The huntress, unsure and hesitant, glanced at Loren’s lips. She angled her face closer, very slowly, her heart beating nervously in her chest.
The princess raised a hand under her furs and wiped her tears away. She took a breath, gathering herself, and pulling slightly away from Kae. In the huntress’s arms, Loren felt harder and tensed when just a while before she had melted into the embrace. She took another breath and held it, closing her eyes to focus herself. When her eyes opened again, Kae saw they were the shimmering gold of the dragon magic. Loren’s face changed as Kae watched.
Her expression hardened, her jaw clenched, and her eyes set into a determined glare. She was focused, much like how the dragon magic took hold of her at the cursed castle in Yureun. The princess disentangled herself from Kae’s arms and returned to her pile of twigs and kindling. Kae didn’t even have time to say a word. The huntress watched Loren return to furiously rubbing twigs together, insulted that she just got up like that without saying anything. Without waiting another precious second.
Loren’s golden eyes shimmered brightly, catching the sunlight that glinted off the snow from holes in the igloo walls, glowing a resplendent gold. Her hands were sure in their movements, she looked more confident, she carried herself with grace. Kae’s eyes widened as the realization dawned on her.
The dragon magic was a crutch.
The only times it made sense to use it was when Loren was in trouble and vulnerable somehow. The magic aided her focus and fighting prowess at the Yureun castle when she had to fight the queen and her monstrous king and save her friends. Otherwise, Loren was arrogant and hot-headed; but did not seem to call upon the magic consciously. This time, faced with the momentous task of trying to light a fire while having a breakdown, she purposefully called on the dragon magic to help her get it done.
As Kae watched, the twigs began to smoke and smolder. Loren blew gently on it, allowing the smoking bark to fall onto the crushed dried leaves she piled up as kindling. Smoke began to billow and rise from the little pile, and Loren set it back down on the snow. She patiently held twig after twig to the young fire, encouraging it to catch and spread.
The huntress glanced at Loren’s eyes. With the task done, the gold receded. She saw the color drain from her irises, disappearing into her pupils. Loren let out a long sigh, and Kae knew. The girl she was watching make a fire was not her princess. This one, this young girl holding a stick over a gently growing fire, wiping tears out of her eyes and stifling a sob, was.
From where he sat on a mound of snow, Gershwin spluttered awake. The old man ran a wrinkled hand over his face and blinked, trying to focus in the dim morning light. Loren waved at him from the little pile of sticks that were steadily catching into a proper fire.
“Good morning, sir.” The princess said, trying to keep the sobs out of her voice. Kae likewise waved, but stayed where she was. The huntress huddled down in her furs. “We’ve made it through the night.”
“So you have! That is all well and good.” Gershwin said with a smile. His dark skin bunched up as he smiled. “I suppose you will not have any more time to waste? Every spare second spent in the north brings you more and more risks. What happened to your friend over there, the mage? Come, come, bring him to me. I cannot help you cross the border, but the least I can do to help is draw the cold out of you all.”
Loren was startled. Her mouth fell open to speak, then closed, then dropped open again. Eventually she found the words. “Sir- I mean, Gershwin, that is a lot of help! This cannot go unpaid! I have coin here—“
The old man smiled kindly. He shook his head and stood, stretching out his back with a grunt. “Save your resources, little dragon. I know the power of the north and its elements, having a strong connection with them myself. If you recall Seraphis’s words, this is a terrible place to die. Now come, while the wind is still.”
Kae looked at Loren, confused. “Seraphis?”
The princess nodded. “She was here. She and Gershwin found us dying in the snow. They were the ones that saved us.”
“Why would Seraphis come back?”
The old man gently patted Kae’s shoulder as he passed her on the way to where Cassendir was bundled up with Kaiten. “She had her own reasons and was still in the area when I sensed the little dragon’s magic awakening. I will assume she left earlier this morning, while we all slept. And without saying goodbye! Manners…” he scoffed. As he walked, a soft white light shown from under his trousers and cloak, lighting up the snow he crunched underfoot. Already the temperature inside the igloo felt warmer.
Kae saw the light too. “You’re a mage, old man? Of what?”
Gershwin chuckled, and Loren nudged Kae in the side. “I am, I am. One of frost. Snow and ice and everything cold.”
“If you’re an ice mage, why did it get hotter in here?”
“Kae!” Loren yelped, burning in second hand embarrassment from Kae’s straightforward talk. “You don’t just say that…”
“It’s quite alright, little dragon.” Gershwin said. “My magic allows me to draw the cold to me, taking it in and away from you. And your friend here. He doesn’t seem to be used to the cold whatsoever.”
“He’s from Kespia, across the sea.” Kaiten chimed in. He held Cassendir in his arms and hauled the young
