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“What about her father? Niko? She’d never leave without them.”
“I will find Niko and send him wherever you end up.” Grigor couldn’t meet the man’s eyes for the next part. “Arkhady is already too far gone. He would not want Ana to stay on his account. She will heal if she has you and her brother.”
“And this is the only way?”
Grigor nodded.
Tyreste whipped his cloak from the rack. “Take me to her.”
Chapter21
Fire Water
Grigor left as soon as they’d had Ana settled in the cabin, but Tyreste wished he hadn’t. Ana had been shivering from the moment they pulled her out from under the tarp in the wagon, and the convulsions had only grown more violent. He’d triple bundled her in furs, placed her in front of the fire, and put a mug of hot cider in her hands, but nothing seemed to offer relief.
“Talk to me, love,” he coaxed, crouched on his knees beside her. “What’s wrong? What happened that made you like this?”
“I... cold...” Ana’s jaw clacked so hard, he shook his head to stay the rest of her words, fearing she’d chip or break her teeth.
Tyr surveyed the room helplessly. The cabin had always been drafty, and there wasn’t a warmer spot than where he’d parked her. But she was deteriorating right in front of his eyes.
Therewasa place he could take her, but to get there, she’d need to get colder first.
He stood and enveloped her from behind, holding her tight to battle her tremors. “I can ease this, Ana, but we’ll have to go outside to do it.”
Ana’s eyes were wild with panic.
“Do you trust that I wouldn’t tell you there’s relief unless it were true?”
Her jaw smashed in response. She buried her face in the sea of furs and nodded.
He thought about leaving a note for Grigor, who would be returning with gold and a small trunk of Ana’s things for the long journey ahead, but another look at Ana’s intense shaking was all it took to discard the idea.
Tyr gave her his own cloak. It did nothing for her shivers, but it was a ten-or-so-minute walk to the hidden spot at the forest’s edge, and he wasn’t even sure she had that long.
But he’d lose his composure if he acknowledged the fear he was watching her die, so he redirected his focus to getting her there. He’d never taken her before, though he’d thought about it plenty. He’d held onto the idea of surprising her with a romantic picnic in the most magical place he’d ever seen. Carrying her against his chest through a dead sprint, tears stinging the backs of his eyes, was not the vision he’d had in mind.
The forest sloped downward near the base of the foothills, revealing a hidden enclave he’d discovered purely by accident. Bowing pines stretched their long, sweeping branches low enough to cover the entrance. It had been the steam rising from the pool, from the waterfallitself, that had drawn his notice the first time, but he’d had to touch the scalding water to believe what his eyes had seen.
Magic was the only explanation he could conjure for why there was scorching, flowing water in the foothills of the coldest place in the kingdom.
Magic had harmed his love, so it stood to reason it could fix her too.
Ana clung to him, whimpering and clacking, as he reluctantly peeled away her layers of furs. She mumbled her objections against the side of his neck, her head whipping as he draped her clothes and furs over a low branch.
When she was nude, he quickly lifted her and stepped into the water that was warmer than most baths. It was risky to shift her temperature so fast, so he guided her feet in first, counting to ten before sinking her deeper. Her chokehold eased, and slowly, so did the tremors, until her shivers normalized and eventually eased off altogether.
She gripped the rocks on the other side of the small pool. Her eyes were closed, her breathing fitful. He wanted to go to her and wrap her tight, but she seemed to crave distance.
The waterfall splashed steam and warm sprays onto his face. He closed his eyes and let it wash over him, cleansing him of all he’d done and would do to save her.
The roar of the falls dulled the world beyond, heightening the sense they’d stepped out of their realm and into another.
“Ana,” he said, softly but loud enough to be heard over the crash of water. “Tell me what you need. Tell me how I can help.”
Her hair was plastered to her face, covering one eye, but she didn’t seem to care. The muscles in her arms strained through the hold she had on the rocks. “What I need...” She wiped her face on her arm and looked his way. “Is to forget what I need and just be free.”
Tyr swam toward her and scooped her face in his. He brushed the hair from her eyes with his thumbs and kissed the places where it had lain. Every moment they lingered in Witchwood Cross was a dangerous one, but they couldn’t run until she was ready. “I’ve never felt more free than I do when I’m with you.”
