Worth more than you were given

The moments spent with her viking prince were always easy. Ember never felt a pressure to be anyone but her truest self with Erik. It had been that way all their lives, from the moment they'd snuck up the mountain as pups. Erik was so wildly and unapologetically himself and it inspired Ember to be the same with him. She wasn't a Carpathian noble or a Hallows princess around him; she was just Ember—his Ember. Their teasing, they playful banter, their shared affections warmed her heart and made her pulse quicken whenever he graced her with his affection. Her father would've been so pissed if he knew she was sneaking alcohol up to a boy's room and cuddling with him on his bed, but hey, Em had always had her mother's rebellious streak in her. Blame her Fatalis genes.

Erik was so caught off guard by the miracle cure she had given to him. That was exactly the reaction Ember had been hoping for. She smiled, amused and encouraging. He's speechless, stunned. She'd just given him a new life in a bottle, of course she expected this response. How did one even wrap their head around a new start? Em gave him all the time he needed to comprehend what was being given, what was lying on the other side of a quick swig. And then he was kissing her and Em felt her blood turn to liquid fire in her veins. Her heart skipped and she hummed with happy surprise as she returned his tender kiss, a dainty paw stroking over his rugged jaw. He spoke once their lips parted and Ember just gave him a lopsided smile. "You don't have to thank me. I always keep my promises. But drinking that would be a good start."

There's no fear or hesitation in Erik as he downs the miracle medicine in one swallow, but in Ember there is a great worry that she keeps hidden. She had no doubt in Syanna's abilities, studies, and talents... but everything that revolved around the Long Night was ambiguous and uncertain. Syanna had warned her that there was no guarantee what sort of side effects the medicine might have. It could be totally innocuous, or it could kill its imbiber. Her best guess? Erik would be in for a rough ride as the medicine dissolved the crystals in his throat and melted them away from inside his body, leaving just the ones protruding from outside his flesh, turning them into little more than sharp appendages like his claws were. Making them a benefit instead of a handicap. Ember prayed to the gods that Syanna was right.

The effects of the medicine were instantaneous. As soon as Erik drank the golden liquid his body began to tremble, then convulse as his muscles fought against an unseen pain. Em's ears flattened back against her head, worry immediately evident on her face. She kept her hope and faith in Syanna's skills and medicine though. This had to work, it just had to. He collapses to the bed then, unspeaking, making these noises of struggle and pain and Ember is immediately at his side, resting her paws on his chest to hold onto him and to give him herself to hold onto. An anchor for him in this turbulent storm that ripped his body apart and rebuilt it stronger.

Her head leans down over his chest, cradling him, helping to keep his head steady as she reached up to caress his cheeks and jaw. "I've got you, Erik. I've got you. I'm here," she spoke to him, voice calm and soothing, hiding the worry to give him nothing but reassurance. "You're so strong, Erik. You're my mountain king. And you're gonna beat these crystals. Just hang on a bit longer, baby. You've got this." He was strong. He was her viking. He would survive this metamorphosis. And he would emerge from his den tonight stronger than ever.

"Ember" | "Carpathian"