Echoes of Ice and Iron-Chapter 54: A Quiet Kind of Guarding

Aya surfaced from sleep in shallow pieces, awareness drifting in and out like a tide she could not command. The room smelled faintly of herbs, and firewood burned low in the hearth. Pale light filtered through the tall windows, catching on stone and silver alike.

Her head throbbed as if something inside her skull pressed outward, patient and unmoving.

She shifted - and she felt a sudden onset of pain.

Right then, she felt a hand steadying her shoulder at once.

"Easy," Killan said quietly.

Aya blinked, focusing on him where he sat beside the bed, still dressed in dark riding leathers, cloak discarded over a chair. He looked as though he had not slept at all, with dark circles under his eyes and a heavy expression on his face.

"How long was I out?" she asked.

"Long enough," he replied. "Shorter than I’d like."

She frowned. "I need to get up."

"No," Killan said with a tone of finality.

Aya inhaled, irritation flickering through the fog. "Killan, please don’t confine me to my bed and chambers like a misbehaving child. We have a siege out there."

"I’m sorry, but I have to," he said calmly. "Happens when you collapse in the middle of the courtyard and bleed on my floors."

Her mouth opened - then closed. She tried again, quieter. "That was... I didn’t mean for you to worry about me."

"Really?" Killan replied. "But that’s part of my job, right? I am your husband, Aya. I should worry about you."

Aya turned her face toward the ceiling. The stone above her was carved with House Valmird’s sigils - protection marks. She had always found them excessive. Now she felt their weight.

"What do we do now?" Aya asked, turning her attention back to him.

Killan stood up and proceeded to get her some water. "I’ve asked Vignir to locate some Maesters, so we can finally get you and Master Seth some help."

"How is he?"

"A little better," he answered truthfully. "The head healer said that the sooner we can find a Maester who knows a thing or two about Summoners, the better it will be for you both."

Aya smiled a little and inclined her head. Killan handed her a cup of warm water and gestured for her to drink.

"Don’t you think," she said after a moment, "you should ask me if I know any Maesters?"

Killan exhaled through his nose, just barely. Well, he did think about asking her, but she had been out of it and he couldn’t sit still and wait. "Do you?"

"Yes."

"And where might they be?" he asked, sitting on the bed beside her and leaning closer.

Aya studied his face for a beat, clearly noting the intensity in his eyes.

Looks like I have no choice but to let him have his way this time.

Aya looked back at him, eyes clear despite the haze. "If you want to keep me away from battle until this tomfoolery is resolved, send word to Peduviel. Master Dino will answer."

Killan stilled.

"Master Dino," he repeated. "Peduviel’s advisor?"

She nodded. "He still is a High Maester. Scholar of summoning theory and war-borne afflictions. Northern born. He is from Vetasta and from our House Svedana’s court, originally."

"I’ve heard the name," Killan said slowly. "I never knew he was a maester."

"You wouldn’t have known," Aya replied. "He stayed in Peduviel after the war. Said the East had fewer ghosts."

A pause.

"He understands what a summoner’s power does to the wielder," she added. "And the mind. If anyone can explain what’s happening to Master Seth and me - it’s him."

Killan studied her for a long moment, as a man watching his wife fray at the edges.

"I’ll send word," he said at last.

"Yes, do that," Aya said as he moved to stand up. "And come back here to rest with me?"

Killan looked back at her, a small smile gracing his tired face, and nodded.

Aya closed her eyes. Relief slipped through her defenses before she could stop it.

***

Aya kept her promise. For the next three days, she stayed inside Athax’s keep.

She walked the corridors slowly, wrapped in blue and silver, her steps measured. Killan did not hover when he was around on days he was not on the passes or on the battlefield - but neither did he leave her unattended.

For the first few days, it was Nolle who kept her company. His bright and warm demeanor brought her much-needed comfort while she recovered. It was Vignir who joined her on the fourth morning, falling into step beside her as she circled the courtyard.

"You may not be used to being confined," he said mildly, hands folded behind his back, "but I assure you - Killan only wants to help you heal faster."

Aya huffed softly. "I know."

"The faster you heal," Vignir continued, "and the earlier we understand what’s happening with your power, the better it is for you when you go back to the battlefield, my Lady. I understand the troops fight better with you out there."

She smiled at the comment. "I’m doing my best to help in the area I know best. I’m not fitted for life at court, my Lord."

"Vignir."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I think by now, we are friends by association and that it is alright for you to call me by my name, my Lady," Vignir said.

"In that case, you may do the same," she nodded. "I do apologize for being stubborn and giving the King things he had to worry about."

He glanced sideways at her. "Oh? It’s part of his job though."

Aya noted the same tone and words she heard from her husband some nights ago.

That’s part of my job, right? I am your husband, Aya. I should worry about you.

She smiled, faint but genuine. "I never had anyone actually shut me down before. Not even my brothers."

Vignir’s mouth curved as he patted her shoulder gently. "Seems like you both met your match, my Lady."

And the rest of their walk was silent and comfortable.

***

The infirmary smelled like clean linen and iron.

Shin sat on his bed, color returning to his face at last, his wounds healing. Aya lingered by his bedside, chatting idly.

Seth watched her closely, having argued his way out of the infirmary bed that morning. The healers and the younger Council member Nolle had insisted that he stay, but he laughed at their plight - sharp and humorless. "I feel fine." No one believed him, but no one could stop him either. Not even Nolle, who was a steady fighter himself. And at that, he walked out to find his men, Frost Fire, in their barracks.

After he had made sure his men were all accounted for and still battle-ready, he went on to look for Aya to stand guard beside her.

That brought him back to the infirmary, as she had been visiting Shin at the time.

Masa stood stiffly near the wall, arms crossed. Thorne leaned against a pillar, relief poorly disguised as boredom. Bela hovered near Shin, expression guarded but hopeful.

"We’ll be back out soon," Aya said quietly. "All of us."

Masa’s shoulders loosened. "Good. Cities make my hands itch."

Thorne grinned. "Same."

Seth said nothing. But when Aya met his eyes, he nodded once.

***

She was halfway down the hall, returning to her bedchamber, when she heard voices coming from the Council room.

A messenger’s voice. Northern accent.

Aya slowed just enough to register it. Fragments reached her anyway - familiar names of passes, a delayed banner, numbers that did not quite align with expectation, movement along the old roads.

News about the Northern territories.

Aya continued down the corridor, stopping just outside the door, hands folding loosely at her waist, posture composed enough that anyone passing might have thought she was simply waiting to be announced.

Killan saw her standing outside the council door. As soon as the messenger finished his report, he crossed the room easily to stand before her. He took her in quickly - the way she stood, the faint pallor beneath her calm, the steadiness that felt just a little too deliberate. His expression shifted, concern threading through authority.

"Aya," he said, already reaching for her shoulders. His touch was careful. "Are you coming back from the infirmary? How are you feeling?"

She met his gaze and nodded once. "I’m fine."

It was not a lie. It simply wasn’t the whole truth.

"Killan," she continued, voice even, unshaken by what she had overheard. "Help me get me dressed."

His brow furrowed. "Aya-"

"There is news from Vetasta," she said quietly. Not a question. "I’m not going to do anything reckless. I just want to know what’s happening."

She placed her hand over his wrist, gentle but firm.

"Let me join you at the Council briefing today."

For a moment, he said nothing. Behind him, the murmur of councilors resumed, hushed but strained. The war pressed at the walls, even here.

Killan searched her face for the signs he had learned to look for in her condition.

The pressure beneath her skin stirred, low and insistent, like something shifting its weight.

Aya pushed it down and ignored it to hold his gaze.

"I won’t speak unless you ask me to," she added. "But I will not be kept ignorant of any news back home."

Her words were not sharp. They were simply true.

Killan exhaled slowly.

"Very well," he said at last. "But the moment you feel unwell, I will bring you back. No arguments."

A faint, grateful smile touched her mouth.

"Of course," she said gratefully as he turned and proceeded to escort her back toward their chambers, keeping his hand at her back.