The cold river water attacked his throat, then the rest of his muscles; it immobilised him. Faraway, the piercing cry of a child struggling called to him.

Fox's senses latched onto the noise, onto the flickering shade that was gone just as he had noticed it. His fox pendant burnt against his chest, spreading a soothing warmth. He stretched his arms, flattened his body and rode on the mad, fast-moving bubbles, using bursts of air to steer.

"Wolf, hold on!" he screamed underwater. "I'm coming."

The Left Twin fought back, threw him against craggy stones that slit his hands and knees open, twisted his foot too. The pain drained his magic fast. First, his fingertips sputtered, then he tumbled and tumbled until he was unable to tell what was up and what was below. Hard rocks battered at him.

Haphazardly, he leapt up and found the surface. A swift inhale; that was all mercy the river had for him. Less than a heartbeat later,  the current pulled him back under.

He kept his eyes wide open. No shade. No noise. Nothing but stones, water, and a brownish weed too slick to grab.

Something yanked him back, smacked him head-first against a large boulder. The water around him churned, pressed against him with enormous force. Momentarily lost, he writhed and clawed until he realised what had happened: his belt had caught around the rock and was holding him back.

Ignoring the growing need to breathe, he tugged and tugged and tugged some more. His belt remained stuck. Though panic came easier than keeping a level head, he thought of Queen Cobra, her beautiful porcelain face, that long blonde hair of hers that smelled of happiness and the first days of spring. 

In the end, it was the memory of that honey-sweet kiss of hers made Fox's heart and pendant glow. As a spark erupted from his fingers, he placed his hand on his waist, the flame the sharpest knife in the world.

The leather snapped.

He keeled over backwards, feet before head.

The convulsing rapids smashed him against the rocks, moving at a speed faster than he could follow. He grazed at a stone, trying to take hold of it, if only to turn back around, to see where he was going. A nail broke off as his fingers slid off the slimy mossy surface.

The river was a monster that shook him, cornered him, and played some more before swallowing him whole. Dread overpowered him. The taste of blood in his mouth, red dancing in front of his eyes. Through every vein, his heart throbbed, fighting for life and those brief stints of air.

He thought of Katla, of the man playfighting with him, tossing him around, then wrapping his arms around him, his white hair blackening as he laughed. The comfort of the cottage; a home like he had never known a home to be. Where he felt safe. Where he could be himself. The joint rat hunt; Katla running after him. The man he didn't know he had needed until he had come along. He and Wolf weren't all that different. Wolf needed him like he had needed Katla. Still needed Katla.

Keeping an image of his master locked into the back of his mind, he reached for the bottom. The ground had to obey, had to listen to him. He might never be able to control the river, but Storm's Enhancer had burnt red, white, and brown when he had held it a few weeks ago. If there was a first time for him to control the earth, it had to be today. To live. To breathe. To save Wolf.

His knuckles grazed the bottom, minuscule pebbles biting. He rolled and rolled like weed getting blown across a field. The magical eyes of his fox pendant scalded his skin, altering colours, red, white, red, white, red, white, red, white.

Brown.

He clung to a jagged rock that had appeared out of nowhere. The current battered against him. With trembling muscles, Fox heaved himself up.

His mouth found the surface, barely enough time for more than two quick breaths, then the stone splintered beneath him. He conjured a second one, but a sudden wave punched him down.

A dull discomfort formed in the back of his head. He couldn't move a muscle as it quickly grew sharper. He never found out just how sharp. Darkness came for him first.

Waking up came with a massive wave of nausea, with the reflex to turn his head and retch up a sweet and sour liquid. His lungs burned, each cough emitting new throbs of pain. He ached all over, shaking, shivering. Too weak to open his eyes yet blessed to be able to touch the ground, to breathe in actual air in between two hurls.

He was alive.

A hand on his back, a soft patting. "Get it all out, Fox. It's going to be fine - all fine," the voice of Storm said.

Fox vomited until the contents of his stomach were more sour than sweet. The pain in his lungs remained. He croaked, "What happened?"

"I should ask you."

Coughing, Fox darted a look at Storm. He wheezed. "Felix... I... Wolf. The river... it... I couldn't find... How did... did you?"

"Hawk sensed magical activity down here," Storm explained. "We came as fast as we could. You were almost gone, but I managed to fling you back to shore."

"And Wolf?"

"Hawk is the real Water Magician. Let her..."

"But I'm a Knight."

"And you did your duty, Lord Fox. More than your duty."

Storm helped Fox sit against a boulder and blew hot air at him. While the coughs and the vile taste in his mouth remained, the shivering stopped. His clothes and hair dried. Slowly, he managed to keep his eyes open, albeit with blurred vision.

He had to look twice at Hawk standing on the river, not in, nor floating on top of it.  She was pulling at a giant wave as if pulling an invisible rope. The water splashed against the current in jerks, puddles at a time. Stones, weeds, even the beautiful lion sword passed her. She paid them no heed as she groaned in desperation, her otherwise black hair nearly drained of all colour.

Felix had found Queen Cobra by the wall that separated the underground cave from the castle. He stood clutched against her, hiding, his face tucked away. King Ariel was already halfway between his wife and the Grandmaster, running towards the shore. He picked up his pace as the next wave brought a small body.

The body of a child.

Lifeless.

"Don't be dead," Fox muttered to himself.

Screaming, Hawk split the water, steering the river so Wolf fell down in her arms. She buried her head against his slumped shoulders, coddled him, and leapt out of the water. Aggressive waves splashed against the ceiling as both currents, magical and regular, collided.

She sat down on the shore, Wolf on her lap, resting against her chest, then thrust King Ariel aside with an effective ball of air that cast him away several yards. Wolf sagged down as she held her hand in front of his face. A stream of liquid poured from his mouth.

"Breathe," she peeped, desperate. "Breathe, my boy." She patted his cheeks. "I'm here for you now. I'm here."

Time appeared to stand still as the stream of water reduced to drops that held no force. No stir, no cough, nor cry.

"Come on," she sobbed, pounding her hands hard on his chest. "The water can't harm you. It flows inside of you. Wake up. Annoy me with that senseless chitter-chatter of you. This time I'll listen to you. I'll tell you I'm your mother. I'll..."

Frantically, she touched the boy's wrist, then his neck, held her ear against his chest. She pounded once more, then stopped. 

A long gut-wrenching cry filled the cave and shook the foundations.

"That poor little cub," muttered Storm.

Fox's lip trembled. No, this was a nightmare. This hadn't happened. This was not how he received the confirmation that Hawk was indeed Wolf's mother. All because of that silver Lion sword that Panthera should have taken with her to the heavens. The God of Greed had won. Another virtuous child dead.

"Hawk," King Ariel tried.

"You!" She turned towards him. "You said you would treat our son as your own, raise him as if he were one of your legitimate children. Look what happened. Look what this led to—our son... my Lycaon... dead."

"You were the one who didn't want anything to do with him, who wanted to hide him," King Ariel retorted. "You could have raised him as your own. I did my best."

"I couldn't. I wouldn't have been able to become Grandmaster." The cave rumbled as Hawk's crying intensified. "You never cared about him, Ariel. You stood by and watched how your wife taught your other children to despise him. I did everything for him. I was the one who showed him the way to the kitchens to find food, who sent him to the servants when his pants sat too tight around his bottom. I showed him this place so he could practise his magic, away from your judging eyes."

"Then you are to blame," King Ariel said coldly.

"But it was Felix," Fox muttered, eyeing Storm.

Storm put his hand over Fox's mouth.

It was too late. Hawk had heard what Fox had said.

"Felix," she spat.

The ground thundered as she rose and stretched her arm towards Cobra and Felix. The Queen snagged Felix along as she tried to run. There was no outrunning the Grandmaster's wrath.

Felix soared through the cave, squealing like a piglet. Hawk left him dangling an inch from the churning river that appeared wilder than before.

"Mother!" Felix struggled to get loose, kicking, screaming. His vigorous movements did nothing; even with hair that was almost white, Hawk managed to hold him tight.

"Hawk. Don't..." King Ariel approached her. "He's a boy."

"So was my Lycaon!" Hawk raged. "A son for a son, Ariel."

"I'll lose all my children." The King panted as he took a hesitant step, then another. "And for what—you'll gain nothing from it."

"Stay away from me!"  As Hawk cast him aside, Felix sunk lower, his shoes in the water.

The ground vibrated, harder than before. Pebbles rattled. Bits of rock fell down from the ceiling.

The prince yammered, cried for his mother, for his father, even for Fox. All cockiness gone.

Hawk turned towards him and made a fist, silencing Felix. The prince's mouth still moved but there was no noise.

Fox couldn't let that happen. He had to do something; he was a Knight of Silvermark.

Half leaning on Storm, he clambered up. 

The Ician shook his head, whispering. "We need to leave."

"No," Fox said. He wasn't afraid. "Hawk, stop. I came down here with Felix. I didn't know..."

Talking hurt. His head pounded. A fresh wave of nausea washed over him as she shot her poison green eyes at him. "Get out of here."

"We should really leave," Storm urged him.

Fox gathered his courage. Faltering, he walked up to the Grandmaster. "No, Felix was jealous, afraid that Wolf would steal me as his friend. I don't think he realised what he was doing until Wolf..."

"I said 'Get out'," the Grandmaster shrieked.

The thunder returned, rumbling loudly as if coming from the belly of the earth. Walls cracked, crumbled partly. Stones fell down like rain. The water frothed.

As Storm plucked him by his collar, dragging him along, Fox swept a wind so powerful, Felix flew into the direction of the King. That was all he could do as Storm bolted away, pushed him through the hole and the Queen with him.

The ground was like water, moving on its own. Loud crashes and roars alternated.

"Cobra, you need to go," Storm shouted at the Queen when she scrambled up and dove back into the hole. "Leave Felix to Ariel."

"I can't," she yelled back at him.

"I won't leave you."

"You must."

Their hands touched, then she disappeared back into the cave.

The earth lurched. A stone fell down, blocking most of the entrance. 

"Cobra!" Storm called her.

"I'm safe," she shouted back. "Get out of here. Take Fox somewhere to safety."

The Queen didn't have to say that twice. Fox felt all his bruises tenfold as the Ician stormed towards him and picked him up. "Hold on tight."

While sand and stones beneath their feet sank, Storm leapt up and up the walls like a cockroach.

Unable to take the pain and nausea, Fox vomited. The bile he retched up landed partly on Storm's clothes. The Ician didn't notice; he jumped and jumped.

The rumbles carried on for a while. The walls and stones still cracked, but the foundations no longer crumbled. Storm's leaping turned to running.

Back on the ground floor, Caracal came darting towards them. "What's that noise? What happened?"

"A magician's mourning," Storm said out of breath. "A Grandmaster's mourning. The little Wolf dead—drowned. Hawk... she's the mother."

"Where are Ariel and Cobra? Felix?"

"Still down there," Fox moaned. "Save them."

"But not this way—it's a dead end now." Storm stopped Caracal from heading down whence they had come. "Follow the river. It will lead you to the cave." Then he added, "Prepare for the worst."

"I'm always prepared," Caracal said. "What are you going to do?"

"Bring Fox to safety—Queen's orders."

Caracal nodded. "I'll take care of the rest."

Fox slipped in and out of consciousness, thinking Storm would bring him to his chamber or to a Healer. Instead, they ran across the courtyard. Shouts of Caracal instructing soldiers and magicians alike in the background.

"What's happening?" Fox asked. "Where are you taking me?"

The next moment, they were in a stable. Horses whinnied and stamped their feet. Stirrups clattered. So much pain.

"Where... where are you taking me?" 

Not saying anything, Storm put him in a saddle, left him leaning against the pommel, croaking. 

"Storm?" Fox asked.

"I'm sorry," Storm mumbled, "but I'm not. The Ician winds are calling me home."

"Ice... why are we going to Ice?" Fox asked weakly. "I'm a Silvermarker."

"No, you're a Greenlander. The crown shall be mine once more," Storm muttered. He climbed onto the horse, pushed himself against Fox, and gave the reins a tug. "Yip-yip, Spot."

The horse moved into a canter. Hooves drummed beneath Fox, the sound piercing his head. With all the strength left in him, Fox aimed for the animal's legs and conjured small five small flames from the tip of his fingers.

A sharp neigh as the sparks burned through hair and skin. The horse reared. Storm and Fox tumbled down.

"I can't go to Ice," Fox yelped. He crawled wherever his aching body would take him. Someone would have to hear him and help him. "I can't... can't..."

Storm grabbed Fox by his foot and pulled, his stomach scraping the straw on the ground. The rumbles hadn't faded entirely. "You're a fool, Fox. King Ariel is using you, turning you to become his soldier. In Ice, you'll get treated with the respect you deserve. A fellow prince, not a weapon."

"I'm a Knight. I'm a Knight," Fox repeated, recalling the joy he had felt when standing before the King; his King. He was no tool or weapon. He was already Felix's equal; all the plans they had made in Mage Tower. Both of them travelling between the two countries. Reigning from Moondale during summers, and from Sundale during the winter. Always warm, never cold.

The eyes of his fox pendant blazed red. Out of his hands shot beams of fire. He hated Prince Storm for telling lies, for wanting to steal him. If Storm hadn't taken him from the cave, Queen Cobra wouldn't...

He didn't finish the thought.

The Ician Prince took hit after hit, killing the fire with gusts of wind that weakened Fox further. He didn't give up, refused to give up. He wasn't going to go to Ice. As long as he had happy memories, he could keep his magic going.

Just as Storm punched him in the face, and Fox felt like he was going to lose consciousness once more, a flare erupted next to the man's face. A warning.

Storm, shocked, dropped him. A loop of fire wrapped around the man's neck and yanked him back.

"And where do you think you were going with MY apprentice?"

It was Katla; his master had come home. Atilax and Phoenix stood next to him, their swords ready to attack.

Fox closed his eyes, allowing the pain to overpower him. 

He was safe.