With a shimmer they stretched across the courtyard, taut and gleaming in the stormy night.
Andrew continued to work on his invention. “I’m rapidly melting and refreshing the ice to make sure it won’t be too brittle.”
Too brittle?“Andrew, what mad, hairbrained idea is this? I mean, you’re a genius engineer—you literally make planes fly—but what on earth do you expect us todowith that?” She jabbed at the long extended icicle ... things ...
“Stand here,” he said calmly.
How could he be calm when she could hear distant footsteps getting closer?
He guided her beneath the ice and, with a sweep of his hands, created a solid ice swing beneath her. Her hands grasped the cold chains, and her feet lifted off the ground as she drew in a startled breath, settling onto the seat. It was like a child’s playswing, suspended by two loops that clamped securely around the ice ropes above.
“Andrew ... oh no—no, no, no, NO!”
“Just remember that I love you, and I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said, his voice steady in the wind. “You’re going to zip-line down to meet George. I’ve thickened the ice gradually at the bottom, so you’ll start off quickly, but it will slow and then stop you before you reach the wall. You’ll be safe.”
“Don’t worry? I am at the edge of a tall building and you’re telling me not to worry! And what do you meanyou’llbe safe—what about you?”
Andrew leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. “I’ll catch up to you as soon as I can.”
With that, he pushed her off the side of the building.
Chapter Forty-Six
Cold wind whipped at her cheeks as Isla hurtled through the air, screaming as the swing glided faster and faster. Andrew and his infuriatingly smug plans. She knew exactly what he had done—staying behind to hold off their pursuers so she could get away.
If anything happened to him, she decided, she’d wait until their next life just topersonallythrottle him. And she would make sure he knew it was entirely justified. She’d write herself a journal and leave it in a hidden chamber with clues to find it just like the Ossa Arcana did—oh, she’d find a way to let him know how mad she was at him for risking his life. And for making her ride this ridiculous contraption, which hadn’t even been through health and safety tests.
Isla’s hands gripped the cold swing chains tightly at her sides, becoming painful. The buildings below were growing larger. It wouldn’t stop in time! The swing suddenly jerked due to the thickening ice above her, wobbling her precariously from side to side. It slowed, skidding to a stop just before her face hit the wall.
Her heart beat rapidly, her nose inches away from death. Well, not inches—she was being dramatic; the swing had stopped well before the solid wall of the building—but it felt that way. Andrew and his beautiful, superior, puffed-up brain had calculated exactly where she needed to stop to keep her safe.She was sure, if he wasn’t about to battle other Aetherians, he’d be vainglorious, delighting in his new method of transport.
Scrambling to get off the swing, she turned, looking up to where she had come from. Andrew’s feet were perilously close to the edge, using his ice like a shield again to stop an Ignis Summoner advancing toward him.He managed to get a shot at the man’s shoulder, reminding Isla of her own bruise from the Terra’s hard clump of earth, which throbbed in pain now that the adrenaline of the zip line was over.
“Andrew,” she breathed, “you annoying man. I can’t lose you.”
Another man—the Terra Summoner—looped a vine over one of Andrew’s zipline stalagmites and launched himself from the building. Isla gulped, realizing his intention was to follow her.
Andrew noticed the movement and glanced behind him, spotting the pursuer. Seeing she was safe, he dissolved the ice, and the man following her plummeted toward the ground. He landed with a sickening thud; from that height, surely he wouldn’t have survived. Isla was glad he was too far away from her to see any details, but her stomach clenched at the loss of life.
With his attention diverted, Andrew didn’t see the shadow that approached his ankles, looped, and encircled him. The Summoner pulled hard then released, sending Andrew toppling backward over the side of the towering building.
Time slowed as Isla watched in horror, helpless as he fell toward certain death. She tried desperately to think of a way she could save him. Andrew somersaulted through the air, his glasses falling from his face. He rotated once, twice, and then Isla gasped as he landed on a forming sheet of ice that sprangup beneath him at just the right time, the surface glinting like a frozen platform. Relief swept through her that he was safe. He twisted, his body curling and spinning with uncanny precision as he directed the ice board, almost as if he were demonstrating some new gravity-defying winter sport she’d never seen before.
He shifted his weight effortlessly, gliding the board up and away from the ground in a smooth arc and with perfect balance.
In one fluid motion, his hand snatched his glasses from midair as a splash of water handed them back to him. Isla rolled her eyes; it wouldn’t have surprised her if he high-fived the water in thanks after he pressed his glasses back into place with a flick of his fingers.
He was so masterful—not only able to create the board, but he also made sublimation enhancement look easy—so effervescent that it pushed the board off the ground and thrust him forward.
The Ignis Summoner tried to target fire at him, but Andrew was too fast as he dodged each bullet. He rose higher to meet his foe. One firebolt came toward him when he had almost leveled with his opponent. A surge of white light glowed along Andrew’s arm; sharp ice shot out from his fingertips, freezing the Summoner’s fire in place with a sharpcrackthat echoed across the courtyard.
Andrew skidded to a stop; ice exploded in a glittering spray as he halted. He sent a second jagged ice streak forward. The Ignis froze—not in fear; his whole body was literally encased mid-step as he tried to retreat.
Andrew’s stance was powerful yet graceful. He looked like he was riding the storm itself, daring anyone to challenge him. He pivoted, heading toward her.
Isla let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Her pulse hammered, but she could only stare—awed, terrified, and entirely certain that she loved this amazing man. Juliette was right. He was a superhero.
“Now he’s just showing off.”
