet whispers. “…too late. He’s given himself to her… If she dies, he will pine away…”

Honoria. Crying.

He forced himself to his feet and staggered toward the bath. It was easier now, for he barely felt a thing. Lowering himself into the bath, he dragged Lena against his chest, her cheek resting on his shoulder. The slow tick of her heartbeat pulsed against his chest. Ice burned across his skin until he was numb all over.

The world faded.

Then hands were dragging him out of the bath, dragging Lena out of his arms. He snarled and flung them away from him, trying to reach for her. Blade’s face swam into view. “Easy now, let ’er go, Will. Let ’er go…”

He grabbed Blade by the throat and tossed him aside. Eric was helping Astrid with Lena. He went for them, throwing Eric back into the mirror. It shattered and Astrid stiffened.

“Get out,” she cried. “Everybody get out. Leave him to her. Before he kills someone.”

Shoving Lena into his arms, she backed away, dragging her cousin with her. The door closed and he was alone, the bathroom a ruined mess.

“Lena,” he whispered, curled around her in misery. Why wouldn’t she come back? “I’m sorry. Gods, I’m sorry.”

The bath was half-empty. He couldn’t do it to her anymore. She was shivering as it was, goose flesh pebbled all over her skin.

Dragging himself to his feet, Will lurched toward the bedroom. If she died, then he didn’t want her to be cold anymore. Ripping off her nightgown, he laid her down on the sheets of the bed and dried her carefully. Every inch of her was white with cold, her cheeks and chest flushed with a red rash. Every time he touched her, he felt the icy chill of her skin and that burning furnace deep within. A heart of fire buried beneath the ice.

Starting with her feet he began to chafe the heat back into her. No more cold. He couldn’t let her die that way. Even now, her heartbeat was a weak echo in his ears.

It took a long time to rub the chill from her skin. Stripping off his wet clothes, he curled up beside her, dragging the blankets over the top of them. He dragged her into his arms, tried to use his own body heat to somehow revive her.

Long hours passed as he felt the heat burning deep within her. It answered his own, rising to the surface until they were both wet with perspiration. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, again and again, kissing her damp shoulder.

Sweat broke over her skin, along with a violent attack of shivers. Will buried his face against the back of her neck and breathed in the faint scent of her body. He was so tired. He just wanted to close his eyes and never wake up, but something was struggling against him.

A gasp.

A body wriggling weakly, skin slick with sweat, in his arms.

Opening grainy eyes, he stared in disbelief as Lena whimpered and tried to push him away.

“Hot,” she rasped. Her pupils were enormous still, her gaze unfocused.

Will sat up abruptly and she tumbled onto her back, barely able to move. “Lena?”

Dry, cracked lips, her cheeks flushed with red. She’d never been so beautiful. Shoving aside the blankets, she tried to move and sprawled onto the mattress face-first.

Grabbing the blanket, he draped her in it and tried to help her sit up. “Lena?” Grabbing her chin, he held her eyelid up. A ring of bright copper circled her pupils. Incredulous breath expanded his lungs. “You survived.” Her forehead was clammy with sweat as he cupped his palm against it, but the intense heat had abated. “The fever’s broken.”

She pushed at him weakly.

Plumping the pillows under her back, he eased her back against them. “I’ll get you some water. Stay here. Don’t move.” He couldn’t stop himself from capturing her face in his hands. She was barely lucid, but the fever had broken. “I love you.” He kissed her hard, then drew back when she tried to whimper again. “I’ll bring you lots of water.”

***

Honoria paced the kitchen, her cheeks scalded with tears and her eyes dry. There was nothing left in her. She’d done all she could and still failed.

Blade dragged her back into his arms. “There’s still ’ope. She ain’t done in yet or we’d know.”

“I feel ill.” She pushed him away and leaned against the bench as a fist of nausea threatened to choke her.

She could sense Blade hovering over her, trying to get her to drink a glass of water. He suddenly looked up and she spun toward the door. “What is it?”

The pair of Norwegians waited in the corner, faces tight with strain. She knew as soon as she looked at them that it was Will coming down the stairs.

“Oh, God,” she whispered, her knees going out from under her.

Blade caught her, drawing her up so that she was standing when Will came through the door.

Sweat gleamed over his naked body. Wild eyes, wild hair, his muscles burnished with heat. Honoria’s jaw dropped and she looked away as he snatched the jug of water off the bench.

“She’s thirsty,” Will growled, then turned and vanished the way he’d come.

“Thirsty?” Honoria whispered. She spun toward Astrid. “Does that mean…?”

Astrid’s eyes were wide. “Goodness,” she murmured. “What a shame he’s already bound to her…”

Eric punched her lightly in the arm and grinned. “Put your eyes back in your head, cousin.” He stood and clapped Blade on the back. “If she is thirsty, then all is well. The fever must have broken.”

Honoria turned toward the door, but Eric caught her wrist and shook his head. “No,” he said. “We must trust that he will care for her. Leave them alone or risk having your head handed to you.”

Seeing her expression, Astrid smiled. “He is acting inn matki munr. Like a newly mated male. He’ll be insufferable for days, especially given that he nearly lost her. Leave them alone and give him time to calm down.”