Her words hung in the air like a carcass on a hook.

Ice was still for a long moment. “Wh-what?”

Max burst out, “Caspian’s comatose! He passed out while getting out of the shower. We don’t know how long he’s been like this, the guard wasn’t watching. He’s completely unresponsive and his pulse is incredibly weak.”

Ice sat up straight, eyes wide. Sadness and fear melted away and was replaced with determination. He stood up, putting on his shoes. I stood up, too, legs half asleep from him laying on them.

“If it is what I think it is, I’ll be able to help him,” Ice nodded.

“Good,” Swann curtly nodded, motioning for us to follow her. “No restraints needed. This will be a quick visit.”

Ice’s eyes went wide, and I could see that a part of him was relieved. He was still followed by two guards, but he seemed more focused on getting to Caspian. I could only imagine what was going through his head right now.

When we got to Caspian’s room up in the infirmary, Junior Director Thompson was waiting for us, arms crossed.

“I still think this is a bad idea,” he said when we approached. “For all we know, EW-54 could’ve been the one to cause this.” He glared at Ice, and Ice glared back, eyes narrowed and ears flicking.

“It’s the best ‒ only ‒ option we have,” Swann replied, opening the door.

Ice’s posture stiffened when he saw Caspian.

The boy was laying in a bed, dressed in a hospital gown with the blankets pulled up to his waist. The multiple monitors beeped somewhat steadily, if not a bit slowly. His chest calmly rose and fell. He looked pale, brown skin ashier than I had ever seen it.

Ice moved towards the bed, glancing over Caspian. He leaned down to sniff at Caspian, then began properly checking him over, starting with his pulse. Ice soon stood up straight. His expression was caught between concern and anger.

“Ice?” I asked, stepping forward. “Is it the bad thing you mentioned?”

He looked up at me, then curtly nodded.

“How do we fix it?” Max hastily asked.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Gemhearts aren’t meant to be without their hearts in their chests. Surviving without it is a matter of mental and physical health; the better the health, the better the chances. It’s surprising he’s held on this long. Unfortunately, him staying awake for so long means that he doesn’t have long before his organs start to give out. A week, tops.”

“So, what do we do to fix it?” Max asked.

“Gemheart hearts are only removable via a spell or a blade,” Ice explained. “Best chance right now would be the spell.”

“This spell, how many people know it?” I asked.

“In all the realms…,” he thought for a moment. “About 100, give or take.”

Jr. Dir. Thompson sighed, “Do we have time for a treasure hunt just so they can do some spell to return 39’s heart? Wouldn’t it just be easier to do surgery?”

“Under most conditions, that would be an option,” Ice replied. “Unfortunately, attempting to place in the heart via surgery will have a less-than-ideal survival probability. His soul is unstable, and therefore his body is unstable. Using the spell will stabilize it and save him. But, you didn’t let me finish. I’m one of the people who know the spell. Give me his heart, and he’ll be fine.”

We looked at each other.

Jr. Dir. Swann spoke into her comm, “This is Swann. Bring EW-39-1 up to EW-39’s infirmary room.”

A satisfied smile pulled at Ice’s lips. He turned and walked back to Caspian, continuing to examine the comatose boy.

“So… how do you know all this stuff about Gemhearts?” I asked Ice.

He glanced back at me, “I’m very old.”

I rolled my eyes. “Obviously. Have you met Gemhearts before?”

He curtly nodded. “Studied them.”

“Studied?”

He didn’t reply.

A guard arrived, carrying EW-39-1, which was in its small glass containment chamber. My eyes widened when I saw Caspian’s crystal heart.

It was circular, colored blue, and semi-transparent, with small droplets of water floating in the center. It was surprisingly tiny, about the size of a toddler’s palm. It was held on a small metal stand, and almost seemed to glow.

“That’s his heart?” I breathed. “It’s so… small.”

Jr. Dir. Swann removed the glass covering.

Ice approached the crystal, leaning close, “Oh, you poor little thing, come on, let’s get you back to your body.” He reached forward, taking up the crystal. It floated above his cupped palm, glowing a bit brighter.

Max softly gasped, “It’s never done that before.”

Ice’s brows furrowed for a moment. He hurried back to Caspian. He spoke softly in an unfamiliar language, lowering his hands and the crystal into Caspian’s chest. The blue glow grew brighter, then dissipated.

There was silence for a scarily long moment, the room only filled with the sound of the slowly-beeping EKG. It began to speed up.

Caspain’s eyes shot open and he gasped for air, twisting on the bed and choking on his own breaths. Max was beside him in an instant, holding his shoulders. Caspian frantically looked around the white room, wide blue eyes landing on Ice.

“Bed rest for the next month or so,” Ice ordered as the boy calmed. “Eat full, nutritious meals and drink lots of liquid, and don’t exert yourself. Your body will take some time to adjust to having your heart back. The next few days may come with chestburn and aches.”

Caspian lightly touched his chest, “M-my heart? Y-you….”

“Yes, I put your heart back,” Ice nodded, gently smiling. My heart fluttered at that smile. A genuine, sweet smile, one that came from saving a boy’s life. “You’ll feel stronger now, and your power will be a bit wild for a bit, so be careful.”

“Alright, that’s enough,” Thompson ordered. “Take 54 back to his room.”

Ice glared at him, but walked back towards me. He crossed his arms, pouting all the way back down to the orange level. There was little doubt he wanted to gut Thompson right then and there, and, honestly, I didn’t blame him.

When we got back to the room, his eyes glistened with tears.

“Ice?” I whispered, reaching forward, hand hovering over his shoulder.

He glanced at me, “I’m sorry, Calvin.”

My heart fluttered again. That was the first time he called me by my name. “What are you sorry for?”

“Dragging you into all this,” he muttered, arms around himself. “These people…. They have eyes and ears everywhere. No doubt their leader already knows that she doesn’t have control over me. And… because of that, they’re gonna resort to… other ways of controlling me.” He looked at me, eyes painfully worried. “You.”

I felt fear bubbling up, “What’s… ‘this’?”

He flattened his ears against his head, looking away. “It’s…. It’s something that’s always there, but you… kinda forget about it. Sometimes it’s frozen, sometimes it’s cold, most of the time it’s… just… lukewarm. But, sometimes, it simmers. And now…. Now, it’s starting to boil.” He looked at me, only just succeeding at hiding his tears. “I don’t want you to get burned. Humans are…,” he hesitantly reached out, as though he wanted to lay his hand on my cheek, “so very fragile.” He pulled back, turning away and not looking at me. “That’s why they got me and Michael off the board; we’re among the strongest and most active. And Michael was…. He was so close to finding….”

I slowly pieced things together. I stepped forward, gently running one finger down his cold metal arm. “So, the people that made this…. They want to keep you off the board, on the sidelines, and they’re… using the Federation to do it?”

Ice shrugged, “I assume being taken here was just a coincidence that they extorted. Wrong place, wrong time.” He sighed. He glanced at the ruined bed, “I probably shouldn’t have done that. Whatever, I’ve slept rougher.” He stepped forward to sit in the corner of the room.

I knelt beside him, “Ice, is there anything I can do to help?”

He looked up at me, “Watch your back. Keep Caspian safe. And, no matter what you do, don’t trust anyone.” His next words chilled me to the bone, “This is war, Calvin, and the other side isn’t afraid to get innocents involved.”