Page 167 of Spring Guardians & Songbirds

Her mouth parted, but no words came out. She only stared at me before shaking her head. “Not a lot.”

I stood, helping her up and then grabbed the sceptre piece. The silver piece of rod did not feel unusual, despite the ominous looking engravings, it felt just like a hunk of metal. The runes were gone along with the strange vibrating light. Perhaps Snow’s magic had triggered it and the guardian's magic had triggered Snow’s.

A spark flared before us and a portal cracked open, showing a coniferous forest glazed with a thick mass of snow. Isjord.

The second we were at the other side of it, stepping on Isjordian soil, the portal shut, carrying all memory of what had happened there.

“You’re bleeding,” she said, looking at her palms and then at my chest. Her eyes cast down at her own chest coated with my blood and she trembled. “I think you’re bleeding, Kilian.”

Chapter twenty-five

Uro

Snowlin

Despite all the time we had spent in the temple, no more than moments had passed on the outside. Luckily, we had returned before Demir’s team had. I still had unfinished business in Isjord. The beast, the diary. I still had to figure out how my father found out and retrieved his sceptre pieces. If I was quick about it, I could even make time to try and find where he had hidden the Solaryan and Hanaian pieces.

The tavern below the inn was filled with the soldiers returning from Demir’s little expedition. All had a sullen look on their faces, eating their food without a single word amongst one another.

There was so much to take in. To hear among their whispers. Yet I couldn’t concentrate.

Did you hurt a lot? I’d never wanted to tell someone more than him how much I hurt. Why did he always ask?

“Tired already?” Demir asked, approaching my table. He examined me in his usual flirty ways and my skin had learned to unconsciously creep at him. But it wasn’t just his behaviour that did it, his whole being radiated a burning strangeness. Something lifeless and sinister.

“Just bored, dear, what’s next? You want me to knit with the ladies tomorrow?” I asked, taking a sip from my drink.

He laughed. “No, I would not make you do that. You are better with a sword than a knitting pin. We are to return to Tenebrose tomorrow either way.”

“My, the snow monsters in the mountains not liking your advances either?” I teased, faking a pout.

“At least you are,” he said, and I halted my goblet midway before putting it down.

“Am I?” I raised my eyebrows, crossing my arms and leaning back. “Are you?”

His features dropped for a moment and he studied me slowly, different from usual. “If you are patient enough you might hear that answer.”

Ugh. No, thank you, but why not now? I pulled my face in a teasing grin hoping to push on some hidden wounds. “Patient? Are you married? Is your wife sick? Waiting for her to die? Such a decent man, who would have thought.” Taking my tray loaded with enough food for the hunk of Adriatian muscle waiting upstairs, I stood.

His face stilled as if my words really had poked at the centre of the target and he reached to grab my arm, stopping me. “We are leaving early tomorrow. Be down at the stables at dawn.”

I leaned close to him. “You’re burning, Demir.” He pulled his hand away from me with a jerk. “Odd. Didn’t you just come from outside?” I asked, flicking some snow from his shoulder. “Goodness, you’re sizzling.” Must be all that delicious blood you’re feeding on.

“Good night, Snowlin,” was all he said, before exiting the inn’s diner like a slighted beast.

Pushing the door with my hip, I managed to enter the room without scalding myself with hot soup. Kilian was not there, the bed was still made, and few candles flickered about the room, creating massive shadows. The floor creaked from the bathing chambers and a half naked chunk of Adriatian flesh made its way towards me. I almost let out a low whistle at the sight in front of me. His shoulders were wide and stretched in hard muscle, six hills rose over his lean stomach that were now marred by three slashes and two deep lines traced down his hips pointing to a very delicate area that I almost traced before averting my gaze to put the food down to a table. The man had fainted on me and I refused to let him fade back to Adriata. In his condition, I wouldn’t be surprised if he faded and lodged himself between a tree trunk.

I cleared my throat and turned to him. “Brought you food.”

He eyed the tray and nodded in thanks before sitting on the edge of the bed, attempting to apply salve to his wounds.

“Eat before it gets cold.” With that, I left to take a bath.

He had eaten his food when I returned and was rounding bandages across his wounds. In a sloppy, most male-like attempt at it.

Grabbing the salve, I kneeled in front of him, applying it gently to the wound on his skin. “You have not applied enough salve, the bandage will stick to your wounds, you idiot. Apply generously. Look, it’s written on the bottle.” I’d exchanged a gold circlet for it, this princess held no coin. This princess was actually poor if you thought about it.

“Stand, I don’t like you kneeling in front of me,” he ordered quietly.