Thrallmagic: Chapter 21

Chapter 21

I hurry over to the girl who’s fallen, and notice with some surprise that it is none other than Lady Vanessa. Crouching down next to her, I ask, “Are you alright? What happened?” Her knife lies nearby, on a wet patch of grass.

Wiping it off on my cloak, I hand it back to her, and she grasps it as she says, “Niall and I- we were- talking.” Her breath comes in little pants, and she moans with pain.

“Tell us later, Vanessa. You’ve hurt yourself.” I make my voice gentle to soften the harsh words. Turning around, I say to the group, “Give her some space! And send someone to the castle for a healer.” Lindon sends one of his men galloping back to the castle and nods to me, his expression grave.

A hand tugging on my cloak brings my attention back to Vanessa. She grits her teeth, and through the pain, groans, “You don’t understand. There’s a drop off just past the tree line.” She looks half wild as she twists to see the trees. “Niall- I heard a noise, and he- there was- I was-“ She lets out a little sob and stops talking.

I lay a hand on her shoulder. “I understand. I’ll go look for him now. Don’t worry yourself anymore.” I turn around again, and meet Lindon’s gaze. I tip my head towards Vanessa and get up. My heart thuds in my chest as I approach the trees, because if there truly is a drop off, we might never find Niall. A pair of guards and a few nobles flank me, but I gesture for them to stay back. Cautiously, I pad towards the trees, calling Niall’s name. When no reply comes, I walk faster, biting my lip.

When I get past the tree line, my heart jumps into my throat as I look at the steep ravine and river. The forests in Valkyr are always shifting- overnight, sometimes. This was created sometime recently, but I don’t sense any magical snares or traps that might suggest that this was created purposely. It seems as though the trees have moved, as they are apt to do. Carefully, I step down, towards the piece of gold I see, trying not to fall flat on my face. The ground is littered with dead leaves, and the trees for a canopy so there isn’t much light. I slide forward on a leaf, but manage to stop myself from falling. Turning around, I glimpse at least half the hunting party standing at the top of the ravine, and although I am concerned for Niall, my blood sings with joy when I realize that if I manage to get Niall back up to everyone, I’ll have won at least some of their loyalties.

A soft groan reaches my ears, distracting my from my thoughts, and I walk a little faster, still being careful not to fall to my death. When I finally come to the golden speck- which has turned into the hilt of a sword- I let out a sigh of relief. Niall is covered in leaves, and is bleeding from a cut on his forehead, but he’s regaining consciousness without help, which makes it a little easier for me to get him back up the slope. I crouch down very carefully, removing my cloak and dropping it to the side as I do so. Twigs crunch under my boot as I drop a knee down, sending a nearby squirrel running up a tree.

“Niall? Can you walk?” I smooth his hair back from his forehead and slowly reach down to the river. A thin layer of ice has already formed, but I break through it easily and collect some cold water in my hands. I sprinkle it on Niall’s face, hoping to rouse him further, and I sigh in relief as his eyes flutter open with a start.

Before I can warn him, he tries to get up, but the leaves under him cause him to slide. The last thing I see of him is his horrified expression as he breaks through the river ice and falls into the current. I sit there, frozen, for a moment before I realise what I have to do. Standing up, I kick my boots off and plunge into the river after Niall. When the icy cold water meets my chest, I gasp, and force myself to keep going despite the chill. Diving under, I start to swim, letting the current carry me. I catch sight of a man’s boot and try to go faster. Niall is struggling in the icy water, gasping for air and thrashing.

All I have is a moment to clasp his waist before the current pushes us onward, and deeper. We go underwater, and Niall thrashes in my grasp, making it harder for me to keep ahold on him. I try to get back to the top, but the current won’t allow me to, especially with Niall’s weight dragging me down. The tightness in my chest increases, and Niall sags in my arms. I pray to all the gods that we’ll make it to the surface before we both drown. I fight to keep from taking a breath, and look for a handhold as the current slows. Grasping Niall more firmly, I kick up to the surface to take a breath.

There is another layer of ice, and I push up against it- only it won’t budge. I push harder, beating against it. Tears mix with the river water around me as I cry from the effort of not taking a breath. My vision starts tunneling, but I refuse to give up. I try to summon some fire to my hand- or at least enough heat for me to melt the ice, but I’m so cold, and so tired, that I find I cannot. I try again, gathering all of my strength and pouring it into this one last task. Finally- finally, my hand warms, and I break through the ice, just as my vision begins to fade. Instinctively, I kick up to the tiny hole I’ve made.

When my head breaks through the ice, I cough, gulping the air as I cry in happiness. Somehow, even with my half-frozen fingers, I manage to draw Niall’s dagger from his belt, where my hand rests, and use it to chip through enough of the ice so I can pull Niall up with me. Latching onto his arm, I heave myself out of the water, shivering in the cold air. No help is in sight, so I pull as hard as I can, managing to slowly inch him out of the water. My strength is gone, and I know that if I try to stand up, I’ll faint, but I try to summon a flicker of air to start Niall breathing again. Nothing is there, though, so I drag him upright and hit his back violently. Thankfully, he starts coughing, and I let myself fall back, and don’t move until the world stops spinning and the trees come back into focus.

Taking a deep breath, I sit up, shivering. Niall has finished coughing and sits clutching his head. A gust of wind makes the leaves rustle, and I wrap my arms around myself, trying not to shiver. The tips of my fingers are pale blue, and when I try to unhook my dagger belt, which has wrapped itself around my thigh, I fumble around for a while before finally giving up.

“Are you alright, your highness?” Niall’s voice is hoarse, and I can barely hear him.

I nod. “Fine. And yourself? Do you think you can stand?” I rub my hands vigorously to try and bring some feeling back into them.

Nodding, Niall pushes himself up. Immediately, he sways, and I rush to support him. Groaning, he takes a step, then another, and then another. At a slow, limping pace, we walk slowly up the river bank, heading back to where we came from. The cut on Niall’s head mingles with the water and dirt on his face, creating a gruesome sight. A ray of sunlight cuts through the heavens, shimmering off of the ice and casting a thousand sparkles into the air. The world seems oddly peaceful, and a lily-lark sings sweetly, invisible in the trees. The cold air dances through little gaps in the wood, whistling by us as we walk. Roots of the trees creep above the ground, and as I raise my foot to step over one, my foot gets caught in my sodden skirts, sending Niall and I tumbling forward. Niall somehow manages to catch himself on a low hanging branch, but I fall face first into the cold mud. A sharp stone catches my jaw, and a sharp sting tells me that it’s cut me. The cut on my cheekbone, from Blathen’s ring, has ripped open, too, but now I have an excuse for it.

A bit more steadily, Lord Niall, walks over and helps me up. There’s a long tear down the side of my dress, starting at my knee and ending halfway down. Wiping the blood from my skin, I press on. As we walk, the feeling returns to my fingers, which are now bright pink from the cold. A rustling sounds up ahead, followed by the sound of a man’s voice. Exchanging a glance, Niall and I walk forward cautiously. A shriek of joy echoes through the forest, and Kerissa throws herself at me.

“Ria, thank Loch you’re well! When I saw you and Lord Niall fall into the river, I thought the worst would happen!” Refraining from pointing out that I hadn’t fallen in, I embrace her gently, not wanting to get her all wet. From behind her, Blathen nods to me, clapping Niall on the back. A pair of healers walk towards him, and they help him forward. I throw Blathen a suspicious glance, but he smiles stiffly back.

Kerissa catches my expression, and she says, “Oh, don’t be angry at Prince Blathen, Ria. I insisted on coming, and I’m perfectly fine.” She hooks her elbow through mine, and whispers, “He’s quite good-looking, isn’t he? How lucky you are to be betrothed to such a fine man!”

A soft laugh from Blathen reaches my ears, and I clench my teeth together in an effort not to yell the truth at my sister. Baring my teeth in what I hope looks like a smile, I force Kerissa to walk a little faster, and let go of her arm when we reach the clearing where everyone is waiting for us. A little cheer goes up when we come into view. Lindon is back, and he catches my eye and starts to walk over to me, but before he gets there, Blathen clasps my arm and pulls me to him. With a little giggle, Isi goes off to talk to the healers, leaving us alone.

Lindon sends me a thought, Should I interrupt? I say back, No, let’s see what this is about. Blathen clears his throat, bringing me back to the present, and assumes a concerned expression.

“Are you alright, Rionach?” He runs a finger over the cut on my cheek that he made last night in mock worry. “You should go see the healers.”

Without even having to look at the group, I know that nearly everyone is looking at us. Blathen’s hand tightens on my arm, and he casts a meaningful glance at Isi, reminding me of his threat. Swallowing down my revulsion, I force myself to smile back sweetly, and try to think of something to say.

“I’m perfectly fine, but-“ I swallow again, and continue, “-but it’s sweet of you to care so much.” Extricating myself from his grasp, I step away, wanting to cut off the skin he’s touched. “I’d better go check on Lord Niall.”

I don’t turn around to look at him, walking straight to the caravan. A guard walks up to me, saying, “Lady Princess, I don’t think that-“

I shake him off, barking orders. “Someone fetch a separate horse for me to ride. Is anyone else hurt?” No one says anything, so I swing myself up into the saddle, and say, “Well, then, mount up, everyone. We ride for the castle.”