Freezing cold. My right arm, too.
Well, no wonder. They’re uncovered.
It’s no surprise to me that the Lethian armor isn’t wrapped around my right arm—the threads refuse to go anywhere near the black runes—but somehow, both of my mittens have been folded up, and the warm sleeve of my cloak is pushed up past my right elbow, bunched and uncomfortably tight around my biceps.
As I maneuver my hands between Stellen’s chest and mine, the sight of my palms confronts me.
My calluses are gone. The skin across my hands is luminescent.
Then I realize that the strands of my hair—not all of them, but some—are pure white.
A shudder shakes me. “A blade vision?”
Stellen nods, a sharp movement.
“But how? I was asleep. I didn’tseeanything…”
I’ve never had a blade vision during sleep.
At least…I don’t think so. On my first night in the Iron Kingdom, I slept beneath Azul’s wing. I’m certain he would have raised the alarm if I’d done anything unusual. On my second night in the Iron Kingdom, Antony left me alone for a time. I’m not sure how long because, as far as I knew, I slept through his absence.
Suddenly, I’m shaking too hard to speak coherently.
Even if, in the past, I couldn’t control my actions during a blade vision, I always had a warning that it was about to happen. I had awareness before and after.
The shock is too much for my body. “I…can’t… I’m c-c-cold.”
Stellen moves quickly. “Come.” Without hesitation, he lifts me into his arms and carries me the short distance to the rock pool, where he settles me down at its edge, one arm wrapped around me. “Dip your hands in the water. Warm them. You’ll feel better.”
My teeth keep chattering. “I d-didn’t ask?—”
“For help,” he says. “No, you didn’t.”
“Oh…kay…then…”
Plunging my hands into the water is like stepping into sunlight.
Oh. I breathe a shaky sigh of relief, close my eyes, and soak up the soothing flow of warmth swirling around my fingertips, palms, and wrists.
Unbidden comes the memory of another moment when watersoothed me.
You will remember only the water running clear.
Antony convinced me that water can wash away fear and death.
I could lean further forward to check my reflection, but the last white strands of my hair have turned dark again. Dull and lifeless. Whatever highborn face I was wearing, it’s gone now.
My next breath is warm. When I turn my palms up under the water, it’s clear my calluses have returned.
I’ve never been so happy to see them.
But now, my scrutiny has brought my attention to the Dragonstone Blade and the image of the ribbon around it.
“The runes have changed.” I’m frozen again. The shapes of the runes are subtly different. More straight lines than before.
My focus snaps to Stellen. “Tell me what happened during my blade vision.”
The force of my command doesn’t appear to perturb him. The opposite. The worried furrow in his brow eases.
