“She’s done.” He reached my side and offered his hand for support.
I shook it off, trying to stand solo, but with the dismissal of my fire channel, the exhaustion set in fully. My teeth started chattering and I stumbled.
Griff caught me before I could fall. “Had to be stubborn,” he muttered.
The moment we touched, even through gloves and layers, that jolt went through me. But also something more. Heat. Blessed heat.
This time I gave in. I clung to him, but chose to pretend otherwise. I was freezing through and through, and Griff let off significant warmth. I arched toward him, trying to absorb some of it. His free arm curved around my waist, tugging me closer into that warmth. I half protested, given that my clothes would soak his, but he flashed me a look, telling me to shove it.
Now that I was next to him, I could see the faint signs of travel and battle on his clothes and face. His scruff had several more days of growth. And I caught a faint whiff of something coppery—was that blood?
Azar somehow managed to look down his nose at Griff, even though Griff was several inches taller than him. “And you think you know how to instruct fire wielding better than I do?”
“No, but I do know Lexa, and she’s done.”
I was startled to hear my name on his lips; he usually just referred to me asPrincess. Come to think of it, I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard him say my name, at least in my presence.
“I’m taking her back.” He looked down at me, eyes softening as his hand came up to brush snow from my cheek. “I trust you can find your own way?” he tossed at Azar over my head, and without waiting for a reply, spun us through the ether to home.
When we landed, he steadied me as usual, hands tight on my waist. “Are you alright? Azar can be…”
“Intense,” I finished. “But yes, I’m alright. The better question is, are you alright? Is that blood—” I spotted a dark stain on his coat, just below where my hands rested on his chest.
“It’s not mine, Princess,” he reassured me gently, brushing my hair back and causing me to look up at him. “And yes, I’m fine.”
I was sure the worry showed clearly on my face. “I thought I saw you limp?—”
“I’m fine,” he soothed me again. Looking me over, his mild expression gave way to aggravation as he realized that my coat had frozen in its position due to my fire channel melting the snow and then refreezing it, over and over. Brushing some flakes from my hair, he ushered me inside one of the side entrances. “Let’s get you warmed up, and then I’ll tell you about it. But first, tell me about training with Azar.”
“I was actually starting to get the hang of it there at the end. Right around the time he started trying to incinerate me. I’d appreciate it if we could find a teacher who didn’t take ‘trial by fire’ literally.”
He let out a sound of displeasure. “Azar never does think of others beyond himself.”
“You know Azar?” My teeth were clattering.
Making that sound again, he set to work on the frozen fastenings of my coat. When they wouldn’t budge, he swore, covering it with his hand. His other hand reached under my coat and pressed against my back, warmth radiating out from it.
He was using his limited fire channel to thaw both me and the ice from my coat. I melted, this time internally.
Once he managed to divest me of my frozen coat, he stripped off his own and wrapped it around me. It was still warm from the heat of his body and smelled like him. I burrowed into it, as much as I could while still walking.
“I know Azar. He was here when I grew up.”
That was the most Griff had alluded to his childhood. I knew from Finn that they had spent time here as boys, but didn’t know much beyond that.
He led me to the kitchens. “I’m starving, and I’m sure you are too.”
“You came straight to find me?” A warmth that had nothing to do with the coat settled through me.
He gave me a long look. “I told you I would.”
I sank into a chair set out of the way in front of one of the rarely used cooking fires. The heat from the fire started to penetrate the chill that had settled deep in my bones. Griff left my sight for a moment, then returned, handing me something hot to drink, before settling in the chair by my side. I wrapped my hands around the mug and let the warmth seep into me.
Looking at the fire, I beckoned it closer. It jumped to do my bidding, the flames arching toward me but stopping just short of setting me on fire. That was something, I suppose.
And yet, it was nothing compared to the heat I had felt when his hand was on me, his fire channel warming me.
Griff watched all of it with his usual mask in place. “Impressive,” was all he said, drinking from his own mug.
