He brushed it away, but it took little time to gather again. The green algae coloring the surface of the lake disappeared, seeking warmth in deeper water. A shiver shook Khirro as he saw the scum replaced by a rime of snow. He looked at the water directly in front of the boat; the prow pushed aside a thin layer of ice as they advanced.
“The lake freezes,” he called over his shoulder, teeth chattering.
Snow collected in the bottom of the boat, dusted the surface of the lake. The trees on the approaching shore wore the same white cloak. The ice grew thicker until it began to impede their progress, slowing them, making Shyn and Ghaul pull harder and harder on the oars. With the shore tantalizingly close, the blade of Shyn’s oar glanced off the ice instead of finding water. He tried again and failed to penetrate it. The same happened to Ghaul. The rowing stopped and soon after the boat did, too.
“What now?” Ghaul threw his oar to the bottom of the boat. Khirro turned toward the others, knees creaking and aching from kneeling in the cold.
“The shore isn’t too far,” he said, though it had been a while since he could see land clearly through the veil of heavy flakes.
“How can you be sure?” Athryn asked. In the frigid weather, Khirro found himself envying the magician’s mask. “Shyn, can you take to the air and see?”
The border guard shook his head. “It would be suicide to fly in this.”
“So what’s the hold up,” Ghaul said half under his breath. Shyn glowered at him.
“We have no choice,” Khirro interjected. “We’ll have to walk the rest of the way.”
“I..is the ice th...thick enough?” Elyea asked.
As if in answer, the ice around them crunched and creaked, squeezing against the hull of the boat. Khirro stood, knees popping, but the boat didn’t move. He swayed from side to side, gently first, then more aggressively. Ice held the boat fast.
“It’s freezing quickly.” Shyn thumped the blade of his oar on the ice. “Perhaps we should wait to be sure it will hold us.”
“We freeze quickly, too,” Athryn said, his words carried on a plume of mist; a ring of frost encircled the mouth hole of his black mask.
“Athryn’s right. My toes already lose feeling. If we wait too long, we may not be able to walk.” No surprise Ghaul’s words contradicted Shyn’s.
“I’ll go first,” Khirro said, surprising himself. A gentle warmth spilled through his chest—the vial tucked into its place at his breast.
Is it the king’s blood itself giving me warmth and courage, or the spell keeping it alive?
He strapped on his sword belt, threw his pack over one shoulder and the shield Athryn and Maes conjured him over the other. The boat didn’t bob or sway or quiver—frozen solid. He went to step on to the ice but Shyn stopped him.
“Take this,” he said handing him the oar. “Test the ice with it.”
Khirro nodded and extended the blade over the side of the boat, prodding the ice. The tip touched and slipped to the side, twisting in his grip. He recovered and poked again. The ice proved solid.
“Let me get twenty paces before you follow.” Khirro threw his leg over the side, shifting his weight carefully. “Come one at a time, ten paces between you. Follow my tracks.” He looked at them and forced a smile. “Go no farther if you come upon a big hole in the ice.”
“Be cautious,” Athryn said.
Elyea stood and leaned between Shyn and Ghaul to hug him and kiss him on the cheek. Her body shivered with the cold, but the kiss spread warmth across Khirro’s face. She sat back down, saying nothing as Khirro brought his other leg over the side.
A layer of snow more than an inch deep crunched beneath his boot; the ice creaked but held. He took one small step, then another, creeping forward, prodding the ice before him with the tip of the oar. A cold wind whipped across the lake throwing snow in his face, flapping his tunic as though the air wanted to tear it from his shoulders.
Khirro counted off step after tentative step, his jaw aching from clenching his teeth. At his twentieth step, he looked back to see who they’d send next, but the blizzard concealed the boat from sight. Likely Athryn would follow next, then Elyea, leaving Shyn and Ghaul to argue over who’d do the soldierly thing and bring up the rear.
Khirro turned his attention back