The chamber was dim, lit only by the pale fire flickering in the hearth and the low murmur of wind pressing against stone. Aya lay on the wide bed, motionless save for the steady rise and fall of her chest. Her skin glistened with sweat, strands of dark hair stuck to her brow. A soft tremor ran through her body now and then, like sothing deep beneath the surface was trying to reach through.
Tamsin, the castle’s senior healer, stood beside her, fingers resting on the inside of Aya’s wrist, brow furrowed in thought. He had already sent his apprentice to fetch a stronger tonic, though he doubted it would help.
Killan sat on the edge of the bed, hands curled into fists on his knees, watching Aya as if sheer will could rouse her. His eyes—usually calm and cutting—were full of storm.
"What is this?" he asked, voice rough, barely above a whisper. "She collapsed without a wound, without warning."
Tamsin looked up, eyes shadowed. "This is no wound of the flesh," he said. "She’s burning from within. The kind of fire you don’t treat with salves or dicine."
"What does that an?" Killan frowned.
"I haven’t seen anything like this before," the healer sighed. "I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I do not know. I’m unsure if any tonic would help the Queen now."
Killan looked at the healer carefully.
"Tamsin, what do you know of Summoners?" Killan asked.
"I only know what books taught us, Your Highness."
"My wife, Lady Aya, is the last surviving Summoner from her House," Killan said.
The healer nodded, understanding the situation. "If that is the case, this may be an ailnt associated with her power."
"Yes," Killan said, looking at his wife’s unconscious form. "It is likely."
"As far as I know, only Maesters are equipped to treat ailnts like these."
"Do we have any in Athax?"
"No, Your Highness, but I can send out a word for help."
Just then, footfalls echoed in the corridor. And they heard Raina’s voice from outside the door. "Your Grace—Commander Elex has arrived. He’s already at the inner gate."
Killan stood at once, still watching his wife.
"Stay with her," he said to Tamsin. His voice was steel again, but low. "Send word the mont she wakes."
He cast one last look at Aya—pale, glowing faintly in the firelight like sothing from an old tale—and then strode toward the door to et his brother-in-law.
***
The echo of boots in the hall was a familiar rhythm, sharp and deliberate—Elex’s stride. Killan stood at the top of the stairway, waiting beneath the glow of torchlight. His face, so often guarded, was now openly drawn.
Elex swept into the corridor with a pace that left no room for delay. His cloak was still dusted with so kind of frost from the northern passes, his dark hair damp from a hard ride. He stopped short at the sight of Killan.
"Your Highness," Elex bowed. "I heard from General Asta—"
"Sothing’s wrong with Aya," Killan said without preamble. "It’s unlike anything we have ever seen here in Athax."
Elex’s eyes narrowed. "Where is she?"
"In our chambers. Co and see."
Elex didn’t need the invitation. He passed Killan and entered the chamber with the authority of both brother and Commander. Tamsin stood at the bedside, eyes weary but respectful. He bowed his head.
Aya looked small in the bed. Too still. Too silent.
Elex’s jaw clenched as he felt the heavy swirl in the room, but his voice was steady. "How long?"
"Since this morning," Killan answered from behind him. "She collapsed outside our chambers. No wound. Just—gone. Like sothing shut her down from the inside."
Killan’s words hung in the air like smoke.
Elex nodded at Killan, "Let see what I can find out." He knelt beside the bed, placed a hand on her temple, and closed his eyes, as if summoning a mory only he can see.
What is this? Killan thought to himself.
Killan and the healer waited with bated breath as they watched Elex’s face contort with pain after a minute or so.
"Sothing woke her power. What happened today?" Elex withdrew his hand and opened his eyes, looking at Killan with worried eyes.
"You an...?"
"Yes," Elex’s eyes fixed on his sister. "It’s faint, but it’s there."
"How did you know this?"
"We share true blood, Your Highness," Elex answered. "I may not have her powers or abilities, but anybody who shares true blood with a Summoner can feel their ailnts or pain."
"I thought her abilities were bound?"
"That is true, bound by blood magic. But that doesn’t an..." Elex sighed wearily. "Anyway, she’s not just waking to her blood—she’s fighting it." He stood motionless for a breath. Then he turned, eyes hard. "What was she doing before this happened?"
Killan nodded at the guards. "Send for Shin and Masa. Now."
Monts later, the two warriors stood before them—Shin still in his training gear. And Masa, with blood on his sleeve, his jaw was clenched with anger rather than pain.
"It was training, at first," Shin said. "Frost Fire’s people wanted to spar. One of their brutes, Thorne, was paired with Masa."
Masa rubbed the back of his neck, muttering, "Wasn’t a spar by the end."
Killan folded his arms. "Tell us everything."
Shin glanced at Aya, then back at Elex. "They were testing us. Words were thrown. Thorne said things about Masa—called him soft."
"I’m not soft," Masa muttered, teeth grinding.
Elex raised a hand for silence.
Shin continued, "The fight got too rough, and it stopped being a match. Thorne went for a second blow after the fall. Lady Aya told him to stop. He didn’t."
Elex’s brow furrowed.
"Thorne kept coming."
"And then?" Killan asked.
Masa stepped forward. "She stepped in front of just as Thorne was about to strike. Master Seth grabbed her arm to pull her back, away from danger. And then—"
His voice faltered.
"Sothing pushed Master Seth and Thorne away. Like the wind snapped without sound. Thorne’s axe froze midair. Master Seth got thrown like he’d been punched by a mountain. And Lady Aya..."
"She didn’t look like herself," Shin finished softly. "After a warning, she left us and went back to the castle."
Elex exhaled slowly, a sound low and pained. "Perhaps," he murmured. "Her body rembers what the mind tries to forget. A touch, a mont of danger—sotis that’s all it takes. She reached too deep, too fast. Her body’s caught between resisting and becoming."
Killan glanced at Aya, then back at Elex.
"She’s been restless since that rcenary band arrived," Killan said.
"You an Frost Fire?" Elex asked, crossing his arms.
"I wonder if this has anything to do with them," he said quietly. "With the leader of that Frost Fire company. What is her connection to him—and to his house?"
Elex didn’t answer right away. His face was unreadable, eyes fixed on his sister. When he finally turned to Killan, it was with purpose.
"Let’s find out."
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