Johanna

The goblins see us coming and are there to greet the sledge when it lands. The Head Goblin welcomes me with a deep bow. "Your Majesty. Good to see you." He notices Kai sitting in the corner of the sledge. "And good to see that your sacrifice has returned."

"I'm going to need a weapon after this," I tell him. "An ordinary one. Nothing made of ice."

The Head Goblin frowns at Kai. "The sacrifice won't work if he's dead."

"It's not for him. I have enemies that you don't need to know about."

The goblins exchange nervous looks. "We can provide you with a weapon tonight," says the Head Goblin finally.

"Good. That is all I require." I stand up and brush past him. The silver rope bites at Kai's wrist, and he has no choice but to follow me out of the sledge and into the center of the valley. The troll-goblin has already set up an area in which to perform the spell-at least I assume that's the meaning of the little clusters of rocks and mushrooms that circle the ice coffin. Julian's form is blurred by the patterns that have been traced on either side of him. Someone has built an archway of sticks overtop of the circle, with the holly branch hanging down over his heart.

"How long will this take?" I ask the troll-goblin.

"However long the magic requires."

"That's no answer."

"Most of the spell is done already," he says. "All we need is a clear sky, and the final part should take no more than an hour."

"Fine," I say. I throw a wind straight up. The clouds above us scatter. The sky spills open, and stars blink down at us, their twinkling eyes unseeing. "Do it now."

"Very well. I can see why you would want this over with." He clears his creaky throat. "The spell will go best if you thaw the ice coffin. So he can breathe."

So he can breathe. I never thought I'd hear that said of Julian again. I can't feel anything—it is inconceivable that I could feel anything. And yet, knowing that this impossibility is coming true, knowing that minutes from now Julian is going to be standing next to me, the sheer impossible knowledge of it hits me so hard that it's almost like a feeling.

I step into the circle and press my hand against the ice coffin. It melts away, dripping onto the snow. I leave a block of ice directly beneath Julian so that he can rest on something other than the ground. Then I step away.

I've done my part.

The other goblins gather round as the troll-goblin begins to chant. The words are deep and earthy-sounding, rolling and rumbling like boulders down a hillside. The spell is clearly troll in origin and sounds funny coming from the mouth of a goblin. Still, he says it well.

While he chants, I reach out with my mind and feel for the ice within my Palace. I want to know if any of the cages have been disturbed.

"Your Majesty," says the troll-goblin suddenly, "your magic will interfere with the spell."

I stop reaching out. He begins to chant again, picking up where he left off. I shift slightly from one foot to the next. I can still feel the ice crystals in my immediately vicinity, but that does me no good. I don't like not being able to contact my ice from far away.

The goblin's chant continues for what seems like eternities. I don't know if I've ever gone this long without using my power. The stars above us have moved. Finally, the troll-goblin holds up the vial of ugly brown liquid.

"Who will sacrifice his life for his brother's?" he calls out. He looks at Kai.

"I will," says Kai.

"Is this life given willingly?"

"Yes."

"Then drink." He hold the vial out to Kai. Kai uncaps the vial and wrinkles his nose at the smell. He hesitates.

"I can easily kill Gerda from here," I remind him. Kai tilts the vial into his mouth. He makes a face and swallows it quickly.

"Who will give his blood to his brother?" recites the goblin. This is Kai again. He steps into the circle and holds out his hand. The goblin tugs Kai's hand out over Julian's chest. He pulls out a knife and jabs it into Kai's fingertip. A bead of blood appears. Then the goblin squeezes Kai's hand, causing the blood to drip onto Julian. He releases Kai, says a few more words in troll. He bows his head and steps out of the circle.

Nothing happens. The goblins stand in silence. Julian lies still. Not even the wind blows.

"Is that it?" I say.

"That's the spell," the troll-goblin says. "Exactly as the trolls taught me."

"It didn't work."

"Perhaps," says the Head Goblin, "your sacrifice was not as willing as he seemed."

"Don't blame your mistakes on me," says Kai evenly.

"Shut up, all of you!" I say. I can't believe I was stupid enough to think the goblins could pull this off. I swirl my hands together. Power grows between then. "I warned you of the price of failure."

Someone gasps. It's a human gasp, so it must be Kai.

"Shut up, Kai."

"I didn't say anything."

Julian gasps again. I recognize his voice this time. My hands fall to my sides. Half-formed ice crystals shoot from my palms into the snow, where they vanish. I run into the stone circle and fall down at his side, pressing my cheek against his. Julian is breathing. Air is moving in and out of his mouth. His chest is rising and falling. Every few seconds, he gasps unevenly, but otherwise his breathing is smooth. I reach up and brush a wet strand of hair from his forehead. My heart flutters, and it takes me a minute to force it back down. There's color in his cheeks, but his eyes are still closed.

"Is he going to wake up?" I demand. "Why won't he wake up?"

"The spell takes a few minutes to warm up," says the troll-goblin.

"You might have told me that."

"But you were having so much fun threatening to kill us all."

I point a finger at him. "Don't mock me." But I can't really get behind my threat when Julian is lying in front of me, his cheeks gaining color every minute. Already his breath is growing steadier. He starts to shiver.

"It's too cold out here," I say. I glare at the goblins as if the snow were their fault. "I'm taking him back to my Palace to warm up."

"What about the eternal winter—"

"Are you goblins always so impatient?" I reach up and give the air above us a nudge. "There. It's done."

The Head Goblin looks suspicious. "Just like that?"

"Not all mages need chants and potions."

He shrugs. "I'll accept your word." He turns to the other goblins and waves them forward. "Load the man onto the sledge. We're going back to the Ice Palace."

A/N - Julian's back! Well, back-ish. Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing! See you next week!