Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
There were a few balls of Ice on the table, so I took a seat and rolled one back and forth. “Ian wants to speak to you.”
“I saw him this morning.”
“How’d that go?”
He leaned back in the chair and propped his arm on the armrest. “He’ll always be suspicious of me, regardless of my actions. It’s disappointing but unsurprising. You can’t expect the sheep to trust the wolf.” The sunlight came through the window and blanketed him in a golden glow, showing the sharp angles of his face, the roundness of his shoulders. “But I guess it doesn’t matter.” His eyes shifted back to me, a light blue color that could be seen in the clearest of skies. Once his eyes were settled in place, they didn’t move, as if stuck.
I was stuck too, paralyzed by that stare, my throat a little dry. Flashbacks flew by, my palm scratched by the coarse hair of his beard, his hot mouth yanking the reins from my hand and seizing all control. He had big hands, hands that he used to build things, hands perfect for enfolding a woman in his arms, holding on to all her curves.
I dropped my gaze and grabbed one of the spheres sitting on the table. They were cool to the touch, perfect circles. My thumb brushed over the surface, and I peered inside the clear, gold-flecked substance. The fragments were easy to melt and shape, but once they cooled, they held their position like steel. “I’ve got a lot of work to do. Not sure where to start.”
“If you make enough arrows, you could take down a lot of them before they even reach the wall.”
“That’s what I was thinking too.”
“I think your best fighters should have compounded swords. The more Ice, the less damage they take. You should be able to make blades that can take them down with a single hit.”
I stared at him, the cogs in my head turning. “Not a bad idea.”
“Daggers would be helpful too.”
I nodded.
“I suggest you have an army on the ground next time. You have to keep them away from the wall as much as possible. Once Necrosis breaches the city, they’ll be impossible to get out. The war will be over.”
I nodded again.
“I can help.”
“I thought you were a carpenter.”
“I’ve been around a long time. Know a bit about everything.” He rose from the chair and took one of the spheres with him.
I took another sip of my coffee then joined him at the forge. I got the fire started, coaxed it until the flames were white-hot, and then melted the first batch of Ice in the pot. The color deepened once it came into contact with heat, the clear appearance becoming murkier and turning blue in color.
Bastian pulled on gloves and poured the liquid into the blade mold, the fluid slowly filling it out until the shape was defined.
I did the rest, cooling it so it hardened and then attaching the hilt.
Unlike the other blades I made, these were a deep blue, dark like the nighttime sky just before the sun officially set. The other blades I made were silver, subtle and bright. The potency of the Ice was visible, and once Necrosis understood we were armed with their destruction, they would fear these blades even more.
I got to work, smashing it with a hammer, compacting it even more, shaping the blade so it could slice through the thickest rope, cut through a piece of stone. Once it was completed, I held it by the hilt and tested it out.
I wasn’t prepared for the way it maneuvered through the air, so I’d spun it on my wrist far quicker than I’d expected.
Bastian stepped aside. “Careful.”
“I know what I’m doing.” I steadied the blade again and examined it further.
“Didn’t look like it.” He took it from my hand and laid the blade across his open palms. He turned it over and examined the other side, inspecting the blue material that comprised the blade. “Necrosis will know exactly what this is the second they look at it. Not only will you have the element of surprise, but also fear.” He flipped it back over and returned it to me. “This blade should be yours.”
“It is pretty, isn’t it?”
“I know you loaned your sword to Ian during the last battle. I’d prefer it if you kept your own this time.”
I stared at the blade in my hands but felt his stare right on my face. Felt those blue eyes blanket me with warmth. “Ian doesn’t want me on the battlefield, and I don’t have enough Ice to make everyone a sword like this, so it should go to a soldier.” I lifted my chin and met his look.
His eyes were exactly as I expected them to be. “I risked my life to get this for you—so you will do as I ask.” His stare burned into my face a little longer before he stepped away and approached the sacks on the table. The single blade had used ten spheres of Ice, and at that rate, it would go quick.