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I summon a small flame and seek some semblance of shelter in the trees.
“You know that this would be easier if we could just shift and fly out of here. We could leave before they find us.”
Elva is right, but I don’t really want to do that right now. Yesterday was a bit of a disaster.
Three distinctly male voices float over to us once again. Whoever they are, their voices carry the promise of violence. I can feel it tingling in the air, brushing against us as they move through the snow.
“They are in that igloo. We have two options. First, we can smash the top and have them surrounded. Second, we can lure them out and take them out individually,” one of them says.
“What about the male that she is with? Do we take him too?” Snow crunches under their feet as they move. They aren’t as stealthy as Elva.
“No, the orders were to kill him on sight.”
My fiery blood fills with ice. My fear is reflected in Elva’s ice-blue eyes.
“We need to go,”she mouths from the other tree.
I wave my arm down my torso and whisper, “I don’t know how to shift with my clothes.”
She rolls her eyes, the first sign of irritation she’s given me since I’ve seen her.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she whispers back as she comes beside me. She crosses her arms and stares at me. “Okay, then we will need to kill them.”
“I’ve never killed anyone before.” I feel silly admitting it to someone like her, but it feels relevant to our current situation.
She tightens her lips into a thin line and nods. I don’t expect it when she grabs my hand and squeezes it as if she understands this will be hard for me.
Jerking her head to the side, she ushers me forward. I follow as closely as I can behind her.
The group of three mercenaries comes into view. They are Winter Fae, dressed similarly to Elva, and looking hungry for blood. For the third time in twenty-four hours, I am scared for my life.
I really wish I would get used to it. But my body can’t seem to catch a break.
The good news is that they haven’t realized we are outside, listening to them.
Elva puts her hand up, motioning for me to wait. I nod, rooting myself to the spot. In her right hand, an icicle sword forms with a trident head on the butt of the hilt. It is a terrifyingly menacing weapon. She raises the hilt high about her head and lets out a wild yell as she charges.
I’ve never seen anything like her when she fights. Each movement is perfectly timed to fight off not one but all three mercenaries at once. One of them, with shaggy grey hair, gets close to hitting her with a blade, but she effortlessly summons a shield of ice, and the sharp edge bounces off with a ringing vibration.
Another of them lunges, but she quickly jumps out of the way. The third tries to sneak up behind her, and she deflects his weapon easily. It’s hard to follow all of her motions.
She is no novice with weapons, and she moves with ease. They drop like fruit flies, and I am shocked.
The last one spots me in the tree and charges. I freeze, unable to move as the mercenary approaches. He is wheezing, but he still looks menacing.
Before I can summon more than a paltry flame, Elva materializes out of thin air and cuts straight through his throat. Hot, sticky blood splatters on my face and hands. I gasp, frozen in shock.
My heart is racing, but I can’t move.
“Are you okay?” a muffled voice asks. I can hear it, but it sounds like it’s underwater.
“Nathan, are you okay?” The voice is louder this time, and a pair of hands shake me violently. My teeth clatter together as I nod, but I don’t know if my body moves.
My feet are moving, one after another. I am sure of it this time. She drags me to a different place, away from where we are.
“Hey, we need to leave. You are going to need to shift. I’m going to see if I can put a spell over you. Can you shift?” I nod, still dazed.
I reach inside myself, past the panic attack, and find my shifter animal. I pull on my magic. The shift starts, and my mind focuses once again. It’s powerful.
