Soul of Ice

Chapter Twenty-Four

Holy shit. Holy shit.

Astra scrambled as she free-fell, her nails clanging painfully against the cobblestone wall, trying to find something to hold onto. The handholds were all too small.

Her right hand summoned a thick spike of ice, and she slammed it into the wall. Her fall halted for a second, jarring her shoulders, before the momentum ripped the ice from her hand, and she continued her downward descent.

Holy shit. She was going to die. Holy shit. Holy—

Was she slowing down?

"You've got to be kidding me," someone snapped below her.

Astra peeked down just to make sure she hadn't misheard the voice. She groaned at the sight that confirmed her suspicions. If she hadn't wanted her face peeled off, she would've slammed her forehead into the tower's walls.

It wasn't enough that she had nearly died. Riviera had to be the one to save her. The gods must be mocking her.

"I didn't carve up Tyanne's face just so you could come here and kill yourself," Riviera continued, heated even as she kept a steady hand in controlling the wind to lower Astra to the ground.

Astra pursed her lips as her feet touched solid ground. So her suspicions regarding Tyanne had been correct. Riviera had indeed been the culprit, but she looked none the worse for wear. Did no one else suspect?

"Some of us have to rely on physical skills instead of magic," Astra sniped back, pretending like the information hadn't fazed her.

"You mean physical skills like free-falling?" Riviera snorted. "And what are you even wearing?"

Riviera was still wearing the standard uniform, and Astra felt her cheeks heat up slightly. Fortunately, the wind wraith had turned away, clearly expecting Astra to follow. Her escape attempt had been inadvertently foiled before it had really began.

"Well," Astra retorted, unwilling to back down from a verbal sparring, "I'm surprised that you saved me. It makes you seem even more desperate, and trust me, you've seemed quite desperate for a while now, and it's rather unbecoming."

The light was dim, but Astra thought she saw Riviera stiffen, and she smirked in satisfaction.

"I'm desperate because I am afraid I will fail to save the people I need to save," Riviera said. "Truthfully, I find your apathy unbecoming."

And the smirk fell off of her face. Astra narrowed her eyes. So they were back to this argument. "This coming from the person who carved up an innocent girl's face and now holds no qualms about it at all."

"I do what I must. Don't pretend we're any different."

There was nothing she could say to that. Perhaps if she cared about something enough, she would be willing to carve up a girl's face for a chance to get it, too. Maybe. Actually thinking about it made her realize how twisted she was. How twisted they both were, and how alike, despite their differences. Astra grimaced at the thought.

They'd circled around the tower she had been in and were walking alongside the great stone walls. Astra blinked as she realized where they must be going. The only place they could possibly be going. "You're dragging me to the armory, aren't you?" she asked slowly. "I don't see why you were coming for my help. It's not like I can hide many swords in the single pocket of my pants."

"Who said I was coming for your help? You should feel lucky that I had been near the tower when you fell out of it," Riviera groused.

Astra raised an eyebrow. "Don't deny it. You came for my help."