My Willful flame

Chapter Twenty-Three

The crisp mountain air cut through our heaving breaths, freezing the words that refused to escape our mouths. The weight of grief hung heavy, forging a silent understanding between us. Our love, whatever it had been, lay buried beneath the snow-covered ground, and in its place stood a boy I never truly knew and a girl who seemed to have never existed.

My gaze shifted to the ominous bridge, an icy passage beckoning me forward. The journey here had been one of bloodshed and sacrifice, a path I'd paved with the lives of others. Never would I have imagined that Lau would be the one standing in my way or that I would hate him this much. But our unified silence was a conviction of us both.

Ignoring Lau, I pressed on toward the bridge. The biting cold gnawed at my skin as I neared the passage, a symbolic gateway separating two lands. The thick planks beneath my boots seemed to mock the uncertainty that plagued me. The bridge stretched into the darkness, leading to the Mile Men fort and the black lake beyond. I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself.

The bridge was made wide, with thick planks of wood. Below hung icicles as large as trees, and the robes that suspended the bridge were just as thick and covered in rock-hard ice. Only gods knew how old it was or how sturdy. But considering its size, it was safe to assume it could hold me.

With each step, insecurity crept in. The bridge, though wide and seemingly sturdy, swayed beneath the relentless wind. The salty air reached me, carried by the wild gusts that threatened to pull me into the abyss.

Then I heard it below me, crashing waves, a rushing river. The water ran from the west to the east. I could smell the salty air and as the wind picked up I felt the water reach me. I continued.

It was dark below but somehow the force of the waves were so powerful it reached the bridge and me.  The sharp blue ice beneath my boots seemed to pierce through me, matching the darkening gaze of the mountains watching over me. I was halfway there and already I could hear the shadows whisper gruesome tales. They were speaking to me, warning me.

Then behind me, a single gunshot shattered the sound of the waves, its report echoing through the still air like a sudden thunderclap.

I felt its echo reach my body, and panic rose.

The unease of the wind, the stillness that followed. Even the waves below seemed to intensify with more desperation. Terror crawled upon my skin.

Terror crawled upon my skin, and I swallowed hard, turning to find a figure at the beginning of the passage. Too tall to be Lau. Then the flaming hair gave away his identity.

One moment of panicked silence, one breath where nothing moved. None of us. He was far but so was the end.

I sprinted back, almost flying over the slippery ice, determined to make it before he did. I should've anticipated how fast he had been because within a moment I felt his hand on me. I moved for the knife but he grabbed my wrist before I would even attempt it.

I turned looking straight into icy eyes, Nohr's wild eyes smiling at me.

"You should have killed me," He sneered wickedly, holding me tightly. The wind caught my hair and I gritted my teeth.

"There is still time," I countered, trying to keep my composure.The icy wind enveloped us, making it hard to see. Nohr had cornered me on the bridge.

"Not for you." He grimaced, pushing me back.

The thick robe grated against my back, my hair swaying over the edge. The cold abyss beckoned below.

"I saw you, killing my brothers," he whispered, the words lingering in the freezing air.

"Then why didn't you stop me." I hissed, struggling against his grip.

"Because I needed to see where you were going. I wanted to know who you were," he admitted.

"And why does that matter," I snarled, biting down hard, trying not to show the pain I was in.

"Because I heard about a girl like you. Fearless, big-mouthed, foolish. A real killer in the making," he taunted, tightening his grip. "There were bets about her, about how fast her heart would turn dark. How fast this world would crush her."

He pushed me closer to the edge, and I gasped in fear. "I had really hoped I'd meet her," he toyed, his eyes betraying a cruel pleasure.

"I don't know who the hell you think I am, but killing your brothers was way too easy." I tried tearing into him with words, knowing it would be futile. But I also knew that Mile Men's brotherhood lay way deeper than what anyone was willing to admit. It might've even been their only emotional weakness. "They died pathetically. Not at all the strong men you proclaim yourself to  be." I added fearlessly.

He smirked, unmoved by my taunt. "I mourned them by ripping to shreds those you'd saved. And then the thought of doing the same to you was enough motivation to pursue you," he confessed, a sinister satisfaction in his eyes. He could drop me at any second. He looked down, noticing the blood that had seeped through my clothes when I had fought Lau.

He grabbed the wound through my clothes, ripping open the skin that had tried to heal.

I cried out in pain, feeling the blood rushing back down my stomach. Nohr's laughter overpowered my cries. "Then I come to find you here, at the door to my home, practically begging to die by my hand." He whispered, pleased with torturing me.

I snarled, attempting to resist, but he overpowered me again, inching me closer to the bridge's edge. Weighing my options, I hadn't even reached the other end before he had caught me. Now, as he stared at me with pleasure, I realized how little distance I had covered.

"The disappointment I felt when you spared my life, I almost didn't even bother killing those idiots you left me with," he said, pausing to savour my reaction. "But the way you shot Haakon straight between the eyes, not even flinching, I knew who you were. Elora Tartal, the cursed desert child."

Shock rolled through me at hearing my name, I paused any struggle and merely stared into his eyes. So demented and familiar I felt nauseous.

Shock rolled through me at hearing my name, and I paused any struggle, merely staring into his demented eyes. The heel of my boot slipped, and I felt myself sliding backwards. Nohr pulled me in, then pushed me away. I landed hard on my back, only realizing a moment later that I was on solid ground.

Speechless, I watched as Nohr approached me. The mention of my name from a stranger's mouth left me numb. "The commander will be pleased when I bring you in. We all have bets to settle," he declared, kneeling to scrutinize my face. "But tell me one thing, who is the boy I shot back there?"