His thoughts scattered when Sasha kissed him, and warm, soothing magic washed through him. David gave in to the kiss gladly, desperate to escape his pain and confusion. When they finally drew apart, the worst of the pain was gone. Sasha smiled at him, caressed his cheek. "A cup of your tea and you'll be set back to rights."
Nodding again, David swallowed and finally faced the rest of the room. Killian sat sullenly by the fire, scowling at a cup of tea and looking as though he were seconds away from throwing it at something—or, more likely, someone. David sat down next to him, though not so close that it would be easy to grab him if Killian started swinging again.
Fritz brought him a cup of tea, and David took it gratefully. He sipped at it until the soothing properties began to take effect, then drew a deep breath and asked, "What are you doing here, Killian?"
"I didn't trust
him,
" Killian said, voice full of absolute hate as he looked at Sasha. "You've been different ever since you met him. The whole two weeks he was in the village all you did was flutter your lashes and fawn over him and do whatever he wanted. You're so sun-struck you've gone blind. Now you're here doing all this dangerous stuff—and it's all his fault everyone is dead! Maja, my p-p-parents. Black Hill. Oak Hill. Deer Run. Raven Knoll. Everyone is dead or about to starve and it's all his fault! And you don't even care because you're too busy being sun-struck! Black Hill is gone and you don't care!"
David's teacup slipped from his fingers, fell to the floor where it shattered, hot tea spilling over the dirty stone floor. "That isn't true!" he said. "I'm crushed about Black Hill—about everyone. They shouldn't have died, but it's not Sasha's fault! The only person to blame for all of this is Teufel—" He broke off with a cry of pain when Killian hit him.
"Blasphemy!" Killian shouted—then he snarled in outrage when Sasha came practically out of nowhere and snatched him up, yanked him to his feet and dragged him to the door.
"We're going to have a word," he said tersely, then went outside, taking a protesting Killian with him and slamming the door shut behind them.
David picked up the pieces of the broken cup and carried them to the table before fetching a rag to mop up the spill. "Am I really such a terrible person?" he asked quietly.
"I have never met someone less deserving of that word in my life," Fritz said. "How is your face?"
"It's fine," David said, though the latest blow had set the right side of his face to throbbing again. "I just—I don't understand why he hates me. I never meant …"
Fritz set down the food he had been fussing with and walked over to him, resting his hands on David's shoulders and squeezing them reassuringly. "David, whatever errors you made does not excuse or forgive his behavior. I do not know the whole of it, obviously, but there is never a good reason to beat a man. That aside, he is endangering everyone by recklessly following you all the way out here. It is a wonder he did not catch up to us sooner. I wish he had; I might have been able to send him back to Raven Knoll. For now, he will have to stay here and wait for us, or for the weather to clear enough he can return."
David nodded, but Killian's words haunted him. "I—I am devastated Black Hill is gone. That was my village. They raised me even though I should have died after my parents tried to run away. And then Reimund died early and they blamed me because I'm a child of ill fortune. Then Sasha came along—and I didn't know that Killian liked me. I didn't. We're just friends, I always thought. I …" He trailed off, not really certain what he wanted to say. He stared at the front of Fritz's robe and wished he did not suddenly feel so much like a child.
"No one doubts your grief, David. You are acting like an adult—of what use would you be to Sasha if you let your grief get the better of you right now? Have you seen me mourn all the people who have died in my city? Raven Knoll is in pieces, and some of it we'll never be able to rebuild. Winter has gone so long, the crop seasons will be a mess. Emergency stores have been depleted. More people will die before this is finally over. Even if we succeed, people will still die in the course of setting Schatten to rights. But sitting around and succumbing to fear and grief will not help. Throwing tantrums and blaming others and hurting them definitely will not help. Continue to act like the man you are—the man Sasha loves—and do not let the vindictive words of a child undermine you."
"Yes," David said, and he looked up. "Thank you. I am sorry for …"
"Being upset that a friend is hurting you?" Fritz finished dryly. "Do not be sorry for caring—never be sorry for that. Come and help me make breakfast. I am unfortunately far too used to people doing all of this for me. Being High Seer spoiled me far more than I ever realized."
David laughed and obediently—eagerly—set to work putting together breakfast and more tea. He'd just gotten the porridge going when the door opened and Sasha stepped back inside. Abandoning breakfast, David went straight to him, sliding into Sasha's arms and leaning up to kiss him briefly, feeling better just being near him. "Where's Killian?"
"Still outside," Sasha said. "He did not take well anything I had to say to him, but that comes as no surprise. Go and speak to him, I think now it will help. If he turns violent again, walk away."
Nodding, David checked on the porridge, poured Fritz and Sasha tea, then took a cup outside with him to give to Killian. After a moment of glancing around, he found Killian crouched down against the wall a short distance away. "Here," he said quietly, crouching down next to him and holding out the cup.
Killian took it sullenly. His cheek was a livid red where it looked as though Sasha had probably backhanded him. David winced because Sasha was not the kind to lash out so. It made him want to know, and yet not, what Killian had said to provoke him. "What do you want?" Killian asked.
"To say I'm sorry," David said quietly. "I never meant to hurt you or make you think … of course I care about you, Killian. And Black Hill and all the others. You—you're my best friend. I've missed you. I was hoping I would see you again when all of this was over. I'm sorry I led you to think otherwise. I love Sasha, but that doesn't mean I stopped caring about the rest of you. Especially you, Killian. You were my friend when everyone else kept their distance. Only you and Reimund treated me like I was more than an ill omen. I don't want to lose my only friend."
"You have Sasha," Killian said bitterly. "Can't you see that being with him is a bad idea? He's not from here, and it's because of him that everything is wrong."
"He's trying to make everything right in Schatten," David said. "Sasha is a good man."
Killian sneered. "He isn't from here," he repeated. "What could he know about Schatten and what's good for it? And he looks like someone set his hair on fire, or soaked it in blood." His lips curled in distaste.
David bit back an urge to snap at him, or roll his eyes. "Stop it," he said quietly. "I know you don't like it, and I'm sorry that I've hurt you, but I love Sasha and I am going with him to stop Teufel."
"No one can stop Teufel," Killian said. "You shouldn't want to stop him. You never had a problem with Lord Teufel before. You were happy and faithful until he came along. All the problems arrived with that Light-forsaken—"
"Stop it," David said. "I understand you don't like Sasha, and I don't expect you to, but stop insulting him in front of me. You're being a brat."
Killian sneered. "He deserves it. He's not from Schatten, but he comes in here and starts destroying it and poisoning minds with all his talk of chaos. Schatten doesn't need anyone else. That's why Lord Teufel locked them all out. You were perfectly fine without
him,
and if you'd stop being so sun-struck you'd see how stupid you're being!"
"I'm not sun-struck, and I'm not being stupid. Or, maybe I am, but it's the right thing to do. I was never happy, Killian. I was content because I didn't know any different. If you would stop being angry and just think, you'd realize that you—"
"Everyone is dead! Winter won't stop! It's his fault!"
David shook his head. "It's Teufel's fault. He's the one causing winter to go on forever and the one who controls our fates without ever giving us choices or chances to change them. That's not happiness, Killian. That's existing. If that's what you want, then fine. You have the right to make that choice—but I choose to stay with Sasha."
"You don't have the right to make a decision that kills hundreds of people."
"Neither did Teufel," David said. "We're obviously never going to agree, Killian. I'm sorry. You're my friend, and I'll always consider you a friend. But this argument is never going to end, so I think it's best we stop now. Come on, breakfast should be just about ready."
Killian looked ready to punch him for a minute, but in the end he only shrugged angrily and followed David back inside. They sat by the fire with the others, and David prepared bowls of porridge for them. He sat down next to Sasha and ate in silence.
Sasha looked at Killian. "Are you done being a brat?"
"Are you done being a murderer?"
"You are only hurting yourself," Sasha said coldly. "If you only came out here to pick a fight and be unpleasant, then you can turn right around and try your luck with the snow again. You should be grateful you made it here without being eaten by a Sentinel."
Killian just sneered and continued eating.
"We should be leaving soon," Fritz said. "The weather is relatively clear, and we'll make better time."
"I wonder how long it will take to reach Sonnenstrahl," Sasha said, finishing his tea and taking his cup and bowl to the table.
Fritz pursed his lips thoughtfully. "About a day, I think. If we leave soon, we should reach it right around nightfall."
"How could you know that?" Killian asked. "No one has ever been to Sonnenstrahl. We're not allowed. Teufel will not tolerate your impudence much longer."
"If Teufel has issue with me, I wish he would come and speak to me about it so we can end this matter that much sooner. That he hides away in Sonnenstrahl and simply waits for me to be brought to him only speaks to his arrogance." Sasha held out a hand to David, and he took it, smiling briefly as he stood up. "Ready?" Sasha asked him softly.
David nodded, nuzzling into the touch when Sasha caressed his cheek. His heart was suddenly beating a furious rhythm in his chest and there was a knot in his stomach. There was a good chance none of them would return from Sonnenstrahl, win or lose. But that somehow just made him more determined to go. "Ready," he said and leaned up to steal a quick kiss before pulling away to fetch their things.
He could practically feel Killian's gaze on him, but ignored him. Only after he was dressed and ready did he finally turn to Killian and say, "I'll see you back in Raven Knoll, Killian. Truly, I am sorry that I hurt you. We'll talk more when I get back."
Killian scowled and shot to his feet. "Light-taker! I'm coming with you—"
"No, you most definitely are not," Sasha said, voice cracking like the whip he wielded with such skill. "This is not a game and it's no place for children."
"I'm not a child!"
Sasha stalked across the room toward him, grabbed Killian by the scruff of his shirt, and shook him. "Yes, you are. The fact you cannot—will not—see how inappropriately you behave says that. What we are doing is too dangerous for a child and too important to be jeopardized by you. It is not a discussion, it is an order: you are staying here."
Killian sneered at him and said, "Make me."
"I already planned to," Sasha replied in a voice that made even David want to take a step back. He pulled Killian closer to the wall, then let him go. Placing one hand on Killian's chest, he placed the other against the wall and said,
"Bound by anger, bound by envy, bound by the poison of your own heart. Let the binding within be the binding without. To this room I bind you, until five sunrises have gone past, in the name of the gods who know best the taste of poison."
"You can't—" Killian screamed with rage as the binding took, marked by a band of ivy that wrapped around one wrist. "How dare you!"
"When the spell ends in five days, if we have not returned sooner, return to Raven Knoll."
Killian said nothing, just glared, hate blazing in his eyes.
Sasha stared back coolly. "You'll be fine. There is food enough here for several days, and you need to rest anyway after travelling so hard in all that snow. If we return before the five days are up, I'll break the binding and we can all journey back to Raven Knoll together. I suggest you use the time to think long and hard about your words and your actions. If you do not grow up, you'll lose David once and for all. Fire warm your hearth and light your path, Killian. Farewell."
He walked out, followed by Fritz. David strode up to Killian and hugged him tightly. "I'll miss you, Killian. Be careful, for me, all right? I'll see you in a few days. Goodbye."
Killian said nothing, just watched him go. Sighing softly, David left the gatehouse and joined Sasha and Fritz on the road. They stared at the gate, as tall as three or four men, each gate door as wide as six or seven men, and the iron bars were definitely bigger around than he had first imagined—closer to the size of his thigh than his arm. Like before, he still could not see beyond them. "They're too big for us to move. How do we get them open?"
"That is actually easy enough," Fritz said. He stepped up to the gate, rested his hands upon it, and simply murmured, "Open." The gates obediently began to move, slowly opening inward. The scent of roses struck them, the strength of the scent making David sneeze.
Rubbing his eyes, he stared beyond the gates, jaw dropping at what he saw. Not a single flake of snow was present. Instead, every visible speck of ground was covered in a tangle of vines so deep a green they looked black, with large, sharp thorns with red-violet tips and roses the size of his fist with dark, lush, violet blossoms.
"Those look dangerous," Sasha said. "Beautiful, but dangerous."
David nodded. "They're extremely poisonous. Shadow Blossoms, they're called. Sentinels love to eat them. We use the leaves to make the cure-all tea, but there are only two leaves in an entire batch. It's part of what causes the pain to numb. Use too much and you won't wake up. The leaves carry the least amount of poison. It's the thorns and the roses themselves that are the most dangerous—and the vine, of course. Hopefully we are covered in enough layers that we can probably get through them without trouble."