Her head bumped into a hard surface, hands groping along it.
Ice.
She was at the surface but trapped under the ice.
That was the moment Silla realized—she was going to die.
Chapter Sixty-Four
“Silla!” Rey bellowed, fighting against Vig’s grip as he tried to reach the chasm’s edge.
“Think, Galtung,” growled Vig, his hold only tightening. “You cannot help her if you’re dead.”
Rey’s heart was in his throat, nausea twisting his stomach. Get to her. He had to get to her. Never mind that most of the hatchlings had now slithered free, that Nefi had taken a bite wound and lay unconscious as the venom worked through him. Mýr, Rannver and Kálf had formed a protective circle around the unconscious warrior, ready to cut down any hatchling that got close enough.
“You jump into that water, and you’ll die,” reminded Vig. “Be clever, Galtung. Do not let emotion?—”
“Silla!” Rey shouted, driving his elbow into Vig’s gut and wrenching free. He threw himself onto his stomach, easing toward the edge of the hole in the lake. Dozens of ice spirits flitted about frantically, only fuelling his panic. How long had it been since the beast had pulled her under?
Each heartbeat felt like an eternity. Rey’s throat was closing up. He struggled to breathe. Where was she? He surveyed the scene, looking for her curls, for her dark, vibrant eyes. But Silla was nowhere to be seen. Where once the waters had frothed with the mother serpent’s rapid movements, now they lay still.
Rey forced in several deep breaths. His gaze raked across the lake, trying to formulate a plan. If something happened to her…A sob built in his throat, and Rey swallowed it back. She was a fighter—would never give up.
And neither would he.
The spirits had flocked to a patch of ice not far off, looping and hissing excitedly. He saw it then—a dull throb of light beneath them. He pushed to his feet, legs moving before he could think. And then Rey was yanking on his galdur and shoving it at the ice where white light flickered, then vanished.
“Silla!” he yelled. And then Kálf was beside him, and Rannver, both Ashbringers working to melt the ice. Vig rushed forward, greataxe in hand, Erik soon joining him.
The frozen surface of the lake sizzled as their collective fire burrowed into the ice. Vig and Erik chipped gently, deepening the hole as the ice spirits hissed, urging them on. Slowly, a depression formed, deepening until a glimmer of water appeared.
It wasn’t fast enough. Warm prickles rushed the length of his tattoo as he drew from his halda. A hole in the ice formed, half-a-hand’s span, then a full hand. Then two. Then five.
She floated face down, hair fanned out around her.
No.Sliding on his stomach, Rey yanked her from the water, tugging her limp body onto his, and cradling her to his chest. She felt small. So vulnerable.
The surrounding commotion grew muffled as blood rushed in Rey’s ears. This was all wrong. Her cheeks were a pale, corpse-gray. They should be pink. Should be curving up at the apples when her smile stretched wide. And it hit him all at once, with a blow that left him spinning. He could lose her.
“Sunshine,” he pleaded, fingers fumbling around the base of her neck. The fear he felt was staggering. But it was not the fear of weathering grief’s storm yet again.It was that she could die with Rey’s words ringing in her ears.I’ve let this go too far.
He felt it then—a faint throb beneath his fingers. “She has a pulse,” he said, and a murmur of relief spread through the Galdra. Swiftly, Rey rolled Silla onto her back, a pair of ice spirits darting away before she could crush them. Her lips were blue against her pale, unnatural complexion, her chest unmoving. She wasn’t breathing.
Like all Galdra, Rey believed in the old gods, though he’d never been much for prayers. But in this moment, as he stared down at her slack body, he begged…pleadedwith them.Please …pleasespare her life.
Rey pressed down on her chest.
Please allow me the chance to make things right.
Another compression.
If you give me another chance, I won’t squander it.
Another compression.
I will do better. Be braver.
Silla coughed, water spluttering from her mouth. Rey let out a ragged cry, pressing his forehead to hers. She breathed. She wasbreathing. But if he didn’t warm her, the cold would steal the life from her.
