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—I’m kissing her and she’s kissing me and theworld blinks away as I close my eyes and—
—it’s just Skye, all around me, but she’sbrown skin and short, dark hair and not gray and cloud-covered likethe other sky and I think she’s the real Sky and—
—it’s like for this moment, for this onemoment, Wes isn’t dead anymore and everything’s okay and we mightbe able to rescue Jolie and I’m happy and—
“Feve has a family, you searin’ Icy fool!”she snaps abruptly, pulling back.
I look at her but her words aren’t angry andshe’s almost laughing. “What?” I say, breathing heavy, unable todecipher the meaning of anything but her lips, which I desperatelywant to kiss again.
“Feve,” she says. “He’s a married man. Hewants to help you, but if we go back to the castle like this he’lldie, and his family will be left without him. If it was just us toworry ’bout, we’d be with you in a heartbeat. All we wa
“Oh,” I say, feeling my face go warm.
“Is everything all right?” Buff’s voice says.I turn my head and he’s pushed aside a leafy branch and is watchingus, amusement splashed all over his face.
“Fine,” I say. “Skye was just teaching me athing or two about fighting.”
Skye rolls her eyes, but I can tell she findsit fu
“Sure,” Buff says. “If you say so. We’reheading out now, so unless you want to keep…practicing…uphere all by yourselves, with no one within miles and miles, you’dbetter get moving.”
I look at Skye and she looks at me, and thenshe rolls offa me and we head toward Buff. He turns to fight hisway back through the woods and Skye turns to me. “That was onescorch-of-a good first kiss, Icy Dazz,” she whispers through thoselips of hers.
Although I’m still catching up on firecountry lingo, I’m pretty sure it’s a compliment.
Chapter Twe
Kissing Skye doesn’tmake my emotions any less frayed. If anything, it forces them evencloser to the surface.
I want things to be normal, for Goff to be adistant memory, to get Jolie back, to get to know Skye. Toreally get to know Skye.
But that’s not where I’m at. That’s adreamland, so far away that I’ll have to grab a passing cloud toget there.
We keep on traipsing through the forest,down, always down, until we reach the borderlands. With the airwarming, Siena returned my coat a mile or so back, but it’s too hotto wear it now so I’ve got it draped over my shoulder.
Skye and I haven’t said a word since hercomment about the kiss, but I’m glad for it. Words can only screwthings up right now.
Fire country stretches out like an endlessblanket of sand, while ice country rises up behind us like a ghost.And the two are stitched together by us, as if we’re the only linkbetween two worlds.
“We’ll be back as soon as we can,” Wildesays.
Buff looks like he wants to do something,maybe hug her, but he just rocks back and forth awkwardly.
“We’ll be waiting,” I say, a promise I havelittle control over. Skye’s eyes are all over mine and I can tellwe’re sharing memories, clinging to them like the branches of atree that’s about to be chopped down.
“Fight like the Killer hounds of scorch areat your heels,” Siena says and I smile at her way with words.
“That’s just what we’ll do,” I say.
Circ thrusts a hand out and I shake it. Feveoffers a firm nod, but it’s clear he’s ready to move on, to getback to his family.
As Skye moves in close, the others look away,already moving off into fire country, while Buff pretends to belooking at a bird at the very top of one of the border trees.
She whispers in my ear. “Find yer sister,”she says. “Find her and we’ll find you.”
“And then we’ll find your sister,” I say. Hercheek slides back against my skin and then she brushes her lipsagainst mine, lingering for a second, causing my blood to flow andmy emotions to swirl.
I grab the back of her head and pull her in,kissing her exactly the same way I kissed her before. We both comeup gasping and open-mouthed.
That’s when a swarm of black swamps the edgeof our vision.
“Skye,” I say, but the others have seen ittoo, are already ru
For a moment Skye and I just stare as thehorizon fills with black, an avalanche of darkness, a singleroiling mass, close to the ground, sending up clouds of dust allaround them.
Dark like the tapestries on the palace walls;the dark men on dark horses, burning, burning everything,slaughtering Icers and the strange water riders as easily as ifthey were pulling leaves off a tree.
My first thought is: are they coming for us?But I shake that one away as quickly as it comes, because the blackmass shifts to the right, turning, dust billowing behind them, asif marking their trail. They’re heading for…They’re headingfor…
They’re heading for ice country.
“Oh, Heart,” I say.
“Who are they?” Skye asks, looking atme—looking right at me—like she expects me to know. Like Ishould know.
But I don’t. I don’t have a Heart-icin’clue.
The others surround us, watching—nay,gawking—as the black horses gallop across the border, intothe forest, their dark riders urging them on by sticking theirheels into the horses’ sides. It’s not a friendly advance, like theGlassies coming to pay a visit, wandering silently up themountainside. As the last of the dark men plunge into the woods,the sun catches the steel in their hands, glinting like silvercoins in the distance.
Swords. The men are all carrying swords.
Ice country is under attack.
~~~
There’s no discussion, barely a word otherthan Go! and Run! as we charge back the way we came,back under the cover of the trees, back up the slope that seems towant to do anything to slow us down, seeming steeper and thickerwith undergrowth than when we came down it in the first place.
Just by coming with us, the people of theTri-Tribes have proven their mettle. They’re willing to help theIcers even at the risk of their own lives.
Even though we’ve got another couple hoursbefore we reach the village, everyone who’s got a weapon has itout, ready, as if the dark men and their horses might be lying inwait to ambush us.
Buff, breathing heavy beside me, says, “Whatdo they want?”
I don’t know, but if the tapestry was anyindication of reality, there’s only one thing: “Blood,” I say.
Buff doesn’t ask any more questions afterthat. In fact, no one says much, just keep ru
I bite away the pain and try to focus on thesituation at hand. If these men are here to attack ice country—andwhat else could they possibly be here to do?—then they’ll go forthe palace first. It’s the only real threat to stopping them, whatwith the well-armed and trained guards, the thick, stone walls, andthe head of the dragon, King Goff, hiding behind it all. Whichmeans that—
That—
I can’t say her name, can’t even think it,but I know it’s the truth.
She’s in grave danger. More than she is withGoff.
“We’ll save her. We’ll save Jolie,” Skyesays, on my other side.
I say nothing, just keep ru
The day is dark as the clouds seem to thickenfor war. At some point snow starts falling, but I barely notice it.Then it starts falling harder, thicker, and I look up at the sky,feeling cold and wet all over my face.
Autumn has arrived.
I put my head down and keep ru