The Poison Prince

Chapter XV

IT never came.

Taiden braced himself for the arrows, squeezing Xylia tight in the hopes he might be able to shield her from them, but they never came. His eyes were closed and he felt an icy chill wash over him as though death itself had already come, but there was no pain that followed. Nothing ripped through his flesh or pierced his heart. He waited for it, feared it, and yet his heart continued to pound beneath his ribs and his blood raced safely through his veins. Then he opened his eyes and he didn't know whether to be more fearful of what he saw around them than he was of the enchanted arrows.

"Xylia." He whispered, slowly prying her away from his chest.

She lifted her head from his shoulder and gasped as she opened her eyes. The coldness they felt was not the accomplice of death – at least not today. All around them was solid ice. They were encased in a high dome of it. It glinted back at them as they stared, but none of it showed signs of melting or vanishing. It stood firm with no cracks of hints of an exit.

"Is this another of the queen's tricks?" Xylia asked as she stepped away from Taiden.

Taiden's brown eyes were wide as he walked around their cage of ice. "She already had us dead. I fail to see what she could gain from imprisoning us like this." He pressed his hand against the ice and pushed his weight against it as best as he could with his twisted ankle. Pulling away again his palms and fingers had turned red and he tucked them under his arms to warm them up. "It's solid as a rock. I don't think we're going to be able to crack it."

Xylia pulled her dagger free from her waist and made an attempt to chip away at the walls. A few tiny chinks were made in the ice, but she knew they would freeze to death long before she could make any sizeable hole in the ice.

"Maybe the queen wanted to prolong your death. Maybe you've annoyed her enough that she wants to torture you." She suggested, sinking to her knees and peering back at Taiden over her shoulder.

"Devanna? Or is that you talking?" He asked with a dry laugh. A moment ago they had been clinging to each other for dear life, but just then it sounded like Xylia resented him just like she had after the incident in the Adavale mayor's home.

Xylia laughed a rare laugh and tipped her head back. She was so very tired now. Maybe going to sleep and letting death take hold wouldn't be so bad after all. She shook the thoughts away and wearily pushed herself back to her feet before the dark whispers to give up could come back to her.

In her exhaustion, Xylia stumbled backwards and braced herself against the wall of ice to regain her balance. Against her hand there was a hiss, followed by an almost silent crackling that gradually grew louder and louder.

"Xylia?" Taiden hopped closer cautiously, his eyes fixed on her hand which she daren't remove from the ice, fearful of what was happening beneath her touch.

The ice began to smoke and hiss. It cracked and popped. Slowly, ever so slowly, it peeled back, melting away from the top to the bottom until a gap large enough for them to fit through appeared. It was narrow at the top, forcing them both to stoop slightly, and wide at the bottom where the grass was now wet and dangerously slippy.

Stunned, they both staggered out into the forest where the daylight stung their eyes for a few blinding moments. Taiden was the first to peer at the arrows lodged motionlessly into the thick sheets of ice, all magicks drawn from them at last.

"Only magicks can stop magicks." He stated matter-of-factly, turning back to Xylia who was sitting in the dirt.

She blinked up at him, colour drained from her face as she rubbed her soaked hand with the other, bewildered by what had just happened. "Oh."