Queen of Ice (Through the Fire Book 2) Read online

  Queen of Ice

  Benjamin Medrano

  Contents

  Map

  Character List

  The Story So Far

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Epilogue

  The Obsidian Palace

  Prologue

  Author’s Note

  Queen of Ice by Benjamin Medrano

  © 2018 Benjamin Medrano. All rights reserved.

  Contact the author at [email protected]

  Visit the author’s website at benjaminmedrano.com

  Sign up for the author’s mailing list at http://eepurl.com/cGPT-b

  Cover Art by June Jenssen

  Edited by Picky Cat Editing

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  For my beloved Jessica.

  Thank you for everything.

  Map

  Character List

  This is a list of characters from The Avatar’s Flames. While not a complete list, this is most of the major characters.

  Alaran Whisperblade – Knight of Selwyn, Sir Alaran attempted a rescue of the survivors of Mellesyn but failed. He is trusted by Averia Selwyn, Queen of Selwyn.

  Anara Inserra – Daughter of Mellesyn’s headman, Anara is a talented dancer and singer, is pretty for an elf, and was kidnapped by Resvarygrath. Ruethwyn had a crush on her, but never confessed.

  Barthel Storm – A noble and fellow student in Ruethwyn’s class, Barthel is the son of an earl and skilled in lightning magic.

  Cora the Blessed – A teacher at Tyrness Academy, Cora is the teacher in charge of the sphere of water and the primary healer in the academy, as well as being a priestess of the Princess.

  Dana Issan – A fellow student, Dana is fairly distant and is Delvin’s twin sister, and is notable for her white hair and black eyes, as well as her skill with light magic.

  Delvin Issan – A fellow student, Delvin is friendly and is Dana’s twin brother, and has black hair and white eyes. He’s skilled with shadow magic.

  Emrick Mara – Teacher of Ruethwyn’s class, Emrick is skilled in most spheres of magic and isn’t as friendly as many teachers, though he has warmed to the class over time. He’s bald, whether that’s through magic or natural is unknown.

  Essryl Demara – Right hand of Resvarygrath, Essryl is one of the Illisyr, also known as dark elves, and has demonic blood that resulted in demonic eyes and a tail. She’s incredibly powerful, but largely is responsible for training the captives. She saved Ruethwyn’s life to see how far Ruethwyn’s determination could take her.

  Hadrian Spellmason – Headmaster of Tyrness Academy, Hadrian is a powerful earth mage and an old fellow student of Sinera’s. He doesn’t interact with most students often.

  Hekara – A fire demon who was summoned into the academy, Hekara is beautiful and vengeful.

  Korima Lightweaver – A rare kitsune, Korima is an enthusiastic and friendly redhead. She’s a classmate of Ruethwyn’s, and loves fire magic, though her talent is with earth magic.

  Leticia – An unassuming redheaded elf, Leticia is one of the longest-serving captives of Resvarygrath and is often the one Essryl delegates tasks to.

  Lissa Nerrine – Formerly a student in Ruethwyn’s class, Lissa is a rare summoner with a spirit-bound dragon elemental. She was abducted by Essryl, and most believe that she ran away from the school since she was quite timid and shy.

  Madeline Rosemeadow – A fellow student, Madeline is a duchess-to-be, and quite arrogant in addition to being beautiful and talented. She possesses a powerful talent for air and earth magic and seems to dislike Ruethwyn for unknown reasons.

  Navaan Daskar – Tadrick’s elder brother, Navaan is working on his Trials of Mastery for graduation and is skilled with air magic. He’s the heir of their earldom and has shown a distant interest in courting Sella.

  Resvarygrath the Gilded – Ruler of the Golden Dominion, Resvarygrath is an immense black dragon with scales that have a gold sheen. He’s arrogant and a powerful mage as well, making him feared by all his neighbors even without his kingdom to back him up.

  Rithara Lightweaver – Korima’s mother, Rithara is a beautiful actress in the Starlight Troupe, and the main draw of the kitsune performers. She’s kind to most, and was rescued from kidnappers by Alaran, Korima, Ruethwyn, Sella, and Tadrick.

  Ruethwyn Sylaris – Daughter of two common magi, Ruethwyn became Sinera’s student early on when she revealed a talent for atavism, which Sinera created. She lost an arm and eye to Resvarygrath’s fire during his attack on Mellesyn and hopes to rescue Anara and the others who were kidnapped.

  Sella Vintas – A fellow student, Sella is a brunette daughter of a common knight of Selwyn. She has a modest talent for all forms of magic, and has an innate mana core, something that grants her far more mana than most students. She’s friends with Korima, Ruethwyn, and Tadrick, and Tadrick seems to have been courting her.

  Sinera Kor – A librarian in Mellesyn, the dark-haired Sinera was once a powerful sorceress, but was cursed by Resvarygrath and had much of her power stripped away. She was killed in the attack on Mellesyn and her body was stolen by the dragon. It was revealed that she once had a friendly relationship with the dragon, but he killed her sister Minerva.

  Tadrick Daskar – A fellow student, Tadrick is Navaan’s younger brother and wants nothing more than to be a mage-knight. The sandy blond is skilled with the sword and has a talent for several spheres but focuses on metal to aid his aspirations. He’s friends with Korima, Sella, and Ruethwyn, but is courting Sella.

  Vrenne Matea – A teacher at Tyrness Academy, Vrenne and Emrick both teach new students, with Vrenne being one of the academy’s noted artificers. She’s much more relaxed than Emrick and teases him a lot.

  Yalline Scorva – A fellow student, the dark-haired Yalline is Madeline’s maid and has a talent for water magic. She long wished to emerge from Madeline’s shadow, though, and when she gained access to Ruethwyn’s notes on atavism, she made the mistake of attempting to use them.

  Zaria – An ice nymph, Zaria is an elemental which Ruethwyn has a contract with.

  The Story So Far

  Ruethwyn grew up in Mellesyn, an elven village across the border from the Golden Dominion. As she prepared to confess her feelings to another girl in the village,
Ruethwyn’s life is ripped apart as the draconic ruler of the Golden Dominion, Resvarygrath, attacks Mellesyn. Everyone in the village is killed, save for several young maidens who’re kidnapped, including Anara, the girl that Ruethwyn planned to confess to, and Ruethwyn herself. Ruethwyn was crippled in the assault, losing her right eye and arm, and only the assistance of one of Resvarygrath’s allies kept her alive, as the dark elf Essryl found Ruethwyn’s dying attempts to stop her amusing. She was told she had two years to rescue Anara and the others.

  Traveling to the prestigious mage academy of Tyrness, Ruethwyn attempted to continue learning magic. Her magic was almost crippled, and many of her fellow students were dubious of her presence in their class. This was made worse since her injuries couldn’t be healed since Resvarygrath’s flames were cursed. Slowly she made friends with Tadrick, a noble of the realm, Sella, a fellow commoner, and the enthusiastic kitsune Korima. Most of the others grew more intrigued by Ruethwyn’s rare art of atavism, a magical art her teacher had created which allowed the user to summon elementals and learn magic more quickly.

  The situation grew more complicated when Korima’s mother, a famed actress, came to the city and the four attended her troupe’s performance, for Korima’s mother was kidnapped afterward. They barely managed to help a knight find her and stop the kidnappers, which included a priestess of Larimos, an evil demon queen of corruption.

  Ruethwyn learned that there was a possible way to remove the curse in the Frostglades to the north and began preparations to go there after she finished the first-year test. However, over Midwinter Night, Yalline, a fellow student who’d stolen Ruethwyn’s notes on atavism, attempted to summon a fire elemental into herself for greater power. Yalline was instead controlled by the demoness named Hekara, who unleashed a plot to trap the other students in the dormitory and capture them to drag back to her home plane. Ruethwyn and the others fought back and defeated Hekara, driving her back through the demon’s portal and Ruethwyn held the demons back by opening the rift to a realm of ice as well until the teachers could reach them and seal the portal. The act nearly killed Ruethwyn, but she survived the experience.

  And now her story continues.

  Prologue

  “Ruethwyn and I would have traveled to the capital together if Mellesyn hadn’t been attacked. I’d always heard tales of Tyrness, but I hadn’t had a chance to visit,” Anara said, her voice barely audible through the door. “I wish I had, since I was going to—”

  “Hello, Anara!” Essryl said, opening the door without pause, and the elven woman’s voice cut off as she entered. The Illisyr paused as she looked over to see that Anara had company. “Ah, and Lissa’s here, too. Well, that simplifies matters.”

  The two elven women were looking at Essryl in surprise. Anara was a golden-haired, blue-eyed woman with a willowy, attractive figure, though Essryl knew she wasn’t truly stunning in comparison to the most beautiful elves in larger cities. Lissa was much closer to average, with simple brown hair and eyes, and a figure that wasn’t exceptional. Each were wearing similar clothing, simple gowns that Essryl had provided after they’d been abducted. They flinched at her arrival, with Lissa shrinking back in her chair and Anara straightening as she tried to unfold her legs from where she was sitting on the bed.

  “Mistress Essryl? What are you doing here?” Anara asked, starting to rise, but Essryl waved her back down, grinning at the young woman.

  “No, Anara, don’t stand. This is very much an informal meeting,” Essryl said, amusement and pleasure bubbling through her. The news she’d gotten simply delighted her, and she had to share it with someone who’d appreciate it almost as much as she did.

  “Ah, as you say…” Anara replied doubtfully.

  “I… I guess that means I should leave then,” Lissa said, quickly standing. The young woman froze as Essryl gave her a pointed glance.

  “No, Lissa. Stay,” Essryl said firmly, closing the door behind her and leaning against it as she smiled broadly. The dark elf continued happily, her tail swishing back and forth quickly. “I do believe you’ll find this of interest. I just got some fascinating news about events at Tyrness Academy, and I think you’ll be almost as interested as I am.”

  Both of their eyes lit up at that, and Essryl suppressed a laugh as she saw them exchange looks. Lissa hesitated, then slowly sat again. Anara steadied herself before speaking calmly, her voice unruffled and smoother, the dark elf noted approvingly. “What sort of events are you talking about, Mistress Essryl?”

  “The part of the news which isn’t as good is that Ruethwyn managed to get herself put into the infirmary again, but this time for far better reason,” Essryl explained, and a flicker of worry broke Anara’s mask, but Essryl continued as though she hadn’t seen anything. “See, one of her fellow classmates decided to summon an elemental on Midwinter Night. I’m not certain which student it was just yet, but she inscribed the circle wrong and the elemental escaped.”

  “Yalline.” Lissa’s murmur was soft, but Essryl looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

  “What was that, Lissa?” Essryl asked, tilting her head curiously.

  “Oh, um, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Lissa said, shrinking back in her chair slightly.

  “I know you didn’t, but it sounded like you had something to add,” Essryl said, looking at her pointedly. “So explain yourself. Now.”

  “Um, it just… just sounded like Yalline. She was really poor with summoning circles and kept transposing symbols,” Lissa said, her voice hesitant. “I just thought it was probably her.”

  “Hmm, well, that would explain things,” Essryl replied, filing the information away. It helped her interpret what the spies reported. After a moment, she continued. “Whether it was her or not, someone summoned a potent fire elemental who corrupted the building wards and tried to rip open a rift to the lower planes. If I know their motives, they were probably planning to kidnap the students and keep them as living mana sources for the next few centuries.”

  “Gods!” Anara gasped, her eyes going wide. “What happened?”

  “I don’t have the full details, of course. Alas, my scrying focus was in Ruethwyn’s room, so I didn’t catch even a glimpse of what happened, but I’m told that some of the students shadow-walked out to get the teachers, and another pair destroyed the building’s keystone to bring down the wards,” Essryl explained in pleasure, smiling broadly. “At the same time, Ruethwyn and some of the others led an assault on the elemental that opened the rift. They managed to drive it back and to hold the rift until the academy teachers could arrive. That’s far better than I expected of her, even if she did push her magic a little too hard.”

  “They… oh, thank goodness… does that mean she has… has a chance to make it here?” Anara asked, leaning forward slightly as her poise broke.

  Lissa let out a breath she’d obviously been holding, the young woman looking relieved.

  “There’s always a chance, Anara. I’d been hoping that she would before, but this? This makes me think that if she does, it’ll be interesting,” Essryl replied, her eyes practically glittering with anticipation. “I’m rather looking forward to it, in fact.”

  It took Essryl a moment to realize that both women were looking at her oddly, and she looked back at them with a raised eyebrow. “What is it?”

  “I suppose it isn’t anything too important, but…” Anara hesitated, looking at Essryl nervously, then continued. “You seem surprisingly fixated on Ruethwyn, Mistress Essryl. In fact, I’d almost say you might have feelings for her, but that just seems ridiculous.”

  “Really? And why would it be ridiculous?” Essryl asked, smiling back at Anara.

  The pair looked absolutely stunned by her response. It took Lissa a moment to ask, “B-But… why? Why would you like her? I mean, you’re a… a dark elf.”

  “And Jacqueline Heartreaver was descended of Clan Anar, yet I couldn’t tell you how many Illisyr have wished that they’d courted her,” Essryl repli
ed, smiling slightly as she added. “The issue is finding someone I think is worthy of my attention… and that’s a much higher bar than merely catching my interest. Have a good evening, girls. I think it’s time for me to go train a bit. If Ruethwyn visits, I want to be sure I’m able to give her a proper welcome.”

  The Illisyr opened the door and left, laughing under her breath at the silence she left in her wake.

  Essryl deeply hoped that Ruethwyn would reach the palace inside her time limit. It would bring something interesting into her life again.

  Chapter 1

  “Rue, you’re back!” Sella exclaimed, a smile blossoming on her face as Ruethwyn stepped into the classroom.

  Ruethwyn paused, blinking in surprise at Sella. Her friend had cut her hair, which now barely reached her shoulders, and the bob looked good on her. It didn’t surprise Ruethwyn that Sella wasn’t the only classmate to reach the room before her. Ruethwyn had found it unusually hard to wake up for the past week, even if she was recovering reasonably well from the events over midwinter.