My friends, my family, Rosalina… They are that spark.
I focus all my energy on the abomination. Heat spreads through my chest, growing outward, lacing through my veins and swelling at the tips of my fingers. Flames erupt from my hands.
A torrent of fire hits the creature, each burst striking like an explosion. The wraith staggers, struggling to maintain its footing on the slick ice beneath it. But I don’t give it a chance, pouring every reserve I have into the attack.
Its frozen flesh begins to melt and crack. A roar explodes out of me, and flames engulf the corpse. The ice dissipates, and all that is left is charred bone.
I slump to my knees, breathless. Kel, Ez, and Dayton rush over. They pat my shoulders, touch my face.
“Good work, kid,” Keldarion murmurs. “We were in a tight spot.”
“You been holding back on me, Fare?” Dayton smirks.
I try to smile at him, but I feel like I’ve just walked through an inferno.
Our moment is broken by Rosalina’s scream: “Help! Quickly!”
We all rush to her. She clutches Flicker’s face; his body is like an ice sculpture, hands frozen as they reach for Koop. Only his face is untouched, but the frost is moving quickly, crawling over his skin.
“I want to go home,” he whimpers. “I want Koop.”
Rosalina laces her fingers through the little boy’s hair and turns to us. “Help him.”
I feel it: everyone’s eyes on me.
“High Prince of Autumn,” Ezryn says lowly, “your people need you.”
I sink to my knees beside Rosalina and place my hands on Flicker’s face. His eyes are desperate, pleading.
That well within me is still there, burning brighter than I’ve ever felt it before. But I can’t very well firebolt this child like I did the ice abomination.
I close my eyes, seeking within myself. I think of my mother, who she was as High Princess.Everything you need is inside of you already, Farron,she’d told me when she passed the title down to me.But you must be brave enough to claim it.
Warmth drifts through my body, but this time it’s not an inferno. It’s the glow of the bonfires we hold at night, the steaming mugs of mulled cider shared with friends, the coals of a bushfire that has cleared the forest of debris and made way for regeneration.
My hands dance with orange light, and I trail it over Flicker, chasing away the frost. The ice retreats and melts down his body. With a crack, his arms are free, and he gives them a big shake before hugging himself.
“Keep doing whatever you’re doing,” Dayton says. “It’s working.”
Sweat drips down my forehead, but I hold that reserve in my chest, keeping the warmth of Autumn close to me. The Fool’s Summer we sometimes get where the sun’s rays burn too hot; the crackling hearths in the great halls where we hold festivals; the looks of love shared over a bountiful harvest. I hold it close to me, then it flows to him.
Flicker falls forward, feet finally free of the frost. I catch him in my arms, and he holds me tight around the neck. “You saved me, High Prince.”
“I… I suppose I did.”
Still, he sniffles. “Koop?”
I shuffle over to the dog trapped in this frozen tomb.Is the Blessing of Autumn enough to save those we thought lost?
Orange light glitters off the ice as I summon the magic once more. My friends don’t make a sound, all of them holding their breath.
A howlfills the valley as Koop shakes melted ice from his coat and runs to Flicker. The boy grabs his dog, and they collapse to the ground, laughing.
I fall.
“You did it!” Rosalina wraps me in her arms until she falls to the ground, too. “Oh, Farron, I knew you could.”
Kel raises a brow. “We might have a fighting chance yet.”
