When we freed Milena, which was only moments before Graviter stormed upon us, she struggled to remain lucid.
It seemed that she couldn’t remember anything about how she’d gotten here—or about the Blacksmith who’d put her here.
She wasn’t even able to speak Thaden’s name.
In fact, it seemed that every time she tried to remember him, the effort would trigger her to slip into a momentarily unresponsive state. I’m not sure if that’s because of something he did to her, or because the loss of her power traumatized her, or because she spent so long encased in the tree that its darkness had consumed some of her memories.
No matter the reason, if there’s a chance we can revive her, we need to take it. We can’t afford to lose her knowledge of Thaden Kane.
Of course, keeping her alive in the longer term could be problematic since Asha vowed to end her. It was part of the bargain Asha made with the Fae Queen to keep me alive. But, as I tried to convince Asha, she didn’t promisewhenshe would fulfill her vow.
Rapidly retracting my claws, I scoop Milena up out of the clumped ice that has remained around the base of the tree.
In the distance, Asha doesn’t look surprised by my action.
She gives me the briefest smile that quickly fades as she refocuses on the dragon.
Graviter, on the other hand, appears wary, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes at me. I guess it doesn’t make a lot of sense that I would fill my hands with this woman and hinder my ability to fight him.
I don’t plan to hold her for long.
She’s icy cold in my arms, so I take the chance to sidestep toward one of the pelts resting on the ground. Asha and I wore them to stay warm on our journey here. This one must have floated on the water’s surface instead of sinking because it’s mostly dry.
I wrap it around Milena, its dry side toward her skin, and place her on a bare patch of rock where the dragon’s heat has kept the stone warm.
There isn’t much more I can do for her until we resolve the situation with Graviter.
Carefully making my way back to him, I hold out the leaf I plucked from the tree.
Graviter sweeps a single claw across the air, impales the leaf on its tip, and holds the frond to his nose.
He gives a little huff.
Then he pops the leaf into his mouth and chews.
My eyebrows have risen. So have Asha’s.
His behavior is baffling now.
In the next moment, his irises dilate so fully, they seem to be defying the afternoon sunlight reflected off the snow-capped peaks around us.
Then he exhales and I’m dismayed by the flames curling once more around his mouth.
Then I’m startled to see that they’re a burning-blue color, and that, once again, the dragon seems fixated on Asha.
I quickly prepare to step between them.
“Asha Silverspun.” Graviter growls, emitting sapphire flames as he speaks.
She throws her head back and stands her ground. “Have you chosen war, Dragon King?”
“Yes,” he says, his voice heavy. “There will be a war. I see it now. I see it all.”
He takes a step toward her and still, she stands her ground.
“A war in which dragons, humans, Blacksmiths, and fae will stand across a battlefield and be tested,” he continues, his head lowering to the ground, his eyes nearly in line with hers. “A war that will only be the beginning of other wars. But without a beginning, there can’t be an end.”
Asha’s left hand rises. Her stance shifts. It’s a fighting pose I saw her take a hundred times when she faced a monster. In those moments, she was single-minded. Nothing could stop her.
