Ignatius hates the fact that he wasn't anticipating this. He got too distracted with everything else. The idea of all the carnival members wasting away in here had preoccupied his thoughts, to the point that he didn't keep an eye out for an ambush.

He can't help but feel like he should have done better.

One of the ice shards strikes him in the side, though the ribs, and the feeling is immediately familiar. It's the kind of thing that is rare but expected on the battlefield. He received a wound similar to this a long time ago, before being captured by the Winter Court. The associations are immediately unpleasant.

The ice part doesn't bite as hard as it might have in the past, though. That part he has some control over. As for the rest... he doesn't scream or panic. After feeling the hit, he just exhales as calmly as he can imagine, and lets go of the Ringmaster so that he can take a knee on the ground.

He visually confirms that Rita hasn't been hit. Then, he siphons some of his own strength through the connection in their Hearts.

"Rita," he manages, his voice a bit muffled by the tar-like fae blood that's now in his mouth. He is clearly focusing very hard on staying calm. "Do something about him, could you?"

He doesn't trust himself to control his own magic after taking a hit like this, so he funnels what he can to Rita instead