Hoping to avoid any further interactions with skyborne weapons, my magic snaked throughout the cave to fortify its structure. Walls and ceilings hardened and puddles evaporated from the icy floor. I focused my attention on removing all cold from beneath our feet, while keeping the water solidified. I tightened my arm around Dom, summoning the water out of our clothes, drying us thoroughly.
“That’s helpful,” Dom slurred.
Urgency quickened my pace.
We reached an open space in the back of the cave, which seemed good enough to make our resting place. Despite my injured leg, I hurried to prepare a dry space for us. The light from outside diffused through the thick ice in a calm, bluish glow. The glimmering water-carved walls mimicked windswept sand dunes. Rippled lines etched along their surface as if a master calligrapher had drawn them.
Dom sagged to the floor, his breath turning ragged. His shadows released in an attempt to warm us, but they acted as mere licks of smoke, flickering quickly out of existence. His head dropped back against the wall, the action having spent what energy he had preserved.
I bit my lip. Though we weren’t exactly sitting on freezing cold ice blocks, we were still in the north, in a glacial cave. And it was very cold. When the sun set, we would need a plan. I crouched next to Dom.
Relief flooded me at taking weight off my leg. I stretched it out to check the bandage, reassuring myself the wound hadn’t reopened. I kept the cloth secured for now, my skin resisting movement from the residue of sticky, dried blood.
A line formed between Dom’s closed eyes. His dark lashes fluttered in obvious discomfort. I beheld his face, more unkempt with days of stubble peppering his chiseled jaw. I noticed traces of the boy I once knew, buried beneath the powerful man he now was. He inhaled a shuddering breath.
“Are you sure rest is all you need?” I spoke softly, shattering the quiet of the cave. I didn’t know how to help him.
His chin lifted slowly, as if weighted down. “The poison has never progressed this far before. I don’t know what happens if it overwhelms my heart.” He offered a false smile. “You might need to head to Vorkut on your own. Find the inn so you don’tfreeze to death.” He half-heartedly shoved me, encouraging my departure. His arm flopped heavily back to his side.
My mouth thinned. “How embarrassing for Ruin of the Scourge to simply leave the general of the rebellion here to freeze. I prefer grander rumors of death and destruction over my enemies.”
He didn’t take the bait of my weak ribbing. “You’re so much more than the rumors they spread about you.” He shifted in discomfort. Then he gently tugged at my small braids, first on the left and then the right, just like I used to do when we were kids before we did something risky. Just as my mother had done to me in private moments in our garden.
“You remember?” My heart swelled, though my voice trembled.
“I could never forget anything about you. Except what you’d look like after seventeen years apparently.” He let out a mirthless chuckle as his fingers ghosted over my own. He sighed. “Perhaps this is how I go. It could be worse.”
Our fingers laced together. My breath stuttered in my chest with his words. “Not on my watch.”
His thumb drew back and forth along my hand. It had been a long time since someone tried to comfort me. Since I allowed it.
“You were never my enemy you know. How could I despise someone so embedded in my veins?”
The question hovered in the air between us, as solid as the walls of our glacial tomb. His words scraped against my resolve, cracking it open to reveal a hope I did not dare voice.
“At least.” He paused, gathering himself while his strength leaked out of him. “At least, I finally found you. I will always find you.” His hand raked through my hair, teasing the strands. He quirked his head to the side, perplexity furrowing his brow. “This cave makes your hair seem almost lavender. How strange.”
I tensed at the observation. But my concern was short-lived as his shoulders relaxed and he closed his eyes again. He grimaced before his slump turned more pronounced, his body folding in on itself
“Dom?” I squeaked. Yet he didn’t stir.
Chapter Thirty-Two
THE SPY
Icouldn’t differentiate the hum of my magic with the rush of panicked blood in my ears. Had the Nokt caused an injury I didn’t know about? Had he underestimated the amount of poison in his blood? Surely he wasn’t dying now. I didn’t allow myself time to dwell on it.
I untied my cloak, folding it into a makeshift pillow for his head. I pushed his own cloak aside, yanking up his shirt, searching his body for any lacerations. I discovered one across his right arm, char skimming the corners of the wound. My eyes grazed his torso, pausing momentarily. I refused to acknowledge the muscles that glistened in the ambient light, how hard they still were despite his sagging state. There were no wounds on his chest that I could find. I exhaled a modicum of relief, though Dom’s current condition didn’t lend itself to comforting reassurance.
There was nothing I could do to help him. I had no supplies, no healing training. Noting the amount of filth we both were in, I melted a portion of the wall, soaking a rag from my satchel in glacial water to rinse off his body and cleanse his armor. Focusing on a task allowed my fear to drop to the icy floor amidst our blood and grime.
I absorbed the fullness of him, raking my eyes over every angle of his face. His full lips parted, spilling forth soft, uneven breaths. I tentatively brushed his cheek, and his lip twitched as though meaning to smile. I jerked my hand away. He continued to lay unmoving, but his breaths remained consistent. I covered him with his own cloak and assessed our temporary hideaway.
Perhaps we could rest for a day or two here in relative safety, away from any predators or Nokts. We might have enough food if we rationed it. I used the same rag to clean my own dried blood off my leg and my leathers. The char had not gone deep into either of our wounds and I easily rinsed it away.
Checking Dom once more, I dabbed at the small cuts along his arms where the Nokt’s poison had burned. His eyes remained closed as his hand gripped my wrist, stalling my work. He opened his eyes taking a minute to regain his bearings. Adoration warmed his gaze as he regarded me. “I’m still alive, huh?” he asked hoarsely.
“You passed out, but it hasn’t been long. I think your body took its opportunity to get the rest you’ve been denying it.” The puddle of water I formed absorbed back into the wall of ice, having completed our ministrations. I set the rag down.
