The Frozen Beginning (Elemental Diamond Book 1) (24 page)

“This is
not
…
your
…
battle!”
Glacier shoves her way past him regardless, receiving angry and confused calls from her team.

I can't let him die. Not him
…

When Glacier looks up to the arena, she finds Fielder standing above Porter with a ring of fire surrounding the both of them. Holding two fireballs now, one in each hand, Fielder’s face is contorted with rage. Porter hands his hands above him, his eyes wide in fear.

He’s trapped.

With his back solid against the ground, the countdown begins.

Fielder’s head is still bleeding, the blood trickling down his jaw, dripping into the fire and creating a near silent sizzle.

Finally the counter reaches zero, and the horn reverberates through the arena, marking the end of the Seeding battles.

“Finally, the winner of the last match for this year’s Seeding battles is Fielder Vinson from the Pyre team.”

FIFTEEN

MINK’S SONG

Tonight's dress is similar to the one Glacier wore
for the first gala.

The sleek blue satin sits with thin straps crisscrossing over her back like lace. The gold flecks of glitter amongst the satin further enhances the elegance, complimenting her pale skin tone.

Like the others, the dress had been too long for her short figure, so Wendelin had to adjust it to her length as quickly as she could. Glacier’s skin is as flawless as the first time, thanks to Geri. This time with soft colours of grey and silky blue shadowing her eyes, the lipstick she paired with it is a soft nude, slightly sticky on Glacier’s lips. Glacier’s hair is up in a voluminous ponytail tamed into soft, defined curls.

Before she steps out of the Hover and onto the carpet, Glacier’s promises Lien that she will look for him and his wife inside so she can be properly introduced.

Glacier had apparently been walking the carpet too slowly because Brink caught up within a minute. His warm hand guides her into the ballroom, but he doesn’t say a word.

Despite her desire to do so, Glacier can’t seem shake the warm feeling his hand provides against her dress, like a scorching sun dulled by a cool breeze. It is infuriating to her how she has come to hunger the warmth he and Fielder have already accustomed her to.

He killed Care – he’s the reason she’s dead. Stop fawning over his warmth.

Just before they enter the doors, Glacier turns on him, fury clenching her fists tightly.

“You killed Care. I hope you can live with that, because you are going to have to for the rest of your life.” Her tone is sharp, and words poisonous.

Brink seems surprised by her snap, but composes himself quickly, seeming indifferent about the topic.

“Care is not dead—”

Glacier interrupts him, annoyed and angry, “Yes she is. I was there when she died. I was in the
room
with her.”

Still, he remains indifferent.

“Then why haven’t they mentioned her death yet?” he asks. She stills at his question.

He’s right – why haven’t they?

Glacier shrugs her shoulders, taking a step back from him.

“They probably will tonight. I just thought you should know that you are a murderer now.” A pestering emotion tugs, and Glacier feels unfit to say those words. Like she is no better.

Well, I’m not
…

Brink simply shrugs, “So I’m supposed to take your word for it?” He seems angry by her accusation.

Glacier swallows the lump in her throat, sending him an angry frown.

“I don’t care if you believe me. You’re a killer.”

Brink seems excited when Glacier says those words, like he has been waiting for her to say them throughout the entire conversation. He leans in close, until his nose is barely touching hers.

“Glacie, you haven’t seen
anything
yet.” And with that, Brink waltzes into the room like their conversation never occurred. Glacier stands at the entrance, frozen.

Glacie? He does
not
get to call me that!

Instead of contemplating his words, Glacier enters the room with her head high and her back straight.

The crowd below is vast, as it includes tonight and last night’s gala invitees. The tables are in the same positions, crowding over the dance floor.

Glacier starts her decent, following Brink as he skips ahead. As she collects a handful of her dress in her hand, she notices the crowd watching her warily, waiting for her to explode with ice. Ignoring the open gapes, Glacier glues her eyes to her feet.

When she reaches the bottom of the stairwell, she walks straight to the table she had been seated at the first night.

Her stride is quick and easy as everyone parts like splitting water, regarding her with caution. Glacier grinds her teeth, clenching her jaw tight with embarrassment, but continues on like she doesn’t notice.

~

Right before their meals, Sasis stands from his seat and looks over the crowd with a strange smile on his face, not quite content, but nearly remorseful. The crowd hushes instantly, itching for his words.

“My children, it is with great disappointment that I share this news with you all. All contestants must be informed before dawn.” He pauses for a moment, looking to the other Chamber Seats for confirmation.

He’s going to announce Care’s death
…

Glacier looks over to Fielder’s table at the same moment he looks to hers. His eyebrows rise, like he is questioning the same thing. Glacier nods her head solemnly before drawing her eyes back to Sasis. He clears his throat before continuing.

“It is with our deepest condolences to the family who has lost their child—”

Wait, not
families
?

“—That the High Chamber has decided to forgo one of the Programs this year.” The crowd erupts in confused chatter, all confused and outraged by the change of the tournaments timetable.

“Quiet, please. This was a difficult decision that we made, but we confirmed it this morning before today’s battles. This is so the body of Alue Puckett can be returned to her home region quicker.”

Wait, what? What about Care? She died as well. Why aren’t they telling anyone about Care!

Glacier glances over to Fielder again, and finds him giving her a confused look. She shakes her head, trying to convince him with her eyes that she hadn’t been lying when she told him.

Care died. I heard her flat-line. I was there when they gave up
…

After dinner, the tables are cleared and then moved to the edges so that people can dance in the centre. Lien approached Glacier with his wife, Darmila, in tow. He wasn’t lying when he had told Glacier how beautiful his wife is; with her tan skin and large black eyes, she is astonishing. Her ivy green dress flows similar to Glacier’s but has a more complimenting, yet revealing neckline. Glacier dismissed them playfully, encouraging Lien to dance with his wife. It didn’t take much to convince him.

Glacier stands off to the side behind one of the large white pillars where she suspected no one could see her. But to her utter surprise, the person who first taps her on the shoulder is a boy with a dwarfing figure and sandy blonde hand. Isaac. Glacier gapes at him, shocked that he would even bother approaching her.

“Can I have your first dance of the night?” Glacier nods stiffly, his small smile strangely easing her worries.

He takes her hand and guides her out onto the dance floor and begins swaying her softly.

I’m surprised so many boys know how to dance
…

The atmosphere is slightly awkward; realizing this, Isaac speaks over the soft music.

“That was a pretty interesting battle.”

The idea that he might be angry, that he might try and hurt her like Gamble had as they dance, has her limbs seizing and her heart thudding painfully against her ribs. Hearing her breath quicken, he adds, “You won; I’m not angry. Just confused.”

Glacier frowns at him.

Please don’t start asking questions
.

Obviously because he cannot hear her thoughts, he does anyhow.

“Why didn’t you fight back in the beginning?” Her head reaches below his shoulder, so Glacier doesn’t bother trying to look up at him.

“I don’t know…”

He doesn’t seem convinced with her three-word answer.

“OK… then what did you mean by ‘you can't control it’? And what did you mean when—” Glacier cuts him off by giving him a sharp glare.

He looks surprised by her quick movement, “Just… leave it.”

Isaac doesn’t seem happy by that response either.

“Why won’t you give me any answers?” His tone still isn’t angry; just more perplexed. By this point, they have stopped moving all together now, but are just staring at each other.

“Because…I can’t…” At this, his eyes droop. He knows he isn’t getting any answers, so he nods his head and they start to sway once more.

“You don’t have to be afraid to tell someone if you need help.”

“I don’t need help,” Glacier answers quickly. “I just need everyone to leave me the hell alone.”

He is quiet for the rest of the dance. When the song draws to an end, she thanks Isaac for the dance. Just as she is about to walk away, Glacier hears something that has her head spinning and her heart beating a mile a minute.

That’s not
…

She turns her head to the sound, and her eyes burn with blissful tears.

What is he doing?

Fielder is on stage, sitting on a bench with his fingers drumming over long white and black keys.

Piano
.

But it is the song he plays that has her blood pumping in her ears like a separate instrument, blocking him out.

No, I want to hear
him.

Fielder’s eyes are glued to the keys as his fingers dance across them, creating a beautiful melody of song.

It’s the same song
.

He plays the song that Glacier heard the first time the two of them met – that day in the snow when she had swum under the wall and found him in a broken down shack.

It’s the same song
.

Her feet guide her to the stage like a magnet without her knowledge until she is standing at the foot of the stage watching him play, mesmerized. Glacier barely notices that a lot of the crowd have either started to dance to the song, or have stopped to watch him as well. Her eyes are watery, but the tears have yet to fall. Her heart twists and turns with the memory of meeting him that day, her
only
friend.

The song goes on, and Glacier’s only thought is to climb the stage and sit beside him on the bench, like she used to whenever he would play it for her. When the song slowly starts drawing to its end, the crowd starts to applaud his performance. Fielder ends on the last notes and holds, drawing out the song a while longer.

When the room becomes void of any music, the crowd cheers louder with claps of appreciation. Fielder watches the keys for a moment before squeezing his eyes shut and lowering his head slightly.

Her heart is with his, tied in the memory of when they played that same song together in that old shack. Glacier bites her tongue hard, surprised she doesn’t taste blood. Hampton, the Hale representative and Second Chamber Seat, climbs the steps onto the stage, approaching the piano. Fielder stands from the bench, and as if knowing Glacier is there, his eyes immediately sought hers. And with that, Glacier feels something hatch inside her, blossoming dangerously.

“Wasn’t that wonderful, everyone?” Hampton speaks, wrapping an arm around Fielder’s broad shoulders. Fielder seems uncomfortable in his hold.

“And what is the name of that song, Mr Vinson?” Fielder gazes around the room for a moment before his eyes resettle on Glacier.

He had a hard time finding a name for that song
.

“I named it when I was twelve. It’s Mink’s Song.”

Glacier gasps at the name.

He named it after the fox we found?

He had told her that he couldn’t just
settle
for something – it had to have meaning to him. It had to mean as much to him as the song.

Hampton continues with his questions, “And who is Mink?”

Glacier can tell from his tone that he doesn’t really care. He is just asking for good showmanship.

Fielder’s eyes burn against hers, the orange flickering like live flames.

“Just a pet I had,” then his eyes sadden, “but she died last year.”

With those words, the bliss and happiness Glacier had been feeling is shattered.

She died
…

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Hampton adds when the crowd sighs sadly, “but you have a lovely name for the song.”

Hampton releases his hold on Fielder, and beacons to the crowd to have them rejoice at the idea.

Fielder leaves the stage as Hampton continues on. Glacier has lost focus in it all together.

I need to leave before Fielder finds me
.

Glacier weasels her way through the crowd, ducking and dodging whenever she catches a flash of orange eyes or a glimpse of curly light hair.

I need distance
.
I need Castor to be safe
.

But the sound of Mink’s Song continues to resound off the walls in her head, playing like an endless symphony.

The song pulls her heartstrings violently, and her efforts to push it away become overwhelming difficult.

“Glace, stop.”

Damn it
…

He is suddenly beside her outside the ballroom where a different song now plays past the door. Her eyes are wide, and her lips tight.

Don’t say anything. Keep walking
.

Glacier quickly turns around and continues walking.

“Glace, don’t ignore me! Not after what I did in there.” His tone is angry.

This is the first time he has ever been angry with me
…

Her shoulders hunch over, and her ponytail falls past her ear to flick her nose. Glacier hears him move closer, and her chest tightens with panic.