The Seelie Curse

Chapter 76

The Forest King gapes at the forest around him, his attention caught despite the pull towards his daughter. The trees are frozen, he can see the last dying embers inside them. The frost coating every last bit of their surfaces has killed them, they are almost past the point of magical recovery now.

If he wasn't fearful for Rowan's sake, he would stop to heal them. But there isn't time for that, not now. Not if he wants to save Rowan. Trying to keep his footsteps light so the branches don't crack beneath his feet, the Forest King leaps from branch to branch, following the pull. Just when he reaches the clearing the pull is coming from, the nearby trees shift slightly.

One of the branches on one of the trees breaks off beneath its own weight. He winces at the crashing sound and drops from his tree just as Rowan's friends turn towards him. The selkie girl's face crumples in relief at the sight of him, but she is still worried. He moves closer to see what is happening and has to hold in a gasp.

Rowan's normally bright hair is pale and limp, speckled with white. Her skin is almost as pale as the ice on the ground. He drops to his knees at her side, skimming his fingers along her skin. There is a rigidity to her skin, a hardness to it that shouldn't be present. One of her arms is speckled with frosted-over blood. The Forest King glances over at the selkie girl, frowning deeply.

"What's happening to her?"

"I think Ciorsdan did something. She was the source of all this ice and she must have tried to freeze Ro."

The Forest King lifts Rowan's arm and turns it over, exposing the source of the blood. There are deep furrows in her flesh, pooled with frozen blood. He carefully prods it to find that it is completely solid and so cold that one touch burns his finger. This ice is not natural. He sends a tendril of magic into the wind and quickly pulls it back, reeling.

This is the source of some of the frozen magic, but not all of it. He sends another wave of magic through her, trying to pinpoint the major source of the ice. He finds it in her chest and he jolts, leaning forward over her body to see a dagger of ice sticking out of her chest. It's just above her heart and he pales before reaching forward to pull it from her skin.

She doesn't even move, just lies there with her eyes cold and lashes speckled with frost. But her body slumps slightly and the tiniest hint of colour returns to her skin. The shard of ice was keeping the ice in her blood from thawing but now that it is out . . . he sits back on his heels to wait.

Much of her colour returns but it quickly begins to slow, her recovery halting. The Forest King leans over her, placing a hand on her stomach to scan her with the little healing magic he possesses. Much of the ice is gone, but some of it still remains, digging talons into her body. She needs fire to burn it away and the fire in her blood should be doing it but it's not.

It isn't even present. The fire has been snuffed out entirely, not even a dying ember still present. So she needs another source of that fire. Her bag is lying beside her so he digs into it, pulling out her runestones and the runepen. He could use the stones, but this might need something more permanent.

The runepen won't work as well for him, he doesn't have as strong of a gift. But it will work. He etches fire runes along her arm and they shimmer with red-gold ink. In most circumstances they would be a shifting black, but these runes seem to recognize her magic and are restoring it without the need for a healing rune.

At first, nothing seems to be happening, but then the colour flares back into Rowan's hair with fiery life and the Forest King has to bite back a choked sob of relief. Rowan opens her eyes a moment later, still shivering slightly but worlds better than she was before. She blinks at him in confusion before her face crumples. Unable to hold it back, the Forest King pulls her into his arms and rocks forward in a soothing motion. He murmurs into her hair as she silently sobs against his chest.

"You're all right, Rae. You're safe."

Rowan looks up after a time, gazing past his shoulder with a strange expression on her face. "Where's Ciorsdan?"

The selkie girl winces from across the clearing and points to a wispy pile of something on the ground. "Some sort of magic came out of you and tore her into shreds."

"What? I don't have that kind of magic."

The Forest King sends a tendril of magic into Rowan's skin and pulls it back a moment later. "You do, actually. There's something awake. Something ancient. An old form of magic."

"What is it?"

"I'll have to do some research back at court."

Rowan's face falls. "Do you have to go back soon?"

The Forest King shakes his head. "Not yet. Soon, but not yet."

There is a crashing sound and a thump from across the clearing and Rowan jumps. "What is that?"

The Forest King sighs. "The ice here, the forest is dying. It will be hard to recover."

A tear wells up in the corner of one of Rowan's eyes. "Can we do anything?"

"Perhaps a few trees could be saved, but neither of our magic is strong enough to heal all of them at once. Not quickly enough."

Rowan's voice is quiet. "I did it before, at the clearing."

"What do you mean?"

"I touched one tree and all of them healed."

The Forest King can feel a smile spread across his face.
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What do you think the Forest King is thinking? Will they fix the forest? What's going to happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out