Queen of Summer's Ice (Book 2)

Chapter 17

     The night was dark, and hearing the ocean tap onto the sides of the boat brought flash backs of some time ago when I was a weak and dying human. Which soon, with the speed of the boat, I'll be human again. But for now, I still had the connection to my brothers land. So I used it to make a blue warm flame in the middle of the boat. The boys and I sat surrounding it, no one making a sound. Just the waves, wind, and flame.

     But Nazim was staring at the flame that appeared out of nowhere, to me, then back at the flame to many times to not have it mean something. I just couldn't get what he was trying to say, not without bringing to much attention to it. Yet when I looked at Alagan, he was staring at the blue flames, to the blue ocean, trying very hard to keep his back turned away from his island.

     And all that was going through my head - that this was going to be a long trip.

     It was agony for my to see my flame grow smaller and smaller as the time past. And even though I knew it was going to be useless, I tried pulling on the tug of power that my abilities came from. Tried to stretch out every piece I could get. The light fell from our faces as the darkness grew higher and higher. I didn't realize I was staring so intently on the dying flame until Nazim gently put his calloused hand on my fisted ones.

     With just a few seconds of the weak flames left, he stood and walked to the back of the ship and leaned on the wood. He stared at the back of Alagan's head, and he kept his hands ready at his sides.

     My brother's attention though, was fully on me.

     And when the last of the blue flame was swept away from the warm winds I let out a sad sigh. There was nothing I could do now until we got close enough to summer. But Alagan just looked at me in question. His sharp eyebrow was raised, waiting for me to explain myself. But I didn't feel like talking.

     Some time passed, an hour it felt like, and neither of us had moved. I stayed where I sat staring up at the stars, trying to memorize them - to memorize this path. Alagan might have been young, but he was smart when he ran away where no one could find him. It might be a good place to send the heirs of winter if things turn out to go horribly wrong for me.

     Alagan was picking at his nails, as if they were the most interesting things in the world; And that's when my cousin moved, slowly and quietly so his steps matched with the waves. And I knew what he was going to do before he did it. But I chose to sit there just like I have been for the past hour instead of giving my cousin away. Nazim snuck right behind Alagan's back and brought his dagger right onto his throat.

     "Now that you don't have your powers, I think it's time for us to have a talk," he muttered into his ear. Alagan stayed sitting and slowly put him palms on his thighs, a signal of submission.

     "I guess you're breaking your word then?" He said.

     "There's always a loophole. We can all agree that this is causing you no physical or mental pain."

     "Well I'm sure this will give me nightmares in the future, my life feels like it's in danger right now," Alagan said very sarcastically.

     But Nazim brushed it off, he had the upper hand here. No doubt that Alagan could handle himself in a hand to hand combat, but Nazim wasn't just anybody. He was a warrior, who had a weapon.

     "If you grew up as a slave then why is your speech so well?"

     "Just because I grew up with servants doesn't mean I'm not a royal," Alagan rolled his eyes so dramatically. But the easy questions were now over.

     "Have you ever killed an innocent person?"

     Alagan had the nerve to twist his neck up to Nazim and look at him with taunting eyes as he said, "Well what person is really innocent? That question isn't so back and white."