Aeryn looked at Rissa's tear-stained face, her eyes wide with a desperate, wild pain.
Leaning heavily against Rissa's body, seeking any bit of physical support, Aeryn used her other hand to grab her own trembling arm, forcing it up and pointing it directly at Finn's chest. With Rissa holding her up, Aeryn summoned her very last spark of power.
Using her rare water and blood-bending one final time, she reached out to the boy. The blood and moisture around his terrible chest wound began to move under her command. It froze solid instantly, sealing the deep, magic-burned tear in his chest like a red-ice plug. It stopped the bleeding and froze out the spreading dark rot, locking his fading life-force inside his body.
Aeryn collapsed fully against Rissa, completely spent, her hot breath puffing in the dirt.
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the clearing. The few remaining loyal soldiers gathered around, their chests heaving, their eyes wide with hope as they stared down at Finn.
But nothing happened. There was no movement. No sound. Finn lay entirely still, the blood frozen like red glass over his chest.
Slowly, every single head fell in deep, heavy despair. The Captain's shoulders slumped, and he closed his eyes, his old face tightening with unbearable grief.
Then, a young soldier kneeling near Finn's boots gasped.
"He is breathing!" the soldier cried out, his voice cracking the silence.
Another soldier leaned closer, pressing two fingers to the boy's neck. "His heart... it's beating! It is beating!"
The Captain's eyes snapped open. He pressed his rough hand to Finn's chest, feeling the weak, rhythmic thud beneath the ice seal. It was unbelievable. The old knight broke, hot tears spilling down his scarred cheeks as he clutched his grandson's face. "A miracle..." he whispered, his voice choked with emotion. "It's a miracle."
Another soldier rushed forward, scanning the dark perimeter of the forest. "My Captain, My Queen... we have to go now. The camp is compromised. More of them could be waiting in the woods."
The Captain wiped his eyes, his soldier instincts instantly locking back into place. He nodded slowly, looking up at the Queen, who was shivering and pale in Rissa's arms. "He is right. We cannot use the main road. If we go that way, we walk straight into another ambush."
Aeryn leaned heavily against Rissa, her feet dragging in the dirt. She looked toward the dark, rocky hill behind the camp, her voice barely a whisper.
"Behind... the split boulder..." Aeryn breathed, her hot breath puffing against Rissa's ear. "There is... a drainage grate. It leads... to the palace."
Hearing this, Rissa's mind raced. An ambush. Here. Now. Someone had known exactly where their carriage would be waiting tonight. A cold, terrifying panic gripped her chest. There is a traitor among us.
If they announced their path to the surviving soldiers, the traitor would know exactly where they were going.
Rissa immediately leaned in close to the Captain, whispering Aeryn's words directly into his ear. "There is a secret way beneath the split boulder. But we can't tell the others. We don't know who to trust."
The Captain's eyes darkened with sudden, fierce understanding. He gave a sharp, subtle nod. He stood up, slinging Finn's limp, heavy body securely over his shoulder. Turning to the remaining loyal soldiers, he raised his voice in a firm, commanding tone.
"Listen to me!" the Captain barked. "The enemy is weakened, but they will return. I need you all to secure the forest gap and burn the remaining carriage. Do not let them track our scent! Set up a defensive line by the western road and wait for my signal!"
The soldiers, eager to help, immediately nodded. "Yes, Captain!" they yelled, running off to secure the parameter and tend to the wreckage, completely occupied by their tasks.
Under the cover of the smoke and the noise, Rissa wrapped her arm tightly around Aeryn's waist, pulling the weak Queen up.
Leaving the surviving soldiers completely ignorant of their true route, Rissa, Captain, and unconscious boy slipped silently into the deep shadows toward the rocky hill. With her shoulder bleeding and her heart aching with suspicion, Rissa with help from Aeryn guided them toward the split boulder, leaving the burning camp and their unknowing allies and foes behind in the dark.
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