The Ice Queen - "Awakened" Ch. 3 (Patreon)

Cassian

The silence that follows us is deafening. Caius is at my left and Ulric is at my right, the tension that hangs in the air between us is heavy on my chest. The closer we get to Neytiri’s location, the heavier the surge of energy that emits from the lab feels. Even from this distance, it’s almost suffocating. I can’t imagine how it will feel once we enter the room.

Upon approach, the guards that have been summoned stand silently waiting for us. I brush past them, rattling off orders as I type in the codes to open the door.

“You are not to enter no matter what. You are to wait for the doctors to emerge and take them to safety. Should Neytiri emerge your first priority is to apprehend her.”

Silence greets me forcing me to whip my gaze to the soldiers. Their expressions shift when they take in my rage, immediately standing at attention in unison.

“Yes, sir!”

The door opens behind me pulling my full attention as a blast of chilled air hits us. Not only does the air wash over me, but the underlying magic that flows through it is dark… untamed. It puts me on high alert immediately. I turn to Ulric with a serious expression.

“Stay here.”

Ulric’s expression shifts to shock.

“Are you-”

“Stay. Here. This isn’t her normal level of magic.” I look back to the darkened hall as the faint sound of screams drifts toward us.

“Something isn’t right,” I finish looking at Caius.

“Let’s go.”

I don’t wait for him to respond as I make my way through the hall. This was originally built underneath the mansion when we decided the original resting place for the Ikniri was no longer safe. As such, we moved her and her family to the new resting place on this island with permission from the elders. I made sure to build the lab deep underneath the ground just in case something like this happened, but I wasn’t expecting it to happen in the presence of humans.

My eyes immediately adjust to the darkness of the area the deeper we step into to their location. The lights have been blown casting a red glow over us from the emergency lights. A chill ripples up my spine as we round the corner just as someone’s scream is cut short.

“Shit,” I hiss rounding the corner just in time to see Neytiri standing over the lifeless body of one of the doctors. His arm is broken and his torso has been frozen solid.

“Neytiri!” I shout her name hoping it will pull her out of whatever trance this is, but it doesn’t. She whips her gaze to meet mine, her eyes lax of emotion as she studies me. She’s as beautiful as the day we fought, her bright blue eyes and white hair a stark reminder of what she is. The world around me seems to fall away as I study her. She’s here, alive, and awake. My heart sinks a little when I look into that piercing gaze. I see no recognition there for me. No hatred, no fear, nothing. I am a stranger to her.

“Something is wrong,” Caius says behind me. I keep my gaze focused on her, my gaze shifting to take in the doctors huddling in the corner. Some look frightened while others are in awe at the sight before them. I release a breath, taking a small step to the left, and lucky for me, Neytiri’s gaze follows.

“Get the doctors,” I murmur to Caius.

I take another step, letting a small flame emit from my palm to pull her attention. At least in whatever state this is, she’ll see me as a threat. Her gaze narrows and in the next instant she lunges, her hands covered in deadly ice. I catch her attack easily, holding her inches from my face.

“Neytiri.”

I say her name hoping to pull her out of this state but she doesn’t seem to be inclined to listen to me. Her gaze narrows and I narrowly dodge her nails as she lashes toward my face. I make sure to keep a firm hold on her as Caius pulls the doctors from the room. Neytiri’s violently pulls away from me as her screams fill the room. I study her as she struggles and when I try and reach into her mind as I once did, I find that I am blocked by something.

She flinches, her gaze whipping to meet mine. Somehow she knows it’s me trying to get inside her head. She quickly places her palm against my torso forcing me to immediately raise my body heat to counter her attack.

“Ah!” I cry out in pain, looking down at her hand. My eyes widen when I see the usual hue that once coated her ice is now black. I don’t have time to think any further than that as she adds more power to the ice, the pain becoming unbearable. My body tenses and as I much as I hate to do it, I raise my body heat as if I were shifting my form. Her face twists in pain until she too is screaming in my hand before finally her power is drained and she falls limp in my grasp.

The room is silent, and I look around for any lingering doctors but I see none. Pain ripples through me and I collapse on my knees unable to hold up my weight. I hear Caius screaming my name as he comes back into the lab, but the damage is too extensive, and I can no longer keep my eyes open.

* * * * *

Neytiri

Who am I?

Memories swirl and filter in my head, but none of them sit in order. None of them stand out to me. None of them offer the answer to my question. An audible groan fills my head as the pounding in my brain becomes too much for me to handle. It’s too much information. I am conscious and yet I do not know what my purpose is, or why I exist.

Each piece of information is accompanied by a barrage of pain as my mind tries to gather itself to reveal who I am.

“Neytiri!”

The name somehow penetrates the haze. It’s significant to me. I know it but I don’t. Memories of my childhood finally break to the surface. I remember my childhood. But there are two of them. One with people that look just like me, and another with people who hate me for what I am. And one… with an army and a king. A cruel king. I know he’s cruel somehow. I saw him again when I was older. But somehow I did not know him.

But I know what he did. He wiped out my people. He fought against me and his own men…

And we lost.

I slowly open my eyes. I’m in bed and it’s soft. Softer than anything I’ve ever felt. And the sheets are smooth and cool. I study the ceiling overhead in silence. There’s no hay or rafters holding it up. The ceiling is smooth with an object rotating in the center of it. The object is shaped like a wheel but has blades jutting out of it and they continue to rotate on their own.

Strange.

I let out a soft groan as I sit up. The bed shifts with me, forcing the weight of my body to sink further into it. I let out a loud gasp as I try and catch my balance and the movement forces my head to throb.

“Try not to move too suddenly.”

I tense, turning to face the sound of the voice. My chest squeezes as I take in this familiar face. I know him. The dark hair, and the bright blue twinkle of his eyes as he smiles with tears in them. My brain is slow to give me the information I need and he notices, his smile faltering.

“Do you know who I am?” he asks. I slowly nod my head as a name finally comes to the forefront of my brain.

“…Caius?”

My heart swells as information about who this man is comes flooding back to me.

“Caius,” I repeat the name as a wave of happiness washes over me. He looks much different. His hair is much shorter than it was. He’s also dressed in strange clothing with no visible weapons that I am used to seeing when it comes to him. He smiles, kneeling to place his hand over his chest but I’m pulling him in an embrace before he can. I ignore the wave of nausea that comes over me.

A sob leaves my lips and I realize I am crying.

“I’m so happy to see you,” I whisper.

His hand slowly comes up to hold me as well.

“It’s a pleasure to have you back, my Queen.”

Queen.

The words stun me for a moment, but I know what it is he means. I found my tribe, I took over the position that my brother never got to inherit from our father. I ruled the Ikniri for months before we went to battle to protect what was left of my culture. I slowly release Caius sitting back to look at him but he’s watching me with a distant expression. He looks away from me for an instant before his gaze comes back to mine.

“Do you remember being awake before now?” he asks. I shake my head.

“If you mean the battle, of course. How long was I out? Where are we-”

I trail off as memories of what ended our battle come to the forefront of my mind. My hands come to my abdomen but there are no signs of my wound. I’m healed. Not only that, but the room I’m in is completely foreign to me. It looks nothing like my hut in the mountains or any of the castles within Cassian’s kingdom. The walls are smooth with vibrant colors painted on them, and the windows are large and open to reveal the snow and mountains surrounding us. I pull my gaze away from the window as anxiety slowly begins to creep up my spine. I don’t know where I am, or what’s going on.

“Just… stay calm. We need you to stay calm.”

His words suddenly place me on high alert.

“You’re on an island called Brineau. It is our home now.”

“Now?” I look out the window now noticing how different the mountains in the distance are.

“What happened? How long have I been asleep?” My voice trembles as I try and remain calm but it suddenly feels impossible. My skin seems to grow cold within itself. Caius gently reaches for my hand, grabbing it softly in his own. His bright blue eyes meet mine in comfort as he utters the words I dread to hear.

“It’s been six hundred years, Neytiri…”

The room suddenly seems to twist. My lungs feel like the air has been ripped from them as I try and comprehend what he’s saying. I rip my hand out of his grasp shaking my head in disbelief.

“You’re lying.” 

My voice sounds like I feel. Small and unsure. But Caius shakes his head.

“It’s been a long time… but we’ve done everything that we could to bring you back.”

I lean forward in the bed clutching my chest as panic washes over me. I can hear myself gasping for air but it won’t come. I’m suffocating and the world is somehow closing in on me. I feel his touch on my back as he gently rubs in comfort.

“Breathe, Neytiri.”

The words spark a memory in me that I despise and I whip away from him as the memory of Cassian in my head assaults me like a wave. I didn’t realize the effects of the blood oath stretched so far until the day he used the same power to put an end to my life. And it suddenly dawns on me that I haven’t asked him the one question that actually matters. I slowly look at Caius as dread settles into the pit of my stomach.

“Who is we?” He doesn’t respond immediately and I am once again on high alert.

“Who the fuck is we?” I screech.

I see the regret in his eyes as he studies me and I no longer have to wonder as the door opens to the room and in comes the man of my nightmares. My eyes widen as he steps into the room looking just as intimidating as he did the day I first saw him if not more. His hair is pulled back giving me the perfect view of his face as he approaches with a small grin revealing his dimple. The symbols that are on his face wrap down his torso which is freshly bandaged, his muscled frame covered in black and blue bruises.

His eyes that once held so much rage slowly roam over me. They now hold wisdom I don’t understand nor do I want to.

His smile widens as he reaches the edge of the bed standing over my trembling form. And to my utter shock, he kneels next to me, and bows his head slightly before that deep red gaze lands on me with an intensity that makes it difficult to breathe. 

“Welcome back, Neytiri.”