The Blood King - Chapter Twenty-Six (Patreon)

Nymira

The tension couldn’t be any heavier, and at this point in the trip, I want it to be over. Cassian has moved us to the rear of the caravan. Not only has he kept me at a distance from Caderyn and Caius, but he has kept the air warm, purposefully adding to my discomfort. But it is the silence mingled with this foreign terrain that is beginning to put me on edge.

We have long since left Thrae territory, and what lay beyond it. Now, we travel through what could be ruins. The sky, though barely visible through the ground-level smog, is gray. The ground has little to no life. It is mostly dirt and dead plants. And the trees have scorch marks on them; the ones that remain.

I quietly look to Cassian. His attention is focused straight ahead, but his demeanor is different—more rigid. Surrounded by this terrain, he looks even more intimidating. And as I recall the scorch marks on the trees, I can’t help but wonder if this place means something to him.

“Who is Silas?” I ask, breaking the silence.

Cassian’s expression darkens as I pull him from whatever thoughts are coursing through his mind prior to hearing my voice.

“How do you know that name?” he asks.

I shiver from his tone, gripping Zephyr’s reins tighter for support.

“I…heard some of the men talking about him,” I say. I don’t want to get Caius into more trouble, even if what he said was in a moment of letting his guard down.

Cassian doesn’t respond immediately, making me curious as to whether he knows I’m lying.

“Silas is an old friend,” Cassian says briskly. I can tell from his tone that he doesn’t want to talk about Silas any further.

“Will he be upset to see me?” I ask.

Cassian is once again silent as he looks at our surroundings.

“Yes,” he finally says, breaking the silence. “But it won’t matter.”

“Why bring me then?” I ask. It’s one thing to have to go where Cassian and his men go, but to take me in a smaller group specifically to a Dragonborn who will not be happy to see an Ikniri feels reckless.

Cassian releases an irritated breath.

“You forget that I do not have to explain my actions to you, Nymira,” he says. His tone suggests that I should drop this altogether.

“I know you don’t have to, Cassian. I am simply asking you to,” I say, looking at him. I let the hurt in my expression show as I look at him, and the irritation in his expression slightly disappears as he studies me.

Cassian is a strange Dragonborn to figure. He’s hot one moment, then cold the next. He is cruel, and yet he lets small moments pass between us where he is somewhat kind.

“Sometimes, I think you forget that I was raised in the forests. That I have no knowledge of this world. That I am only an Ikniri because of my features…barely,” I say, laughing bitterly as I look at my arm and the small markings that have appeared. Compared to Cassian, and even Caderyn, I am extremely out of place.

“So, I am only asking because I know nothing of how the current world works, or how anyone sees me…other than something to turn in. You’re the only one who has shown me kindness. The only one I feel like I can trust,” I say softly.

Cassian laughs softly, pulling my attention away from my arm. He’s looking at me with a strange expression, and looks as though he is about to respond when he suddenly tenses, shifting his attention above us.

My skin tingles intensely as I sense the same thing he does, but his reaction time is much faster as flames come from above. My eyes widen at the intensity, the burn on my shoulder coming alive as my skin feels as if it's caught fire itself. The flames light up my surroundings, and I am paralyzed as it comes inches from incinerating me on the spot.

But just as I flinch, Cassian is over me, releasing flames of his own to counter the attack. A massive dome of flames swirls around us, spooking even Zephyr as he rises on his hind legs in terror, throwing me.

My stomach tilts as I am thrown violently to the ground. I cry out in pain as my body collides with the dirt, violently jarring my tailbone. The moment I open my eyes, I see Zephyr’s hind legs coming near me, and I roll out of the way just in time as his hooves crash into the spot I lay in seconds ago.

I remain on my hands and knees, as I look up with wide eyes, terrified. I can’t move as I take in the thick row of flames. The burn on my shoulder pulses wildly from the heat. This heat is nothing like the air Cassian warms. It’s much too intense, and I flinch as memories cross my mind.

These same flames, dancing from the sky, coming towards me and my brother as he runs with me in his arms. The screams of my people—

I close my eyes, my terror manifesting itself as a familiar chill ripples over me. It settles in my chest, becoming too much to keep inside. I clutch my chest in pain, the chill feeling different this time.

“Nymira!”

I hear my name, but it doesn’t pull me from my distress. My hands fly to my head as the images and the heat become too much. I release my panic with a bloodcurdling scream, ice forming around me.

All I can think is that I need it to protect me.

“Nymira, stop!”

There it is again, my name. But it doesn’t matter. It won’t protect me. No one will. My scream mingles with my pain as power continues to pour from my veins, tears pouring down my face.

I am scared.

I am scared that what happened to Siku will happen to me…

So, I do everything that I can to keep that from happening.

Cassian

“What the fuck were you thinking?” I shout to Silas, shoving him roughly in the chest. He stumbles back, shock in his expression.

“Are you joking? You brought one of them into my territory—”

“You have this territory because of me! This is my territory! I am your king!” I shout, letting the flames ignite from my flesh as I express my rage.

Silas’s eyes widen as he realizes his mistake, and he quickly kneels, lowering his head in submission.

“I…I’m so sorry, Your Majesty. I wasn’t thinking—”

“I know you weren’t, you fucking recluse,” I growl, whipping away from him to take in the damage. The ruins leading to Silas’s fortress have been covered in a deadly dome of ice. Not only did Silas put my men’s lives at risk, but Nymira’s as well. He attacked with the intent to kill, and her body reacted accordingly, releasing a powerful blast that froze everything within a few hundred feet of her solid.

I had speculated before that she was not any random Ikniri, but this further proves the theory. She’s dangerous, whoever she is. I narrow my gaze as I look at the edge of the dome she created. The ice particles float gently, melting as soon as they leave the chilled air.

I let my guard down.

At the end of the day, she is an Ikniri. She is a danger to the world around her, and her only purpose within my ranks is drawing out the rest of her kind.

“Take the men to the fortress. I’ll meet you there,” I call to Caius. Caius bows, pulling the Thrae boy’s bonds with him, and I note that the boy has a look of horror on his face as he realizes what she is capable of.

I don’t know if this will make him heed my warnings, or spark rebellion within him. Either way, I need to remain vigilant.

I pull in a deep breath, raising my internal temperature as I step into the dome of ice. Chills wrap around me as I am slowly covered with the tainted air. It is still and quiet. Like the mountains when it snows. Any tree that stood, whether it was remains or not, has been frozen solid. Even the ground crunches beneath my feet, my weight causing the ice to crack.

I scoff as I remember what she said to me seconds before Silas attacked. About her being an Ikniri in name only. She is closer to her people than she realizes, and I feel my anger rising as a result.

I’m about to call out to her when I hear a whimper. It’s soft, coming from a tree that has been covered in ice. I slowly make my way to it, the temperature dropping so low that a human might die if they were to set foot within this range. Small snowflakes drift in the air, and as I round the tree, the anger and distrust I had melt away instantly.

Nymira kneels, her hands over her ears as she cowers. Her body trembles, and as she hunches over, I notice more markings have appeared along her back. Ice covers the rest of her body, as if it’s trying to cocoon her.

“Nymira,” I call to her. But she doesn’t hear me. Her eyes are wide, tears frozen to her cheeks as she trembles. Suddenly, I hear her whimpers as more than just cries. She’s speaking, but she is speaking in the old tongue.

“Please…no…Siku…” she murmurs the phrase over and over, not even realizing that I stand over her. The burn on her shoulder catches my eye as I kneel, gently placing my hand along her back. I know that my heat will make her uncomfortable, but it will also help bring her back to reality.

“Nymira—”

She gasps, shooting up as she looks at me. Her hands grip my forearms, and I ignore the pinch of pain as she releases her power, her nails digging into my flesh. Her eyes pulse with her power, shifting wildly as she looks at me.

“Siku…Siku…he…he…”

“Nymira, come back to me,” I murmur. I continue to release my heat, and though it melts the snow and ice, she is still paralyzed in terror. Her heart beats wildly, and she trembles violently.

She continues to babble incoherently, calling to someone named Siku. So, I scoop her up and into my arms. She closes her eyes, her sobs wracking her body as she leans against my chest. I don’t know what this means, but it has triggered something in her.

“Shhh,” I murmur.

I look down at her in my arms, shaking as she relives a moment of horror. She looks so small and so broken, and yet she is capable of what just occurred around us. Once again, hatred isn’t what fuels me in this moment. It’s pity.

And I fucking hate it.