I keep swimming, urging myself on until the water becomes shallow and my feet can touch the bottom. Staggering up the rocky bank, I surrender to my anchors, letting sadness fill me up, letting fury seep into my bones.
As the beast slithers out of the lake, I unleash my rain. Moments later a thin layer of ice begins to form, coating its dripping scales. The beast snarls, shaking it off, but I persist.
Murderer.
Changeling.
Freak.
The ice is thicker now. I hear the sharp crackle as it finds purchase. As I turn hatred into something I can shatter.
The beast’s eyes are wild, flicking frantically from side to side. The stream of voices slows, petering out as my ice spreads over its jaw, its teeth, its long forked tongue.
I’m gasping with the effort, but I don’t stop until the beast looks as though it is encased inside a thick layer of glass.
Then I bring my hands together and a thousand splintered fragments explode outwards, obliterating the frozen statue in front of me.
I shield my face from the worst of the blast, and when I look up again I see that nothing remains of the beast but blood-soaked shards of ice, scattered chunks of scaled flesh, and a few deadly, dagger-like claws.
19
Icome to in a brightly lit tiled room surrounded by physicians. They scuttle about like insects, murmuring softly to one another. Someone is holding my hand – the one not trapped in a sling. I turn my head to the side and then lurch back in fright.
‘It’s all right, it’s all right, my darling one. You’re safe. It’s over. You did it.’ Grandmother’s voice is gentle and soothing, but still I narrow my eyes distrustfully.
‘Are you the real one?’ I demand, my own voice a little slurred.
‘I am.’
A wave of pain washes over me and a low groan escapes my throat. Grandmother taps her stick impatiently and a physician bustles over, peering at me from under his spectacles.
‘You were lucky,’ he says earnestly. ‘It could have been a lot worse.’
‘I don’t feel lucky,’ I mutter.
Gingerly, I try to sit up, but Grandmother pushes me gently down again. ‘Rest now. You’ve been through quite an ordeal.’
I gaze down at my battered body. ‘What’s the damage?’
Another physician glances over at me from where she’s grinding something up into a powder and adding it to a vial. ‘Your left wrist is broken, but thankfully it’s a clean break. Bruised ribs, bruised tailbone, sprained ankle and a concussion.’
‘The full works, then.’ I squeeze my eyes shut as the pain laps over every nerve ending, radiating a dull, aching heat.
‘Nothing we can’t fix,’ the physician responds, holding out the vial of liquid, which manages to make mud look more appetizing. ‘Drink this.’
‘What is it?’ I ask as Grandmother takes it from her.
‘Sedative,’ she says. ‘It should knock you out for a couple of hours.’
I have never felt more exhausted, but the last thing I want to do is sleep.
There’s a knock at the door and Spinner enters, shooting Grandmother a nervous glance before coming over to stand at my bedside. ‘How’re you feeling?’
‘You know, I think that might be the first time you’ve ever knocked,’ I observe.
Spinner proceeds to tell us that Hal has drawn Aunt Yvainne’s ring, meaning that it’s the Ignitia Heirs up next.
‘I can stay with her, Lady Harglade, if you want to go and watch Flint and Ember,’ she says to Grandmother, nodding at me.
