ICE

145. A Final Wish

"PLEASE," LYTH BEGGED her earnestly, his voice but a mere whisper. "Do not tell Vyses about me. Please."

A thousand thoughts instantly raced through Ravenna's head. She stared at the Lyth that stood in front of her — at the ghost of the boy who'd followed every command and even risked his life to appease Vyses. She stared at his tattered clothes, his hollow face, and his bruised skin.

Yet all that she could see was the pure fear and desperation that swam within his clouded eyes.

"I won't," she promised him. She shook her head slightly, her stomach churning within her. She forced herself to look away from the powerful emotions displayed within his gaze. Her hand curled into a tight fist, fingernails digging deep into the heel of her palm. She sucked in a sharp breath. "What happened to you?" she asked him again, her voice cracking.

The ghostly Lyth stared at her. His expression pinched into a horrifying grimace, as if pain was searing through him. His fingers grasped at the torn fabric that covered his chest. "It happened so fast," he said.

She made the mistake of meeting his gaze once again. The sheer desperation and pain that swam within his irises gutted her. "You died," she said.

His gaze dropped to the earth beneath him. His bare feet kissed the ground, but the slender blades of grass did not completely yield to his weight. A wince twisted his facial features.

Ravenna reached out. Her palm pressed flat against the crystal clear glass that separated them. "How?" she pressed. "How did it happen?"

"It happened too fast," he answered. He appeared ready to cry. "I saw a burst of white colored magic. It was so fast. So hard to process. The soldiers that had surrounded me, that had protected me — they vanished. The magic melted them."

Lyth shook his head and grit his teeth. His lips pulled back, revealing another pained grimace. "I did not have time to react. To protect myself. It happened too fast."

She frowned at him. "Was it the same man?" she asked him. "The man with the dragon-like mask that attacked before?"

He nodded. His expression was distant. "It was him," he answered. "He is coming to the Capitol."

A seed of fear formed within her chest. It rooted within her heart and started to grow, creating a heavy ice-like weight within her. It pressed against her lungs.

"What?" she breathed.

His gaze lifted to meet Ravenna's once more. Something strange swam within them — not quite the pain and horror that she'd experienced before. Something peaceful.

"I am finally free," he whispered.

The words sent an electrified shock through Ravenna. She blinked, taken aback. Her eyebrows furrowed together. "What do you mean?" she asked him.

His entire demeanor changed. It was as if someone had loosened the blockage that had prevented his pain from escaping. All of his anguish, his aching emotions — it all vanished instantly. A bright smile and a warm sense of happiness seemed to replace it.

"I am free of him," he repeated, louder this time. A childish giggle escaped him.

Ravenna frowned at him, unsure of the meaning behind his words. She hesitated, her lips parting around an unspoken question. Her eyes closed for merely a second — a blink. When they reopened, the ghost of Lyth was gone.

"Wait," she whispered to herself. She reached out and touched the glass again. Hot tears pooled at the corners of her eyes, threatening to overflow down her cheeks.

Before she could process much, her bedroom door burst open.

A startled Ravenna whirled around, half expecting to see the man with the dragon-like mask standing in her room. Or at least an angry Vyses.

Instead, she saw one of her royal advisers. He cowered against the wall beside her door, his hands lifted to shield his head and his eyes squeezed shut. "Please do not hurt me," he squeaked.

She frowned at him and snapped her fingers. The sea of ice daggers that floated within the air around her melted away. "What is the meaning of this intrusion?" she questioned him, her voice eerily calm and collected. She folded her arms across her chest and waited for his response.

The royal adviser poked an eye open and cautiously met her gaze. She could see the moment that he realized her weapons had vanished. His expression seemed to relax and he started to ease out of his petrified stance. The royal adviser trembled only slightly as he moved. He climbed slowly to his feet and then started to walk toward her.

"I apologize for the abrupt intrusion," he announced. He lowered into a bow in front of her. "I am glad to find you awake."

"What is going on?" she asked him. Her patience started to thin.

"You requested to be told immediately whenever another attack took place," the royal adviser explained. He held out his hand, his fingers curled around a small rolled-up piece of parchment. "We just received this from the guards stationed outside of Zeporia."

Ravenna's heart sank down, pressing nauseously into her stomach. She opened the parchment and scanned over its contents. Her jaw clenched tight.

"This is not good at all," she murmured, mostly to herself.

"How would you like to proceed?" the royal adviser asked her. He straightened from his bow and met her gaze. "I do not believe that Zeporia will fall easily to whoever this masked-man is. We do have some time to prepare reinforcements and can start planning for a counterattack."

Her gaze stared blankly at the scribbled words, not listening to the man in front of her as he prattled on. Lyth's words replayed over and over again within her head. It was an endless echo.

"Please, do not tell Vyses about me," he had begged.

A knot twisted tight within her stomach. The newly reported attack had stolen Lyth — his death was graphically detailed within the parchment in her hands. She stared at them, overwhelmed with a sense of emptiness and sadness. The human villagers who survived the attack had fled to some of the surrounding towns. There, they shared what they had witnessed with the local Imperial guards and ice soldiers. The letter in her hands not only detailed the gruesome attack, but also begged for more reinforcements. For help.

No one knew where the masked-man would strike next.

She sucked in a deep breath. Her mind struggled to create a proper explanation for Vyses. She knew that he was still desperately searching for Lyth. Part of her felt that she had to tell him. To warn him.

However, Lyth's final wish was for Vyses not to know. He had begged her not to tell Vsyes about his death.

She carefully rolled up the parchment and squared her shoulders. She didn't know exactly what she would do. But she knew that she needed to act fast.

"Wake the others," she instructed the royal adviser. "It is time for our daily meeting again."

~
hey friends!

Please excuse any weirdness with this chapter. I'm currently at work, posting this on my lunch break, haha. It looks strange on my phone but hopefully it looks fine for you!

I hope you all have an awesome week!! I really appreciate you all so much ❤

ash ❤