Before Beasts, There Was Ice--Book 8

Of Children By Fire

Probably because he fell asleep, as the next thing he knew he was being awoken by the sound of Ayah landing on the deck in front of him. The sky had darkened from late afternoon to twilight, and the coals beneath his feet had all managed to get to a rich, yellow state. His fire bath spread amber across the deck.

She only came close enough for her voice to be heard, rubbing her hands over her arms. She had also dug up a pair of BDU's, though they were a few sizes too big for her. Luckily, they were adjustable, but in Kai's drowsy, relaxed state, he couldn't help noting how cute she looked in them. "We'll be leaving soon. Ray, Max and I."

"You figure out what distance you need to be at, then?"

She nodded, not looking at him. He frowned and straightened, stretching and popping his neck as he did so. His leg felt loads better. Seeing Ayah, however, reminded him of another ache, one he had no idea how to fix.

So he went with the first thing he could think of. "Come closer to the fire. You look cold."

Surprisingly, she did so, though with small, minced steps, and still not looking at him.

He sighed. "What do you want me to do?"

Ayah flinched and stole a look at him before going back to her feet. "About what?"

"I don't know, I'm not...I'm not good at these things." He squirmed a bit in his drum. "You're upset. All week you've been. I know it's my fault, but I still...I still don't know what I'm supposed to do to make it better. I'm sorry for—for straining my leg and...the music—damn it. Never mind." He ducked his head down. He shouldn't have said anything. Of course she was still upset. He had thrown self-control to the wind and decided to cater to his own whim for privacy. He hadn't even thought about whether blocking her out with the Rachmoninov would have hurt her feelings, and he had gotten so caught up in the usual burn of the work out that he had minimalized the cost of using his legs.

So early on and he'd already made her miserable. Well, he had warned her. That didn't help him feel less sucktastic, though.

"I love you."

Whatever he had been expecting, it hadn't been that. He felt his insides jump.

She wasn't smiling, though. The softness was still there, but it was a sad, defeated sort of softness along with a cock of her head. Her waist length, pearly white hair, in a single, long braid, had been draped over her shoulder and reflected the fire like glass. Her lashes had even turned gold and bright.

The jumping precursor to a dance turned to weight within him. He felt himself melting, and not in a good way.

"Ayah..." She had to stop looking at him like that. She could be angry, she could scream, she could even hit him, anything but that.

"I've seen everyone I love vanish and die," she said. "And...I don't think I'll live through that again. I don't even know how I did in the first place, we with our weak hearts."

"You're heart is anything but weak," he found himself saying.

The corner of her mouth rose in a wry, dry smile. "Maybe my dad was just telling a legend then." The corner dropped. "I've never seen my kind die from heartbreak. But..." she straightened, and the wilted softness twisted into a plea. "Kai, I will be the first if anything happens to you. I mean it."

"But we..."

"We haven't done anything yet? You think we have to have sex for me to love you so much?" She wasn't even phased by his twitch.

He withdrew the hand that had slipped out to reach for her.

That was it, then.

When he didn't say anything, she turned to leave. Then it came to him.

"Wait, Ayah."

"I'll try to wear a coat."

"No, listen. Dranzer spoke with me back when I...she showed me children."

Her head jerked back, and those brilliant blue eyes showed up as her pupils contracted in the bright firelight. The color made the question in his mind a certainty.

"They were our children."

She turned to him fully now, eyes wide and lips parting in wonder.

"Our...?"

"I think there were three, maybe four, but there was one little girl—with your eyes and my hair, and she was so serious, and a little baby with your eyes too."

"Kai, slow down—"

"We're going to make it through this." He gulped hard, suddenly trembling within his feathers. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you or the others, no matter what. Even if it risks the world."

Her mouth fought into a smile, even as she said, "The element of fire can't predict the future."

"That isn't the only time I saw them. I had a dream a while back, I..." he gulped hard. He was getting carried away.

But her smile won out, broader than he had ever seen them and crinkling her eyes into her round cheeks.

One of the boys called her name in the distance. She took a step back.

"Time to go. I'll keep them safe, okay?"

"They can keep themselves safe. Worry about yourself."

"Alright."

And with a graceful swoop of silver-white feathers dancing with the gold of his fire, she pushed into the air and vanished into the foggy night.