Chapter 114: Shattered
In the icehouse, Hauke hung the enormous fish from a large metal hook and quickly bled the fish into the water beneath the ice while Virve listened to Andrus’ excited retelling of the battle to catch the ’monster fish’, including his heroic -BONK- between the fish’s eyes.
"It is impressive," Virve admitted. "Have you thanked Heila yet for keeping it from pulling you into the water?"
"Oh! No, Heila, I’m so sorry," the young soldier said, blushing to the base of his horns in embarrassment when he looked at the servant who had already begun preparing a space on the sled for them to place their fish for the hike home.
"It’s fine," Heila said, her ears heating when she thought about the way she’d wrapped her arms around the strong young soldier to stop him from being pulled under the ice. For a few moments until Ashlynn wrapped the line around the ice spike, her entire torso had been pressed up against Andrus and even through his thick coat, her hands felt the power in his muscles as he strained against the fish.
"I’m supposed to go unnoticed when I’m going about my work," she added, turning away from Andrus before she noticed the way she’d looked at him. "So it’s not a problem."
"No, it’s," Andrus started to say, only to be interrupted by a loud -CRACK- as a rock the size of his head crashed through the dome of the ice house, sending shards of ice flying before it landed on the frozen lake surface at the opposite side of the ice house.
The bitter wind that the dome had kept at bay rushed in through the breach, stealing their breath away as the temperature plummeted. Ice crystals formed in the air, stinging their exposed skin and eyes as they swirled through the newly formed hole.
"My Lady!" Virve bellowed. "Get down!" As she spoke, the bearish woman stepped between the hole in the icehouse and Ashlynn moments before a second and third rock slammed into the dome, skittering across the ice and collapsing a portion of the dome.
Ashlyn crouched low behind the stool she’d made of ice, her cold hands fumbling for the hilt of her sword as she inwardly cursed at the numbness that had spread to her fingers from the cold, wet gloves. Despite all of her practice to quickly draw a sword when attacked, Thane had never taught her anything that would help her fight with hands that felt half frozen.