“Stop being a baby.” The healing gels must be working because there’s humor in his voice.
“I take back every nice thing I said about Ez,” I mutter, applying the rest of the ointment.
“You need to get out of those wet clothes,” Keldarion rumbles.
“Who are you, Dayton?” I snark at him, but head over to the supply crate.
“You’ll make yourself sick.”
“I’m kidding.” I pull out one of the cloth blankets and a soft long-sleeve black shirt and pants. Is this what Ez wears underneath his armor? “Close your eyes.”
The wolf’s snort is my only reply. But I don’t even turn around to check. I trust him. I strip out of my now tattered dress, placing the diamond necklace carefully on top, then use some of the fresh bandages to wrap around the scars on my wrist. Closing the large blanket around my shoulders, I waddle to the fire, spreading out both the ruined dress and the black shirt and pants. My body is still damp, and I don’t want to get my only dry clothes wet again.
“Okay, you can open your eyes now,” I say, sitting across the fire. “I’m going to wait in this until I dry off.”
But Keldarion narrows his glassy eyes at me. “Come here.”
I immediately obey, closing the blanket tighter around myself and sit against his chest. The white fur is warm from being so close to the fire.
“Are you cold?” I ask. “There’s only one blanket, but you can have this—”
He curves in a C shape around me, resting his massive head on his paws. “I am perfect, my rose.”
My rose.He called me that at the ball, and again just now. And I can’t help but remember the feeling that called me to him, like a star bursting to life beneath my breast.
“I am sorry for it all,” he says, the words rumbling through me. “All you’ve ever done is try to help but—”
“Don’t worry about it,” I say. “I’m just glad you’re okay. Are the others—”
“They’re using their magic to keep Castletree standing.” Pain etches his words. “But when we realized you left the castle, I knew I had to find you.”
“Well, you did say ‘go away’.”
“I thought you’d return to your room. I would never send you into the wild alone,” Keldarion says. “Rosalina, I am so sorry. For making you a prisoner, for every rude remark, for sending you away. I know what I need to do now.”
“You need to rest. Are you sure you’re not cold?” I burrow into his neck, fingers running through his soft white fur. “After I fell in freezing water, I was cold for a whole week.”
His ears perk straight up, and he growls, “When was this?”
“A long time ago.”
“Tell me.” His ears slowly lower, and he shifts closer. “And no, I’m not cold. The cold rarely bothers me. Though being trapped in a frozen river pushes even me to my limits.”
Distantly, I run my hand over the scar on my left wrist. “I was fourteen, and the lake in Orca Cove had frozen over,” I begin. “Father was away as usual. The Rockies, maybe, or Nunavut. I can’t remember, but the kids in my class talked about going ice skating on the weekend. I used all my stashed savings to buy skates, and I felt so guilty about it, because I knew Papa could use the money. But I wanted to go so badly, even though no one invited me.”
“Why wouldn’t anyone invite you?”
“I don’t know.” I sigh. “I didn’t fit in with the rest of the school. The few times people tried to talk to me, I always ended up saying something awkward, like going on about the latest book I was reading, or a TV show I was into. I think I once spent thirty minutes explaining how you could swallow falling stars to get magic.”
“Well, I for one think that sounds very interesting,” Keldarion’s deep voice rumbles.
“There are a lot of books I’d like to read you,” I whisper. “But anyway, I showed up hoping everyone would think someone else invited me. I wasn’t a great skater. I hovered on the edge of the group.
“Then I heard a long crack, and beneath my feet, the ice splintered like glass. And the next moment there was nothing but cold. I felt a weight on my ankles. All my winter clothes were so heavy. My first reaction was to scream, but the cold water gushed down my throat.”
Kel’s heartbeat increases. Maybe he’s remembering his own experience earlier.
“I was sinking and sinking. Then there were arms around me, and we were moving. Suddenly, freezing wind bit my face, and a voice yelled in my ear, ‘Kick, kick!’ And I did. I coughed, water sputtering out. And I realized someone had jumped in after me.”