Frostbite

Chapter Fifteen

"No."

Eira sighed. Their argument could probably go on all night and she would never get anything out of him. Kea, as she'd learned, was stubborn. He really brought out the worst in her, too. Made her terribly argumentative.

~

"Do you deal in substances?" Eira asked Kea the next day when he sat down on his usual seat.

"No. I already told you. I'm not a damn criminal."

"Then, why can't you tell me?"

"I just can't. All right?"

Their conversation was left at that, Eira heading off to dish up his food.

~

An hour later, Kea was still there for some reason and Eira was drying dishes with her back towards him. She could overhear a drunken conversation between two men sitting beside him.

"Those damn rebels. Why've they gotta make it harder for us?" one said.

"Yeah, they're givin' us commoners a bad reputation, you hear?" replied the other.

"I don't see anythin' the Frosts have done that makes it bad for us. Why do the rebels even bother goin' against 'em?"

"Maybe it's because the rebels have good reasons," Eira muttered, putting the tankard she had been drying down onto table with a little too much force.

The two drunks recoiled, having obviously heard her. "Oh yeah? And a little girl like you can have an opinion on something like that?" said the possibly more drunk one.

Eira turned around, scowling at them. "I'm perfectly entitled to my opinion. If you think my age or gender has anything to do with it, then you're a fool."

"Then, what would ya say those reasons are?" said the perhaps more reasonable one, although, not by much.

"The Frosts have been going around killing who they please. Even ones of their own. Surely if you've experienced a loved one being mercilessly murdered without so much as a trial, then you would have an inclination to rebel against the society which approved of it, no—carried it out. But, I suppose people like you wouldn't know about that. As it's completely concealed by the authorities."

"How'd you know all this?" His tone was condescending, patronising.

"I just so happened," Eira said, placing a hand on each of their shoulders, "to have experienced it firsthand."

She willed a little of her power to come out of her palms. Not enough to do any harm, but enough to give the two chills.

The two men jumped up, eyes wide. "You're—," one gaped, having appeared to sober up from the fright.

Eira brought a finger to her lips. "Don't," she hissed.

The drunks bolted.

Shit. She hadn't intended to shock them so much they'd run away. The heat of the moment had taken control of her. And now that they were out of here, what would they do? Would they remember enough to tell the guards on lookout here? Would she be hunted down because of her own foolish scare tactics? Damn it. She'd just made an awful mistake. A fatal one. And, she'd broken the promise she'd made to herself before—to keep herself from releasing the Frost unless it was a life and death situation. Would she have to run again?

"You should be glad I'm the only person who overheard that conversation," said Kea, just at the wrong moment.

Eira froze. Had he noticed her using her powers? What if he told the guards? She knew the reward would be big, and someone like him probably wouldn't pass up that sort of opportunity.