She sent the palace healer to tend to Thuraya’s wounds. She was furious when she heard that they only administered first aid and then sent her back home. According to the healer, the ice had covered her feet and frozen them solid. Thankfully, Haitham was in the vicinity. He had gently coxed the ice away, and the doctor had prescribed her salve to apply till her feet healed. Daliya had instructed the healer not to be back till Thuraya had completely recovered and to use the castle funds if required.

  Haitham still hadn’t given her the green light to go to the village—which she desperately wanted. So, she spent the whole time hidden in her chamber, avoiding the eyes of the other servants and, most of all, avoiding the destroyed hall.

  It wasn’t till a week after the incident that she convinced herself to go to the hidden garden.

  As she stood in the garden, her hand extended, she realized she had not just abandoned the ice, but the ice had abandoned her.

  No matter how she called, it refused to answer.

  Haitham stood behind her. A silent shadow. She turned to him.

  “I can’t.”

  “Try again.”

  She huffed but did as told.

  Still nothing.

  “Again.”

  That part inside her chest that raged and screamed was silent now. Non-existent.

  “Again.”

  She whirled around, glaring at him. “I said I can’t!”

  “It’s not that you can’t. It’s that you won’t.”

  “I tried!”

  “Powers only respond to their owner’s desire. This desire doesn’t have to be explicitly said. Deep down, you don’t want your powers. You’re rejecting them. They obeyed.”

  She reeled back as if slapped. Horror and disbelief colored her face. “Are you saying I want to hurt others?”

  How could he…?

  She raged at him, pushing against his chest with all her force. He didn’t budge. Not even an inch.

  He shook his head. “I’m saying that as long as you refuse to control your powers and leave them at the whims of your unstable emotions, what happened that day will happen again.” He took hold of her wrist and pulled her forward, staring into her eyes. “Your powers are yours alone. Either you take hold of them or let them run loose unchecked.”

  She wrenched her hand from his grasp, shot him a scathing look, then walked back to the castle.

  She didn’t talk to him since their fight in the garden. He stayed near, at the periphery of her vision—a silent shadow.

  Then, one morning, he approached her just as Mazin was giving his report of a monster sighting—an abomination that lurked around the mountain, sighted by some villagers while they gathered wood.

  Daliya ordered the knights to deal with it.

  If it was like the one she had encountered in the cave, they had to kill it before it reached the town. Mazin looked reluctant to follow her orders at first, insisting that a handful of knights were more than enough to deal with the threat. Daliya refused.

  “Just to be on the safe side,” she said. “I would rather send more knights to deal with it than risk the lives of two.”

  He bowed.

  “And, captain. Be careful. If it’s more powerful than you thought, don’t engage. Return to the castle. We’ll find another way to deal with it.”

  Meaning that she would ask Haitham for help. But she didn’t say.

  When Mazin left, a small smile had softened his stern features.

  Daliya turned to Haitham, her arms crossed over her chest.

  “What do you want?”

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  He lifted his arms in a placating manner. “To help. I swear.”

  She raised an eyebrow at him.

  “I heard about the monster. I think we should head down to the village.”

  She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. “Why? I thought you said it wasn’t safe?”

  “It’s been days, and yet they’ve made no moves.” He shrugged.

  She narrowed her eyes at him.

  “Aren’t they worried? I think seeing their princess walking amongst them will bolster their resolve and quieten the worry in their hearts.” He grinned, but the grin soon fell when she didn’t smile.

  “I can’t protect them,” she said deadpan.

  Had he forgotten?

  He waved her off. “Don’t worry. I’ll be there.”

  She regarded him scrutinizingly. While he was right—seeing her would make the villagers feel safe—she couldn’t help but feel like something was missing.

  And she could finally visit Thuraya.

  “Alright,” she sighed. “We’ll go.”

  “Perfect!” He sounded more relieved than she thought he should.

  Whatever, she thought. She’ll deal with whatever he was planning later.

  She didn’t know what people typically brought with them when visiting a sick person. But back home, people would bring fruits and cakes. So she did just that. Before leaving, she made a short detour to the kitchens and exited with a basket full of fruits and cakes now hanging from her arm.

  Haitham’s brows had furrowed briefly in amusement but said nothing.

  The villagers flocked to her like chicks to their mother. They watched her with wondrous eyes as she inspected the stalls around the streets.

  She wasn’t really inspecting anything. She merely listened as merchants talked about this item or that that they had acquired from other provinces, nodded here and there, and smiled at the curious children who followed her, peering at her from behind corners. They would startle and scurry away, laughing.

  One merchant had yelled at one of them, but Daliya stopped him, rebuking him for his harsh words. Since then, the distance between her and the little crowd has only decreased.

  The whole time, Haitham was a constant fixture by her side. His eyes roamed around the square, searching for something.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Hmm? Nothing.” He seemed distracted. His hand ran through his hair, further disheveling the slightly wavy curls.

  Suddenly, a deafening roar split the air. Silence reigned briefly as everyone turned to see what was happening before chaos reined in the square.

  The monster was inside the village.

  It had a humanoid form with claw-like fingers. Water ripples ran along its frame, making it look like a walking water nightmare. The absence of features on its face made the jagged teeth more prominent and menacing.

  Horrified screams filled the square. Villagers ran around frantically, trying to escape the monster’s reaching hands.

  “Haitham–”

  He was gone. She blinked, uncomprehending. He was here, next to her, just a moment ago. Where did he go?

  She looked through the sea of frightened faces, but he was nowhere to be seen.

  Panic gripped her heart. Her mind screamed at her to move. But it was futile. She was powerless. Her ice had abandoned her.

  The monster approached a child separated from his mother in the chaos. The child screamed and curled around himself, squeezing his eyes shut as if the monster would disappear if he could no longer see it.

  The monster roared, fixing on the child like a starved animal would prey.

  No. She reached for the child. She wasn’t going to stand and watch another person get hurt. Not again.

  Right before the monster’s claws made contact with the frightened kid, an ice shield sprung around him. Then another overlapped the first, but instead of merely stopping the sharp claws, it extended, knocking the monster away.

  Daliya ran up to the child. She ran her hands over his face, looking for injuries. He whimpered, then threw himself in her arms, hiding his face against her chest, and started bawling.

  The monster stirred. Daliya scooped up the child in her arms. They needed to get away and hide until the knights arrived. She threw the basket at its head. It made a muffled, sad thump before falling to the ground, its contents spilling at the monster’s feet. The monster took a step towards them, the crunch of the crushed fruits deafening despite the villagers’ screams.

  But the monster didn’t get far. It stumbled and fell forward, a dagger stuck in its back, then disintegrated into dust, leaving its soul stone the sole testament to the chaos it caused. Haitham snatched the dagger before it reached the ground.

  “Another water element. Just as I thought.” He hummed, nodding to himself.

  Daliya watched him, icy cold anger gripping her chest.

  Was this his doing? Did he lure the monster here? Was this why he had asked her to come down to the village? For another training session?

  The villagers who went into hiding emerged from their homes. They cheered and celebrated. A woman, the child’s mother, fell before her, tears streaming down her face, and words of gratitude jumbled out her mouth. Daliya helped her to her feet, shaking her head to stop the woman’s frantic attempt to kiss her hand.

  The knights finally arrived. A look from her sent them to their knees, apologizing for their incompetence. She waved them off, eyes scanning the crowd, searching, no longer listening to Mazin’s report of the material losses they had suffered. She was sure the knight captain would be able to do what needed to be done without recurring to her.

  He stood there, grinning, triumph shining through his eyes. Haitham’s smile widened as Daliya walked up to him.

  “I told y–”

  She slapped him, her rage bristling at his shocked look. What was he expecting? That she would cry tears of joy and be grateful that he endangered the lives of poor, powerless villagers just to get the point across?

  She felt livid. The anger simmered and seethed, threatening to boil over.

  If she stayed another second, she would encase him in an ice prison befitting his recklessness.

  She turned and left.