CHAPTER 37

My body was alive with searing pain, a feeling so intense it had me gasping for air. The muscles in my stomach spasmed, causing me to bolt upright until hands pushed me back down.

I screamed, but the roll of material in my mouth stifled the sound. As my consciousness came around, it was that gag that prevented me from holding breath.

Althea was before me, red hair swept from her face. Lines creased across her freckled forehead as she focused on the source of my agony. If it was not for Queen Lyra and her arms, which wrapped around me in a vice of flesh, I would've struck out to push Althea away.

"Bite down through the pain," Queen Lyra commanded.

I could hardly register what was happening from the shock of being dragged out from the darkness. But soon enough, I looked down to a pale hand, covered in flame and the sour scent of burning skin. Althea swept her fire over the wound Tarron had left me. It was quick. When Althea peeled her hand off my stomach, flames extinguishing in a blink, I could see smoke drifting from the angry handprint left in her wake.

She had scorched my skin, mutilating the place the stab wound had been. Stanching the flow of blood with fire.

"Now his back!" Althea reached around me, voice quivering with frantic worry. I could do nothing to stop her from touching the weeping wound at my back. Queen Lyra pushed me forward until I was doubled over. Without Althea blocking the view, I could still see the chaos of the room. Not much time must've passed since I gave in to the darkness. The room was still alive with guards and fey entrapped in the horror of the scene.

Erix was on his knees, his fellow guards holding him down with arms pinned behind his back. Between us lay Tarron, his father blocking the view of his bloodied and broken face. The Oakstorm King screamed and shouted, hands desperately racing across his son's body. I would've tried harder to make sense of what he said, but my own muffled scream blocked out the sound.

The swab of material fell from my mouth as the searing heat of burning flesh greeted me again. I cringed away, howling as Althea's fire felt as though it devoured the entire length of skin across my back.

Erix fought in response, trying to pull out of the four guards' hold. He didn't stop even as they pointed the sharp ends of swords towards him. One wrong move, and he would be skewered on the ends of steel.

Tears poured down the cold skin of my cheeks long after Althea peeled her hand from me once again. I half expected her to move to another part of my body, but instead, she rocked back onto her heels until her face was all I could see.

"I have stopped the external bleeding but can do nothing for the damage inside of you."

I panted, unable to catch my breath, for each inhale was full of agony. Looking down once again, I saw the outline of her hand across my stomach and the oozing red and black marks of her burn; no longer could I see the wound beneath, but I still felt it. Each slight move felt as though I was being tortured with agony.

"Doran Oakstorm," Queen Lyra shouted above the chaos. "I beg that you heal Robin."

Tarron's father turned, face as pale as fresh snow. Spittle and tears mixed together, dribbling from his many chins as he glowered at the queen who commanded him. "My son is dead. And yet you see it fit to make commands of me?"

I could see Queen Lyra swallow, even hearing the gulp as she kept me in her arms. "And Robin will die if you do nothing. Only you may have the power to heal him. Right the wrongs your son has made."

"I will not…" His voice was rough and full of hysterical emotion. His large body shifted to the side, enough for me to catch a glimpse of what used to be a face. Tarron's face. Now it was a caved-in shell, exposed gore and bone holding a pool of blood which seeped across the floor beneath him. Tarron was dead. Erix had killed him. Even now, Tarron's blood dripped from Erix's fists as he tugged and fought against the fey guards.

I should've looked away from the horror of the prince, but I almost couldn't. Because my mind couldn't fathom how such destruction had been caused by one man. By Erix.

Queen Lyra's voice shook as she forced out another plea. "You stubborn mule! This could end. You have the power to put an end to this. And it should end. Heal him, Doran, do not make me beg."

All around us, people moved. Noble fey were herded like cattle from the scene. I could hardly focus on them, nor care, as my gaze moved from Erix to Tarron and back.

"We will get you help," Althea said, gentle fingers brushing the trail of tears from my face. "I promise we will not let you die like this."

"Where is she?" I managed, wincing as I gripped Althea's wrist. "Briar?"

Confusion rattled her expression, tugging her brows into a frown. "Briar is fine. What matters is getting you help."

"No." My voice was hoarse as though my lungs were full of liquid I could not remove. "Briar, she… she helped him. It was she who helped him take me. Althea… Althea, I am sorry."

Althea rocked back, but I refused to let go of her wrist. I could see in her wide, green-brown eyes that she attempted to make sense of what I'd revealed. To her, my words were a puzzle with pieces missing. One that finally made sense.

Althea stood, looking over the crowd with lips pulled taut. I knew she searched for Briar before she came back to my level and spoke.

"If she is smart, then she will have fled." Althea masked clear sadness with a face of thunderous anger.

"My son is dead!" King Doran shrieked, skin flashing bright with golden light as he demanded our attention. Those nearest to him shied away; even my own eyes flicked shut against the sudden light. As the glow dimmed, we all witnessed as King Doran looked over his own power with disbelief. I wondered if Queen Lyra and Althea felt how strong his magic was. How his power filled the air with a crisp scent of summer meadows and fresh, warmed grass. With Tarron dead, King Doran was the second-last of his court. His power was… overwhelming.

"And another child will die, if you do not save him," Althea spat fire as she spoke.

"Ask me to heal that boy one more time, and you will see what happens."

"Stand down." Queen Lyra put herself between her daughter and Doran. The brass-toned gown she wore was not made for battle, even though the bone-like shards poked up around the collar of the dress with tips that gleamed like blades. The Cedarfall guards turned on King Doran like the unpredictable threat he had become. "Leave, Doran. Before I make you."

"Insolent woman," Doran spat. "My own child lies dead on the floor at my feet, killed by one of your own. And yet you treat me as a threat? His head will be mine. Or I will take vengeance from your own child, Lyra. This one will do just fine."

Doran pointed to Althea who never wavered in standing her ground.

But as though Althea had become a delicate flower, the guards holding Erix let him go and sprang forward to stand by her side. She didn't need their assistance. Even against a man as powerful and mad as Doran Oakstorm, Althea was prepared to hold her own.

Finally free, Erix threw himself towards me. His armour crashed against the ground as he knelt, reaching for my face with shaking, warm hands. He cared little for the powerful king who demanded Erix's life as payment. All his focus was on me, hands cradling my cheeks as his silver gaze looked over me without blinking. "Little bird, I never stopped looking for you."

His words shot through my heart, piercing deeper than any blade. "I should have believed you…"

"Not now. When you are better, you can tell me that you were wrong, and I was right. For now, you just need to survive."

I didn't have the strength to tell him how he was wrong. I felt myself bleeding out from within, even beneath the still agonising pain of Althea's touch across my skin. I hardly had the energy to reach for his hands as they held me, even though I desired to.

"You killed Tarron."

Erix's expression pained, his hold of my gaze wavering. "I did. And I'd do it over, if given the choice."

"Now Doran… he wants your life in exchange."

They argued about it now. King Doran demanding Erix's life for his son's. For Erix to be handed over, taken from me. If not Erix, one of Lyra's many children.

"I am your guard, little bird. My duty is to protect you and stop anyone who is a threat." Erix's voice was a whisper, so much so that it was hard to hear him above the chaos. "I was simply doing as I was required."

Erix drew me into his arms whilst the room sparked in a war of words and threats.

"I think I'm dying, Erix." I winced as I tried to sit up. It was impossible to move, my insides felt as though they'd been flayed open.

"I will not let you. In fact, I forbid you to even speak those words aloud." I saw his turmoil a beat before Erix pressed his forehead into mine. The darkness I'd not long been pulled from lulled me to return. I felt it creeping in, a predator ready to devour me. Part of me longed to just give in. At least I'd no longer feel pain. No longer suffer. My mother would be waiting just as she had before.

It was the easier choice.

But nothing worth anything in life was ever easy.

"Not even your stubbornness can keep me alive, Erix." I scoffed a laugh, followed by a hiss as a wave of pain flowed over me.

"Don't you dare give up on me, Robin."

"Robin?" I laughed weakly. "I know I'm in trouble… when you use my actual name."

"If you die, so do the hopes of your people. Hold on to that."

Once again, I envisioned the devouring storm of winter. "It's too late."

"You are wrong. It is never too late."

"I can't, Erix, I can't do it now."

He pulled back from me, lips pursed and eyes brimming with tears that darkened his eyes as though they reflected the grey storm that was close to breaking across the world. "Are you admitting that you don't even want to try? We could sit here and wait for you to fade, or we can leave for Icethorn now. Get to the border. You told me what you need to do. The man I have come to care for is not the giving up kind."

"Erix, you need to get out of here." It was Althea speaking to him now. A line of guards now stood between King Doran and us. I even saw the backs of the two Elmdew royals on either side of Queen Lyra as they faced him down. "You are under our protection, but we will not be able to stop Doran if he truly wants to take you."

Even with the threat plain as day, Erix didn't remove his attention from me. "Robin, tell me you want to try, and we will go together. We do this together, just as I promised."

Althea didn't need to question what we spoke of. She simply knew. "Gyah can take you. But you need to leave, Erix, now."

"Robin… say the words."

"He will not–" Althea began, but I silenced her with my response.

Perhaps it was Erix's true belief in me that helped me hold onto this last chance, or the reality of what was to come for the world if I died. But I looked up at him, gritting my teeth through the pain as I finally sat up unaided.

"Okay," I said, forcing as much strength into my voice as I could. "I will try. For you."

Erix released a sigh, smiling through his anguish. "That is all I could have ever asked for."

King Doran's cry followed us through the skies of Farrador and beyond. I looked back over the screaming winds as Gyah flew us from the castle, witnessing flashes of bright, unyielding light as a battle occurred within the polished stone walls.

Gyah had been ready, just as Althea had said. One moment we were on the floor behind a wall of powerful fey, the next upon Gyah's scaled back as she flew up from the room, breaking through a tall, glass window and flying east towards the Icethorn Court. If it was not for Erix holding me steady, I would've tumbled from her side. My grip was weak, my hands hardly able to hold myself up as my energy melted away from me with each passing moment.

Gyah flew with speed I'd not known possible, or at least it seemed as such, for every time I opened my eyes, the scene below was different. Was I losing time? Unable to keep myself conscious as the internal bleeding lulled me closer to death's door?

First, the ground below was the outstretched camp of warriors. The next, it was open fields. Then a sea of forest and woodland. We passed over small hamlets of buildings, the outstretched shadow of Gyah's wings splayed across the ground far below.

Soon enough, the air grew colder, and the sky thickened with dense clouds. My first breath of the fresh, freezing air filled me with energy that I believed to be long lost. I held my eyes open for longer now, witnessing the blanket of snow that spread across the ground below.

"The Icethorn power is spreading," Erix muttered above the screaming winds. He was shivering as he held onto me, hunching in as the barrelling of sudden snow pelted down upon us. "The Passing of seasons is almost upon us."

The scene suddenly changed. As the snow fell heavier and the sky became thick and grey, we could no longer see before us. The magic here was heavier than it had been during my last visit.

It filled my soul and made my mind alert. A rush of pure adrenaline, offering me moments to spare, fending off death.

"I can feel it." The newfound energy masked the pain within me. I was able to grip onto Gyah's powerful neck to keep myself steady. The tugging I felt in my chest intensified, confirming we were headed in the right direction. I gave in to it, opening myself up to the welcoming power without fear or trepidation. It felt natural to lift a hand towards the dense fog we flew through, as though it too reached for me.

My stomach jolted as Gyah suddenly dropped her height. Erix's arm wrapped tighter around my middle, brushing over the burn marks, which should have caused me discomfort.

But I felt nothing.

Nothing but the cold. Nothing but the eternal winter that greeted us.

We fell beneath the pregnant clouds of snow until we could see the ground once again. The dark, still surface of The Sleeping Depths was beneath us. We then flew over the bank, bodies of forgotten gryvern now buried beneath piles of snow.

It made sense that I felt the magic of the court, because we were within its boundaries. Minutes passed and Berrow was suddenly beneath us – the ruined town no more than a blur as Gyah kept flying. Not once did she slow. The beat of her wings writhed with unrelenting power, as urgent as the beating of my heart as we passed over the edge of the town that Erix and I had looked over together days ago.

Beneath us was the chasm of mountains. I saw the valley far below, and the dark mass of buildings that lay empty and abandoned, and ahead of us was the reason why. Far larger than I'd last seen it, was the bundle of power that raced through the skies of Icethorn like a horde of silver dragons.

It moved with frantic, unpredictable speed as it thrashed and crashed through the sky. Into the sides of mountains, it smashed, causing an avalanche of snow and stone to race towards the valley far below.

"There," I called out, the pain within me a distant memory. The sky had darkened, signalling the end of the day. The Passing was almost over, but still, we had time. "We need to reach it. Get me as close as you can."

The blood within me hummed at the promise of power.

Gyah released a deep, guttural roar and pumped her wings faster, stronger. The pressure from the incoming wind intensified. I had to lean close to her slick body, urging Erix to do the same.

But then I saw them. Flying around the bundle of untamed, unclaimed power in a herd of their own, were the gryvern.

"Higher!" I screamed, the cold winds echoing my urgency. Gyah's body curved upwards, climbing the sky as the gryvern reached us with speed. The song of steel against leather sung behind me as Erix levelled his sword. He thrust it through the air as the first reached us, slicing skin as Gyah kept climbing higher and higher into the sky.

The storm of magic was beneath us now, growing further away. I could feel its panic as clear as my own. My chest tugged as the cord tightened, returning the weakness back to my body as we put distance between us and the power.

This was the gryvern's command – Doran's last-ditch effort to stop me from claiming my future. Even in death, Tarron's command lingered, his hope for me to fail.

I longed for Gyah to slow and return to my power, but words wouldn't form. The air was growing thinner the higher we flew, but still, the gryvern chased beneath us, snapping teeth and snatching at Gyah with pointed claws.

This was it. The end. Gyah released a horrific screech as gryvern flew to our side, knocking into her body. Erix's sword cut so close to my back as his body was thrown forward.

He released me, unable to hold on as he tried to slice out at yet another gryvern. I felt the burn wounds tear open at my chest and my back. Warm blood greeted the cold of my skin, and I knew that this was the end.

But with my blood came the chance I required.

I closed my eyes and released my hold of Gyah. Erix shouted my name, fingers gripping onto the back of my ripped, dirtied tunic, but his attempt to stop me was in vain.

We'd come this far with the power I finally longed to claim below me. If we were going to fail, I wasn't going to do so without trying one last time. All I could think of would be the disappointment on my mother's face when she finally greeted me in death.

When I finally slipped down Gyah's scaled side, it was because I wanted to. I pulled free from Erix's grasp with ease, his attention focused on the onslaught of gryvern. He noticed the lack of my presence a beat too late.

Then I fell

Like a stone through the air, I tumbled, eyes pinched closed as I passed the reaching, grasping claws of the gryvern.

Through screaming winter winds, there was nothing to stop me. If I had opened my eyes, I would've seen the ground beneath me grow closer and closer. There was no reason to watch it now. All there was room for was hope and the will that the power, my deserved power, would embrace me as I fell.