Ice by Charlene Hartnady
4
Daegal
“Fuuuuuck!”I groan as my eyes open. I try to get up, but hands hold me down.
It takes me a few seconds to focus on…Ryder. I feel my brow crease with what must be the mother of all frowns.
“What the fuck happened?” My voice is thick. My throat feels raw. “Water,” I push out.
Ryder holds a bottle of water to my mouth, and I drink. Half of it goes down my chin, pooling on my chest. I groan as he takes the bottle away. My throat feels marginally better.
“I was flying, and then I fell. Why did I fall? I was cold and…” My mind is a little hazy. I can’t quite grasp what happened.
Ryder nods. “Yes, you fell. Don’t try to get up just yet,” he adds when I shift my weight.
I realize that I am squinting. It’s bright. The light is hurting my eyes. I’m… I let my gaze drift and realize I am back at the cabin in one of the rooms. At least, I think I’m back.
“Did you carry me here?” I ask Ryder, who nods.
“Yes, you were pretty messed up. I think you broke a whole lot of bones…” He holds up a hand. “Don’t worry, I straightened your limbs. You should be mostly healed by now.”
“What happened? I…I…” I scrunch my forehead up in thought. “Wait a minute. I need to get back to work. I—”
Ryder gently puts his hand on my chest. “I rescheduled your meetings. I told everyone that you had decided to take a day off.”
“A day off?” What the fuck?! “I can’t afford to take a day off.”
“No one even blinked when I told them. Your brother said it was about time and that you should take two days.”
“There is too much to do. Too much I—” I stop. “I guess I need to figure out what happened out there. I still don’t get it.” I know it was something big. Something important. I look at him like he might have the answers.
“I’m not sure. It’s like you flew into a snowstorm. But that makes no sense.” He shrugs.
“I was… I…” I close my eyes and huff out a breath. “I can’t remember. It was fucking cold, and then I was falling. I blacked out when I hit the ground. That’s all I have.”
“You disappeared behind a mountain ridge where the pass gets narrow. I couldn’t see you for all of five or ten seconds. I was about to take the ridge turn when a blast of frigid air hit me, knocking me back. I very nearly took a tumble myself. By the time I righted myself and negotiated the ridge, my nuts were freezing off, so it wasn’t easy. The temperature had dropped dramatically in a matter of seconds. I could barely see with all the snow falling. It was fucking insane. By the time I got to you, you were down. Thankfully, you shifted back into human form within a few minutes so that I could get you out of there.”
I can see that there is something Ryder isn’t telling me. Perhaps it is the fact that his eyes don’t quite meet mine. I can’t quite put a finger on it, but I know it all the same.
“What is it?” I ask.
He doesn’t say anything.
“Spit it out already. What aren’t you telling me?”
He scrunches his face up in both concern and confusion. “You were covered in ice.”
“There was a blizzard,” I say.
“On a warm evening. How does a blizzard hit from out of the blue?” Ryder says. “Your lips were blue.”
“It was fucking cold,” I growl.
“There’s talk on the news of a sudden weather phenomenon hitting this part of the country. A little town just to the north of the valley was badly hit. Experts are calling it a freak of nature.”
“A freak of nature,” I repeat. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Me neither. It wasn’t…normal,” he finally settles on.
“I think we need to head back to that ridge to investigate.” I start to sit up, but Ryder puts his hand on my chest again.
I growl. My chest vibrates. “I’m fine.”
“You almost died last night.”
“I didn’t die. I’m healed.” Mostly healed. It still hurts in places, but I’ll definitely live. “I’m in no shape to run a marathon, but I think I can shower and dress. Once I get some food into me, I’ll be just fine. You can take your hand off me now.” I sound like a grouch, but I don’t care. I smell a rat. I think someone tried to kill me last night, and I fully intend to find out who it was.