Gifted Pelt

Chapter 34

Kōri stares at Astrila, filled with fear as her eyes close. What happened to her? There are three long, bloody gashes across her face, and I can see the blood seeping through her clothing on her upper arm and shoulder as well as her leg. He bends down to scoop her up, careful not to jar her wounds. The wind swirls around them and presses against Astrila. For a moment, there is a shimmer around her wounds, as if the wind is trying to staunch the bleeding.

He takes a stumbling step away from the ice and the creature lurking beneath it howls as if it is sensing its quarry's escape. Kōri slowly makes his way away from the lagoon, moving far more slowly than he would like. But if he moves faster, he could hurt Astrila further. He almost falls forward into the snow when he trips, but the wind swirls around him, pushing him back up. Kōri looks down at Astrila. Is she doing that?

No, her eyes are closed and her face is ashen. The grayish tone against her dark skin is worrisome. The last time she looked like this, he had just pulled her from the frozen sea. She had hypothermia then, but she can't have that now. She was in her seal form while in the water. Was she poisoned? Kōri shakes his head against the thoughts. It won't help him to dwell on it, he needs to get Astrila to Tonraq as quickly as possible. He might know what was going on. The wind swirls around Kōri again, urgent and demanding. Is it worried about her? The wind pushes harder and he stumbles again.

But his feet don't sink through the snow. They stop on the surface the same way Astrila does. The wind is helping him. His stride steadies out now that he isn't wadding through the snow, and his speed has doubled, maybe even tripled. But the wind keeps pushing at him. He moves into a fast walk, and even then he is uncomfortable. Every step could make her wounds jar ande prevent them from clotting. His gait is smoother and less likely to do that if he walks, but the wind keeps pushing at him. It wants him to run.

A flicker of wind pulls his gaze down to her injuries, and he sees the shimmer around all the wound sites. The wind is protecting them from further injury and from bleeding out. It pushes at his heels, and despite the fact that he can't hear the wind like Astrila can, he senses that it is telling him to go, to hurry. So Kōri does. He breaks into a run, trying to keep his steps from bouncing as much as he can. The wind continues to push at him, making him run faster and faster. As fast as Astrila ran when they were rebuilding the iglu.

He flies across the snow and over the tundra, shooting for the village at the heart of the island. If he had looked behind him, he would have seen no footprints. None at all. But he doesn't. It would only have slowed him, so he doesn't dare look back. As he gets closer to the village the wind stops helping him, as if it doesn't want anyone to know of its presence. It keeps helping him stay on top of the snow though. It clearly thinks the risk is better than him wading through the snow. It stops helping him completely when he stops outside Tonraq's iglu just before he steps inside.

He can feel his feet sink into the snow, but it isn't by much. The snow is very packed here. Kōri glances down at Astrila. Her breathing is ragged and her face has a slight sheen to it. Sweat or something else, he doesn't know. But it likely isn't good. He steps into the iglu and almost sags in relief when he sees Tonraq inside. Tonraq hears his sigh and turns around. His eyes widen in shock.

"Kōri! What happened?"

Kōri shrugs, his eyes still filled with worry as he looks down at Astrila. "I'm still not entirely sure. We were at the lagoon and my magic told me to get Astrila out. She made me get out first, and when she tried to get out of the water, something dragged her back in. I passed out because of the separation and when I came to, she was nudging at me with these wounds all over her."

"So we have to wait till she wakes up before I can have the whole story?"

Kōri nods. "Yes."

Tonraq frowns. "How long has she been unconscious?"

"Since we got off the ice."

A strong flash of worry darts across Tonraq's face before he smooths it away. "I need you to tell someone to get King Kayi."

Kōri nods and darts to the door of the iglu, slipping outside to look for someone, anyone, to get the King.
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Did you guys like having Kōri's point of view again? What do you think about the wind helping him? What is wrong with Astrila? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.