Fire and Ice (18 page)

“Like I said — bad idea.” He exhaled, and I could taste the sweetness of his breath.

“I think I was the one who said…” He leaned down and kissed me again before I could finish, his hands resting on my waist.

I felt the explosive warmth as an electric current rippled through me, heightening my senses. I pressed into him, opening to the sensation. My heart didn't stop. In fact, it was doing the exact opposite, racing faster than humanly possible. The air filled with his scent and a sharp buzzing echoed in my ears as I arched backward.

A few seconds or an eternity later, he pulled away, breaking the current snapping between us.

I gasped and staggered forward, limp in his arms.

“Are you alright?”

He sounded worried. Why did he sound worried? His kiss was amazing. But… maybe mine wasn't.

“I'm… I'm…” I wanted to say I was fine. Better than fine. And that the only thing wrong was that he stopped kissing me. But the words wouldn't come out. I couldn't catch my breath and that buzzing wasn't going away. Why was it so loud?

“I knew this wasn't a good idea.” Regret coated his voice, and I was immediately wracked by guilt because his conscience was bothering him and I didn't want him to feel bad. Not after something so incredible. The kiss was my idea, in spite of knowing the incredibly real consequences. My fingers and toes were numb to prove it.

“Lorelei.” His voice was agonized now. “Say something. Please.” He stroked my hair, bearing my full weight effortlessly against him.

“I'm fine… just need… catch my breath… make the buzzing stop.”

I drew in a shaky breath, my lips still quivering from the touch of his.

The buzzing was fading and I could feel my fingers again. I lifted my head, and met with olive eyes full of concern.

“Wow. You weren't kidding,” I managed, with a weak smile. I'd never been kissed before, so I didn't really have anything to compare it to. But I doubted kissing a regular guy could ever come close to this. It was
so
worth the lightning zap. Absently, I reached up to make sure my hair wasn't standing on end. It was the only part of me not tingling.
Maybe I did watch too many movies
, I decided, lowering my hand.

“So much for hypothetical…” He grinned and handed me my drink.

I returned his smile, making a mental note to cancel my spy mission with Taryn. That kiss told me more than her plan ever could.

The band struck up a recognizable chord. The familiar melody to “No Return” swelled from the bizarre instruments. I narrowed my gaze and Adrius winked.

“A special request,” he said then pulled me close as he sang the words in my ear.

Hearing it again brought mixed emotions. I was afraid he'd wonder why I wasn't singing with him, and I'd have to explain the embarrassing and terrifying run-in with the green Faerie and Redcaps, but that fear had little time to manifest.

Julien leaned against the door frame, eyeing us. I averted my gaze when our eyes met. There were enough potential saboteurs to my wonderful evening, no need to ruin things by giving him any incentive to join us. I'd hoped he would walk away, or find someone else to annoy. But that would have been asking too much. It was Julien after all. Gauging by his slight sway, he'd done one too many shots of something at the bar.

“Perfect,” I muttered under my breath as he sauntered toward us, a determined grin plastered on his face.

“I think you've hoarded her long enough, brother. Perhaps she might like the opportunity to dance with someone else for a change. Or are you already taking away her right to choose?”

Adrius winced, his eyes darkening. I looked from one brother to the other, wondering what sort of code they were speaking. I could hear their words but the meaning was lost on me. I tried that inner listening the necklace was supposed to help with, but elves were master seers by nature and kept their thoughts well-guarded.

But Julien's comment meant something to Adrius who tensed and dropped his arms from my waist. He pivoted to confront Julien.

My stomach flipped. I had an uncomfortable feeling about the tension in the air. Stepping toward Julien, I lifted my chin and spoke firmly.

“No one is making choices for me. I choose to dance with Adrius. And I choose
not
to dance with you.”

Julien's smirk grew wider, his eyes still glued to his brother's. “She actually believes that? How fascinating. Wonder how long it will last.”

Adrius's cool detached manner crumbled and he stepped closer to Julien, their faces a few inches apart. “I suggest you leave — Now,” he snarled in a voice almost too quiet to hear.

Julien lithely stepped aside, just out of arm's reach. “Clearly you've spent too much time with those Neanderthal humans,” he admonished in his typical mocking tone. “They've dulled your senses, including your sense of humor.”

Adrius turned to me. “Let's go, Lorelei.”

“And don't get me going on your confrontational attitude. Tsk tsk. What would your mother say?” Julien shook his head disapprovingly. “If she were alive to say anything, that is.”

Adrius inhaled a ragged breath. His eyes filled with a rage that sent a pang of terror down my spine.

In a move so quick I didn't see it, Adrius was in front of Julien, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him closer. “If you
ever
mention her again, I will kill you.”

Like lightning his hand clamped around a thin bladed sword. He thrust it against his brother's throat.

I gasped. “Adrius, no!”

The brothers stood frozen in place, eyes locked, neither one backing away, Adrius enraged, Julien somehow amused.

“Don't do this. You're
brothers
!” I begged, my voice rising an octave.

Adrius released him and stepped back, opening his arms to the side in an invitation. For a moment I thought they were listening to me. But as I watched, my panic swelled.

“Need a minute?” Adrius said, his expression unwavering. He circled him, lifting the point of his sword and aiming it between Julien's eyes. “I can wait.”

“I'm ready any time you are.” A split second later Julien's hands were wrapped around the hilt of a similar sword, holding it relaxed by his side, a dark smirk in his eyes.

Adrius crouched in a battle stance ready to attack. They stalked like animals in the wild, feral and savage. Adrius barely saw the roundhouse kick coming in time to leap back. Julien's foot swept past his face within millimeters. I gasped.

Adrius attacked, driving his sword at his brother's ribs, while Julien was coming out of the spin. He recovered, leaping away with a taunting laugh. “You cannot win this, Adrius, I am faster and far more experienced.”

“I can still take you apart.” He growled. In a flurry of movement difficult to see, he lunged, his blade catching Julien's.

I cringed at the screaming of steel scraping against steel. Julien thrust his blade at his brother's chest. With the twist of his wrist, Adrius deflected it in perfect timing.

Mouth agape, I stood helplessly, as the two engaged in a fight that was as lethal as it was beautiful to watch — a choreographed dance to the death. I couldn't breathe. Paralyzed with fright, I watched wide-eyed as they lunged at one another with blurring speed, leaping lithely out of the striking range of the blade. The barbaric clang of cold steel, the two lunged and parried, dodging skillfully away from the other's attack. Adrius spun around, and for a fraction of a second his eyes met mine. He lost his footing and stumbled. Julien pointed the tip of his sword at his throat, sighting down the length of the blade, his eyes narrowed. Panting, they glared eye to eye, as Julien pressed his blade into his brother's skin. A trickle of blood leaked from a tiny incision.

“Julien, please,” I said softly, as the smell of rust and salt rocked my stomach. “You don't want to do this.”

I wanted to run to him and place my hand over his wound to heal it, but the air was closing in on me and I sank to my knees to keep from collapsing.

“Just stop.” The words had only but left my lips when a thunderous crack shot through the sky. The sound was deafening, too loud to be thunder. It was followed by a rolling rumble that shook the ground where we stood. For a moment, I was too frightened to be nauseous. I stared up at the night sky. Tiny white flecks were drifting to the ground. The air felt cooler, as though the temperature had dropped by several degrees. Goose bumps raised on my arms. Another crack ripped through the night, its booming echo ricocheting throughout the darkness. The small white specks were falling heavier now, collecting on the ground in a fine powder. I held out my hand to collect some. It was snow. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, it was snowing, and getting heavier by the moment. Even the feuding brothers took notice, setting aside their duel to scrutinize the bizarre change in weather.

“Unbelievable,” Adrius spat, sheathing his sword abruptly. It collapsed to a third of its original size. He leapt to his feet moving swiftly to the balcony's edge. The winds picked up. Swirling snow whipped around making it difficult to see. My open-toed sandals were blanketed in snow, and uncontrollable chills wracked my body.

Adrius glanced over at me. “Go inside,” he ordered.

Stubbornly I refused. “What's happening? Where is all of this coming from?”

“Lorelei, please…” he implored.

“It's the Ice Witch,” Julien replied, ignoring his brother. “She's coming.”

Adrius shot his brother an angry look.

“She deserves to know. She is the Chosen One after all.” Julien surveyed me with a serious gaze. “She likes it cold. It makes her travels more comfortable.”

I blanched. “She's coming here? But why? Why now?” Fearful knots wormed their way into my stomach, as I struggled to understand.

This time it was Adrius who replied. “She's testing. Seeing if you have developed any of your powers yet, how strong you are. Trying to see how far she can push things. We aren't in any real danger. Not yet. This is nothing compared to what she's capable of.” He had to shout over the roar of the winds.

Torrents of snow whipped around us in the maelstrom. If this was only a sample of her fury, what would they do when she unleashed her full power? I shuddered, and realized
they
actually meant
we
… what would
we
do? If I really was their Chosen One, then their fate was my fate. Scarier still, was the knowledge I had no idea what I would do.

A sudden flurry of activity and the sound of raised voices caught our attention. Hawthrin and the king stormed outside, followed by several knights. I recognized some of them as Elven guards of the Citadel. They held back the panicked crowd, urging them to remain inside.

The king glanced briefly at our trio, taking in his sons' disheveled appearances and blood-stained sleeves before turning his full attention on the wizard. Hawthrin was standing at the edge of the veranda, staring calmly into the sky, his lips moving silently.

“What is he doing?” I whispered.. I felt like a kid in school, talking when I wasn't supposed to be.

Adrius moved closer, his arm protectively wrapped around my waist. “He's summoning. It's an incantation to counter the witch's magic.”

“Will that stop her?”

He looked down at me, his face grave. “No, Lorelei. Only you can do that.” My stomach did that familiar flip-flop thing.

The wizard's chanting grew louder, his baritone resonance filling the skies. Brilliant blue bolts of lightning shot through the darkness, emanating from his staff held high in the air. Gusts of wind blew at a furious pace, whipping the powdery flakes into a blinding frenzy. Warm air hit cold, producing hail the size of gravel. Icy wet pellets stung my face and the wind-chill plummeted to sub-freezing temperatures. Wave after wave of shivers wracked my body and not just from the cold. Although I was freezing I could not tear myself away from the amazing scene. Not even the promise of warmth from the glowing fire-lit hall mere steps away was enough to draw me from the scene. Adrius noticed my trembling. Without a word he removed his jacket and placed it around my bare shoulders. I felt the warmth of his body heat immediately as it blended with his intoxicating scent. I snuggled deeper into it, letting the heat revive my numb limbs.

Watching me curiously, he shook his head. “You know, you
could
just go inside.”

“N-n-no,” I stuttered through chattering teeth. “I h-h-have to see wh-what's going on.”

“You're so stubborn,” he replied, with a half-smile.

The party watched as the wizard fought the elements, sending the blizzard into a violent twister. Agonizing shrieks screamed through the night, as if the winds themselves were in unspeakable agony. I was glued to the electric neon display. Riveted in horror and wonder, I huddled closer to Adrius with every blue flash that lit up the darkness. With an agonizing howl, the spell broke and in a voracious reverse vacuum, every particle was sucked violently back into the sky. It was quiet. Surrounded once more in darkness, the balmy night air engulfed us as if it had never left. Not a trace of the wintry weather remained. Every last flake was vanquished from sight. The howling winds had subsided, leaving in their place an eerie silence. Almost too quiet.

The moment didn't last long before the doors to the veranda were thrown open and the jubilant cheers rang out. Taryn rushed over, her eyes wide as she looked me over.

“Mythlandria has never seen snow before now. Are you alright? How could you bear to be in the midst of the Ice Witch's storm? Didn't you find the cold unbearable?” She stared at me still cloaked in Adrius's jacket with a mixture of wonder and suspicion.

“I'm used to the snow, so it really wasn't that bad,” I lied. Drearyton saw its fair share of blustery weather but nothing close to this experience. Taryn shot Adrius a quick glance. “Oh, of course,” she said quietly.