Thread of Frost

Ch. 52: Homecoming

She opened her eyes.

The ships had docked. Soldiers spilled from the boats like grains of rice from a punctured sac, swarming the land below. They would be here in a matter of minutes. Halson's men, even sooner. It was time.

Anna raised her sword. "On my count."

Heavy boots crunched over the snow, dozens of soldiers walking in step. Overhead, a dragon's shriek split the sky. Pain pulsed in her chest, and Anna bit down on her cheek until she tasted blood. "Now!"

They surged forward.

Anna's legs burned as she ran. The world fell away in a blur of ice, and her breath felt frozen in her lungs. Faster, she urged her body. Faster, faster. The cliffs loomed in front of her, and she took a sharp left, hurtling towards the docking ships. Faceless soldiers charged up the hill, sunhounds snapping at their heels.

The two groups collided.

Anna swung her sword. Everything was a tangle of limbs, a blur of flesh and hard metal. Her blade sunk into something soft. She yanked it out and swung again. Again. Again. The smell of blood assaulted her. Someone was crying; she couldn't see who. A terrible dizziness filled her. She'd fought people before — brawls with Sophie and Grim's End gamblers and the occasional castle guard — but not like this. She hadn't realized it would be so difficult to tell who was friend or foe.

Lucia.

The word was a drumbeat in her heart.

Lucia. Get to Lucia.

Beside her, Ryne spun and slashed, a tornado of steel. Blood peppered his face. He moved like a summer storm, Anna thought, the sort that could level whole forests with its rage. She ducked as someone swung, straightening just in time to watch Ryne thrust a sword through his stomach.

"Anna!" Penny called. "To the cliffs!"

Her red hair was escaping her braid. Sweat clung to her temples, and Anna watched as Penny raised her hands, golden strands tumbling from her fingers. Six soldiers stilled, their eyes glazing over. Grayson dispatched all of them with a flurry of knives.

Anna swung. "I can't see her."

"Neither can I." Penny ducked, panting. "But I can feel her."

Anna's grip tightened on the sword. She charged towards the cliffs, barreling through soldier after soldier. She was dimly aware of Ryne and Penny and Grayson orbiting around her, of Seraena covering her from above. God-Slayer sang in her hand, writing a haunting melody in fire and blood.

"Incoming!" Grayson yelled.

Two horses charged towards them.

Both riders were dressed in shining golden metal. One of them — the taller one — was laughing as he swung his sword, his dark skin slick with sweat. The shorter one was wearing a helmet, and Anna caught a flash of green eyes. Delafort eyes, she realized, her stomach sinking.

Ryne's face was grim. "Eris."

"And Vulcan," Penny said.

Anna raised her sword. "Cover me."

"Cidarius," Ryne said. "Wait."

Anna flew forward. Hot blood roared in her ears. Eris pulled two knives; they glittered in his hands like icicles. His smile was taunting. She could feel the words burning in her back like a brand: Vox es nuqum. I am nothing.

"Stop." A hand caught her wrist. "Stop."

Anna whirled. Ryne's green eyes were wild. Grime streaked his forehead, and he was breathing hard. Anna jerked her hand away. Rage beat in her chest like a feral beast in a cage; it was going to claw its way out.