Duskfire Glacier the gods call your name

star eater had never been here before.
the glacier loomed, foreign and vast, but the blood that led her here was familiar.
gjalla’s blood.
thick. hot. suffocating.
she had followed its trail like a specter, her paws light but her heart heavy. the cold bit at her fur, but she did not feel it. she only felt the dread sinking deep into her bones.
and then, she found them.
blackfell. a man she did not know—wildling son. and then—
her.
gjalla.
her body ruined, her throat a mangled mess, her life slipping through the cracks of the snow beneath her.
the air was thick with tension, rage. blackfell’s cry had sent the birds fleeing, but star eater could only hear the wretched thrum of her own heart.
my love.
the words left her in a breathless sob, her chest heaving as she closed the distance between them, brushing her muzzle desperately against her sister’s side.
she was still warm. still breathing. but for how long?
she dropped the herbs she had carried between her teeth—yarrow, willow bark, goldenrod, burdock root, thyme. she had not known the extent of the damage, so she had brought everything.
her ears flicked to the sound of the white woman. a stranger. scarred.
she did not care.
find me horsetail and pine resin—quick! she barked, voice sharp with urgency. snow if you must!
then, she turned to blackfell.
his fury was palpable, seething, tearing him apart at the seams.
she will not die. the words were not a plea. they were a promise.
but her voice broke at the last.
this is my fault. my fault!
milk leaked from her body, dribbling, wasted.
she should be home. with her children. with her husband.
but instead, she was here.
and her sister was dying.