V

                                    

                                          



SHE WAS not herself.
Nohx had come to that conclusion as soon as he had taken her back to his home. Transporting her hadn't been hard; he had turned her into an ice chunk, had gotten her on the back of a wyvern, and had taken her into his home.
Keeping her there was becoming increasingly hard. He hadn't been ready to keep her in his own home, so close to his own people he was supposed to be protecting. It made him sick to keep her frozen, but also sick to know she could kill his people.
His people. The people he never wanted to be in charge of. 
He hadn't kept her in the Snow Clan castle for very long. He hadn't dared to do so. Instead, he brought her to a place that had belonged to his grandparents. A small ice house on the outskirts of the Snow Clan, in Icewood. 
Icewood was the stretch of forest that sat between the Winter Court and the Spring Court. Due to the frozen nature of the forest, many didn't linger in it for very long. Not very many creatures could survive in such a frozen climate, and so it wasn't very dangerous, unless you counted hypothermia as a danger.
Which, for Andorra, truly was a danger.
In the small ice cottage, Nohx had set Andorra up in the main bedroom. The same bedroom his grandparents had shared, once upon a time. When they still lived. Nohx didn't have the time to feel homesick for a family he'd never met, but it still tugged at him.
Snow fae didn't exactly need the heat, so the house hadn't been built with a fireplace. But, Nohx knew Andorra would need one. He had set her on the bed, still frozen in ice, and then he tried to plan. He wasn't exactly the handyman type.
He closed his eyes and banged his fist on his forehead. No, he wasn't handy. But he knew who was. 
* * *
"All I'm saying is, you should have thought this through a little bit more." Oberon stared at Andorra, or, the ice version of her. She was mid scream, and her eyes were so, so angry.
Nohx's mouth twisted. "I didn't ask for your opinion."
Oberon held his hands up. "Hey, you're the one who saved me, remember? Which, I'm very thankful for. And also, I was happy to help the Spring fae up into the Northern Mountains. But I should have been there protecting her the moment you freed me. Before Bazile even got here."
Had it been for selfish reasons that Nohx had kept Oberon with him instead of with Andorra? Perhaps. He didn't say that, though.
"I need a fireplace." He said as a response.
Oberon grinned. "You came to the right place, then. Where are the materials? Or did you leave that for me to collect as well?"
Nohx couldn't take his eyes off of Andorra. "You'll have to collect them," he grunted out.
Oberon was all too happy to help. Especially since Nohx had come to him for help. There was a buoyancy in his chest at the thought that it was the three of them again. So what if Andorra was currently an ice sculpture; she would be with them again.
He hoped.
"Let's do ice bricks. It works wonders in the Northern Mountains. Especially with blue flames." He was rubbing his hands together, picturing where the fireplace would go. He turned to grin again at Nohx. "She'll love it."
Nohx didn't turn away from Andorra. "If she doesn't run away from me, then maybe."
"You both need to have a long talk. For the sake of all of us. Stop pushing her away. Stop pushing me away."