Free Devil's Frost, Spellspinners Series #3 (The Spellspinners of Melas County) by Heidi R. Kling Page B

ice.”
    I joined him in chanting.
    Orchid shuddered beneath our combined chanting. “Keep going!” I said.
    “Hands of fire, melt this ice. Hands of fire, melt this ice.”
    She shuddered again, her torso jerking upright and causing Logan and me to flinch backward. Looking at us and…not…her lids jerked open, revealing the same eerie white eyes as before. Then she collapsed in a heap and started to gently snore.
    “Holy goddesses, what in the world?”
    “I guess…she’s going to make it?” Logan shook his head ironically. “You’re a good friend, kid.”
    “And you are the best boyfriend in the world.” Then I glared at him. “But if you ever touch her again, I’ll kill you.”
    He tossed a piece of light driftwood at me. I caught it in my fist, and it immediately ignited. I dropped it onto the ground and blew it out, but my breath was coming out like one of those jacked-up water faucets…cold, then hot, then cold, then hot.
    What the hell?
    “Your powers are probably all out of whack from the stuff that happened today. Don’t worry about it.” But he looked sort of worried too.
    Twisting my mouth, I looked down at my red-hot hands.
    “Logan?”
    “Yeah? “Can you go make a fire for us down by the beach?”
    “Sure.”
    “Thanks. I just want to sit with her for a few minutes.”
    He leaned over and kissed my forehead. “See you in a bit.”
    I watched him disappear out the cave’s mouth, wishing he never had to be outside my vision.
    I sat with her for a long time. Thinking. Thanking the Seven Sisters for their interventions of the day. Replaying the crazy events. I guess I just needed a moment to process.
    When I felt Orchid was stable enough to be left in the cave and that I was strong enough to leave, I crawled out of the hole and joined Logan on the star-spotted beach. I twined my hands through his and he held me close. Then, without discussing it out loud, we held the amulet clasped between our hands and protected the cove from outsiders with a simple spell Iris taught me many years ago: “This is a very special spell, Lily. It’s like a prayer you can use only three times in your life. It takes a lot of magic, so use it only in case of an emergency.” I figured this was an emergency, so after filling Logan in on the backstory, I used it.
    It would take all our remaining strength, but we needed this night—this one night—to feel at ease, to sleep. To be together, to rest free of worry that Carriag and his cronies would catch up with us and finish what they started.
    Seven Sisters, protect our space.
    Guard us with your unyielding grace.
    As we chanted, the magic’s energy made the waves dance in the moonlight. Dolphins flipped and spun in their now-thawed sea. The albino serpent glided across the water’s surface, and we waved to him, thanking him for saving our lives.
    I knew the water was warmer now but didn’t want to go back in just yet. Logan didn’t move toward the water either. The sand under my toes felt safe, and in Logan’s warm arms was the only place I wanted to be.
    After we finished the spell, Logan kissed the tip of my nose and started collecting driftwood. I offered to help, but he told me to sit tight, that he was building something for me. “A present,” he said with a grin.
    Hugging my knees to my chest, I watched his every move, locking it all away, every sway of his sure arms and every muscle in his confident back as he laid another log on the fire. He knew I was watching him, and he looked up at me, catching my eye with a smile.
    I shivered, not because I was scared, but because I was happy.
    Against all odds, we were alive. We were together. For now, we were safe.
    He stood opposite me, shirtless, wearing only the torn black pants he’d worn to the Gleaning. His color was back in his skin; he looked like his healthy, gorgeous self again, and I lost my breath, this time in a great way. Like some kind of ancient god, he raised his hands toward the pyre, tiny