"Are you… a mage?"
In front of the bonfire, Sejuani had taken off her armor. Wearing only her boots, she sat on the ground with one leg stretched forward, using an iron rod to turn the burning logs.
The wood shifted. Sparks leapt upward, bringing light to the darkness—and warmth with it.
"Not really… I think?" Logan replied.
Sejuani nodded. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "This time… thanks."
"Thanks?" Logan's expression turned a little strange as he looked at her. "Sejuani, I think you've got something mixed up. They came for me in the first place."
To be honest, Logan had assumed Sejuani would be cold, cruel, and ruthless. But after actually spending time with her, he'd realized Sejuani was surprisingly gentle—hard on the outside, warm on the inside.
You could see it just from how Donna acted around her. Sejuani really wasn't what the rumors made her out to be.
Then again, it made sense. Winter's Claw fought across the Freljord, raiding and burning its way through enemies. One person's hero was another person's enemy. In the Freljord, Sejuani's name carried a brutal reputation—but within Winter's Claw, everyone trusted her without hesitation.
Their war-mother's "bad name" was for their sake.
"One thing is one thing, another is another," Sejuani said evenly. "She might've really been following Lissandra's orders to take you, but Winter's Claw and the Frostguard are enemies to the death. You killed that troll. For Winter's Claw, that's a good thing."
She set the iron rod aside—its tip already glowing red—then leaned back on her hands. The exposed lines of her abdomen were pale and clean, her muscle not exaggerated, but healthy and striking.
"But this one can't be killed." Sejuani pointed at the unconscious Raelna.
Logan glanced at Raelna and nodded. "I know."
"Speaking of her," Logan asked, "when is she going to wake up?"
From returning to the tribe to Sejuani reorganizing her people and spreading the news, barely half an hour had passed. Yet the whole time, Raelna hadn't stirred once.
Sejuani let out a cold laugh. "She isn't asleep. She's pretending."
Logan looked over.
Raelna's body, lying in the corner, twitched—and then she slowly sat up.
"Your trouble just got bigger," Raelna said in a low, eerie voice as she looked at Sejuani.
She still wore that heavy black armor, but her helm had been removed, revealing a face that was surprisingly young. Raelna's cheeks were round, with a hint of baby fat—an unmistakable round-faced beauty.
Her eyes were wide, almond-shaped, and a striking ice-blue, but the emotion in them was colder than the wind outside.
"Trouble?" Sejuani sneered. "Frostguard, do you think I'm new to trouble?" She lifted her chin, the elegance of the gesture making her defiance even sharper. "I've already made enemies of the Ursine and Ashe. What's one more enemy? Besides—weren't you the ones who started this?"
"You understand nothing," Raelna said with open contempt. "You have no idea what that woman is trying to do."
To become a Frostguard commander, the first thing you had to do was descend into the abyss—walk those bridges—and enter the Hall of the Nine.
The last time a group went down under a priest's guidance, Raelna had been among them.
She had seen secrets. Monsters. Things no eyes were meant to witness. She had learned the buried history beneath the Howling Abyss—and because of that, she held only reverence and loyalty for what Lissandra was doing.
In the Hall of the Nine, she had seen the statues of the Three Sisters. But whether it was Avarosa or Serylda—even if they were Lissandra's sisters—they still couldn't be compared to Lady Lissandra.
Raelna was bound and a prisoner, yet the way she looked at Sejuani was like someone looking down on a pitiful fool, the gaze of someone above to someone below.
Logan rubbed his chin, thinking. From what Raelna had just let slip, he could already guess a few things.
So he asked directly, "You're one of the Frostguard who's been down into the Howling Abyss? You've seen what's sealed beneath the ice?"
Raelna's round face flashed with panic. Her eyes went wide as she stared at Logan, lips parting.
"Y-you—"
"Alright." Logan smiled and waved a hand, cutting her off. "That expression tells me you have."
"So how was it? Raelna… what do the Watchers actually look like?"
"Wait." Sejuani frowned. "What are 'Watchers' supposed to be?"
She wasn't saying she needed to know everything—but Logan, an outlander, was talking about things with a Frostguard commander that she, a Freljord native, didn't even know about.
That made no sense at all.
Udyr had been simmering fish soup. At the sound of that, his eyes shifted. He looked at Raelna and asked, "So the rumors are true?"
"The Ice Witch asked the Forge God for help, and beneath the Frostguard Citadel she built an arch bridge to seal something away… that rumor is real?"
Logan turned toward Udyr. As someone with demigod-level power, Udyr naturally knew things ordinary people didn't.
He could commune with spirit-beasts, and some of the spirits he communed with were demigods themselves—so it wasn't strange that he'd heard secrets through them.
After all, this was a man who could stand toe-to-toe with Volibear for Sejuani's sake.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Raelna said, lowering her head, voice hard.
"Lissandra sent you to find me." Logan stepped closer and crouched in front of her, studying her face. "And I think I can guess what she wants."
"Thinking about it now… the order she gave you was probably to invite me, not to seize me, right?"
Raelna stiffened. She met Logan's eyes—then, after a moment, looked away without speaking.
She didn't answer with words.
She answered with silence.
Logan sighed. "So what were you thinking?"
"I didn't expect Sejuani to protect you," Raelna said, and there was genuine confusion in her tone. "From what I know of her, she doesn't respect outlanders at all. Normally, if I demanded you and offered terms, she would've agreed without hesitation. It's winter. To survive the season, Winter's Claw avoids us."
"So what did you do that made her willing to take this risk?"
Sejuani accepted a bowl from Udyr and sipped her fish soup, eyes half-lidded, expression unreadable.
"What did I do?" Logan said. "I'm just making sure they can survive winter after winter without dying. That's all."
So now Logan understood.
When he first entered the Freljord, he'd already suspected Lissandra would come looking for him eventually—probably to build a relationship. After all, Logan had the ability to enter the "spirit realm," something even demigods couldn't do.
Raelna had acted on her own. Logan didn't know her exact thought process, but it was easy to imagine:
If Lissandra wanted to see an outlander, why bother inviting him? Just tie him up and drag him back.
That kind of thinking only came from living too long as someone who always got her way.
"Raelna," Logan said, tilting his head, amused. "Have you considered something?"
Raelna lowered her head and refused to look at him.
She'd realized she'd messed up.
"Because of what you did," Logan continued, "I might end up disliking Lissandra and refusing to see her at all. Ever think of that?"
Raelna froze. She lifted her head to stare at Logan, lips moving slightly, then muttered, "I don't think I did anything that outrageous. I remember saying I was under orders to take you."
"But Lissandra told you to invite me," Logan said without letting up. "Or is 'invite' and 'drag away' the same thing in the Freljord?"
Raelna bit her lip, took a deep breath, and finally said, "Fine. I admit it. I was wrong. I apologize."
"I didn't investigate properly. I didn't know you had a deal with Sejuani. I assumed you were like those traveling traders—caught by Winter's Claw."
She was actually explaining herself now.
Because she had no choice.
Back in the Ice Crystal Hall, Lissandra's order had been clear:
Invite the outlander to the Frostguard Citadel.
Yes—invite.
Which meant this outlander was an important guest to Lissandra. Raelna was young, but she'd never once heard of Lissandra telling anyone to invite someone to the Frostguard Citadel.
And now, if because of Raelna's behavior this "guest" ended up resenting Lissandra…
Raelna would have no face left to return.
"How rare," Sejuani's mocking voice cut in. She walked over and stood behind Logan, arms crossed, legs set apart in a grounded stance. "A Frostguard who does whatever they want, apologizing to someone."
Then Sejuani looked at Logan and asked, very seriously, "What did you do? Or what are you carrying that makes the Frostguard act like this?"
Logan thought for a second. "Hard to explain. It's a secret, Sejuani."
Sejuani didn't press. She just looked at Logan a couple of times, eyes shifting as if she was weighing something, then turned her cold smile back on Raelna.
Raelna lifted her head and met Sejuani's gaze—and her attitude instantly changed. Toward Sejuani, Raelna was nothing like how she'd been with Logan.
"What's it to you?" Raelna said with disdain, openly provoking her. "If you've got the guts, kill me."
"You think I won't?" Sejuani snorted.
"Cough—cough!" Udyr suddenly started coughing hard.
Sejuani's clenched fist loosened. She shot Raelna a blade-cold look, then returned to the fire and sat down again.
Jinx, drinking her hot fish soup, saw Sejuani come back and quickly filled herself another bowl—like she was afraid Sejuani might steal it.
The little motion made Sejuani pause, then she just laughed softly and said nothing.
"Logan," Udyr said, "come drink soup. Whatever it is, talk tomorrow."
Logan nodded.
Raelna lowered her head again, clearly lost in her own thoughts.
Late at night, Donna rubbed her belly and lay on the animal pelts. A thick blanket covered her, with only her fluffy head poking out. She wore a smile as she drifted off.
Donna fell asleep smiling.
First she'd eaten the delicious meat Logan cooked with dry bread. Then she'd had two bowls of fish soup. She felt happy.
Logan and Jinx had laid out their sleeping bags on the pelts as well. The two of them crawled inside, and Logan pulled on an eye mask—he couldn't sleep with light in his eyes. But in Winter's Claw, you couldn't not keep a fire going at night. Even Iceborn could freeze to death.
Iceborn blood didn't mean you were completely immune to cold. It meant you had resistance.
And for those who weren't Iceborn, you needed food to generate heat to survive the winter—one reason Winter's Claw's warriors often cut their own portions to leave more for children and elders.
Freljordians didn't talk about science, but they understood something simple: when you ate enough, your body warmed up and gave off heat.
"Ah!"
Jinx suddenly yelped. Logan stuck a hand out of his sleeping bag and pulled off his eye mask.
"What is it?" he asked.
Jinx shook her head, her thick blue hair bunched into a messy mass. She bared her teeth at him. "I forgot to brush my teeth."
"Then go now." Logan laughed. "The toothbrush and toothpaste are right at the top of the bag."
Looking at her face, Logan honestly thought she still looked like she hadn't fully grown into herself—young and adorable.
But Jinx was already in her early twenties.
Someone had said before that Jinx's mouth was slightly forward—like she had a tiny hint of buck teeth. From the front you couldn't really tell; you'd just think she looked cute and innocent. But from the side—especially when she pouted—you could see that subtle outward tilt.
In other words, Silco hadn't been strict enough with her when she was losing baby teeth. She had a set of nice, white teeth—but her two front teeth really did give her a faint rabbit-like look.
After hearing Logan, Jinx stayed curled in her sleeping bag for a moment, then seemed to make a decision.
"Forget it," she muttered. "Skipping one day is fine…"
She burrowed deeper, leaving only her eyes and nose visible.
This place really was… freezing.
Watching Jinx hide in her sleeping bag like a cat, Logan put his eye mask back on and tried to sleep again.
Tomorrow, he planned to call Janna over again and have Silco prepare some warmer supplies.
A blue sky.
A perfect, endless white.
Logan opened his eyes, looked down at the ice crystals beneath his feet—and smiled.
This wasn't the Spirit Blossom.
It looked similar, but it wasn't.
"You're not from Runeterra, are you?"
A voice spoke behind him—beautiful. Clean and airy, with a faint authority layered through it.
Logan turned.
A tall woman stood there in a long dress, barefoot, watching him. She had a delicate face, and her eyes were striking—large, long lashes, naturally lifted at the corners.
But something ruined the beauty.
Her pupils were a flat gray-white, lifeless—so those exquisite eyes looked almost like decorations.
Logan dipped into a gentleman's bow and said softly, "Logan of Zaun. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lissandra."
And in his mind, he couldn't help mocking something he'd heard.
Seriously—who was the one who claimed Lissandra always sounded like she was talking through phlegm?
Because this voice sounded incredible.
…
Lissandra paused. "You're not afraid of me?"
She sounded…
Genuinely surprised.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 10 extra free chapters //[email protected]/Razeil0810.