Page 57 of Legacy of the Heirs
“Perhaps.” Kazaar crossed his arms and stared at the border with narrowed eyes. Elisara followed his eyeline to the water, appearing to ripple more than usual.
“Do you think the water senses their queen is missing?” Elisara whispered.
“Can nature sense such things?” Kazaar asked, and she shrugged.
“Larelle is always so calm and collected, like the water is an extension of her. I do not think it absurd that the element understands her in return.” She smiled when Kazaar looked down at her, the warmth brightening in his eyes.
“We should get going,” Vlad said. He took a step onto the ice to test it before allowing his queen to cross. Elisara nodded and waited until Vlad was several steps ahead. He paused and inspected the frozen lake below him before jumping.
“Vlad!” Elisara hissed, who flashed her a boyish grin.
“Just checking!” He motioned for them to follow.
Elisara sighed and followed Kazaar’s lead. The lake groaned beneath his dark boots, but he continued slowly and intently forward. Elisara’s breathing halted with her feet as she stood to listen, certain the lake could crack at any moment. When he was several steps ahead, Kazaar turned back.
“It is merely the sound of the water and ice shifting beneath the surface,” he said, and Elisara nodded, convincing herself he was right. Yet she trained her eyes on the ice as she continued behind him, with the two guards following at the rear. Reaching for her power, she waved her hand, though she could barely see through the ice to discern whether she solidified it.
The glistening white surface changed to light blue the further they walked, growing shinier and more slippery with every step.
“Shit!” A guard swore, and Elisara spun to watch him fall on the ice with a thud. The lake appeared to vibrate below her feet, stretching out to Nerida’s border. Everyone paused, listening for any sign the surface would crack. His partner helped the guard to stand.
“It was nothing!” he called, yet a chill settled in Elisara’s bones, suddenly overcome by a sense of urgency to reach the island. Glancing up from her feet, she breathed a sigh of relief when Vlad reached it, his body small but safe on the distant snowy island. They would make it. In the distance, Kazaar waited midway between her and Vlad.
“You’ve got this, angel,”he called in her mind. Her lips twitched at his nickname as she steadied her breathing.
Waving her hands, Elisara pulled on her power to fortify the frost against the surface for extra purchase, which worked, thoughonly for a moment. But with every step on the frozen path, the ice melted away and left a sheen in its place. Elisara frowned but continued walking.
“Not much further,”Kazaar said, but her focus was torn, distracted by the groan below the ice. Elisara swallowed and stopped as the frost she had formed slowly melted back to blackened ice, which was clearer now, offering a view of the lapping water beneath. The lake was thinning the closer they made it to the island and the talisman. Elisara made to move again but paused, holding her foot mid air as a dark shape shifted below the ice. A groan sounded below, clearer this time. Elisara’s foot still dangled inches from the ice as she slowly lifted her eyes to meet Kazaar, who walked towards her.
“Do not move!”she called silently. He was meters from the island now and stopped at her command. She glanced back down at the shape shifting under the ice.“There is something in the lake.”
“Are you certain it is not ice shifting or fish that can withstand the temperatures?”Elisara shook her head and checked for the dark shape again. It did not take long before it headed in Kazaar’s direction. She squinted and studied its approach, assessing its size. Elisara could not compare it to any animal or fish she had seen before; it was far too large—even larger than the winged beasts that had descended on Garridon.
“I see it,”Kazaar confirmed as it appeared to head back to Nerida’s waters. When it cleared the last piece of ice, the briefest flash of a ridged back breached the surface. Elisara had only heard of fish in the lake, but that creature was far too large. She exhaled and resumed walking, training her eyes on the movement of the water on the other side of the lake. Occasionally, a ridged back glided above the surface, sending a stream of water rippling in its wake. Elisara increased her pace when it reached the furthest end of the lake and refrained from running. When the creature reached the furthest end of the lake, she turned to warn the guards to remain quiet.
The men nudged one another playfully and tossed something between their hands. Elisara’s power emphasised every sound then as she summoned everything to her on the breeze: the sway of the surrounding trees slowed, the crunch of the guards’ feet faded, and her own heartbeat paused, a final breath. Nothing but silence followed as Elisara opened her mouth to stop the guard from tossing the flat stone across the ice, but she was not quick enough. She could only listen as the high-pitched echo resounded across the lake.
All sounds rushed back to her as the shadow in the water spun and sped below the ice towards them.
“Run,”Kazaar commanded.
Elisara did not wait. Propelling herself forward, she balanced her focus on the speed of her legs and the control of her power as she willed the slippery surface to freeze with each step. It was not enough, though, with her mind refusing to increase the pace for fear of slipping. A rush of air blasted either side of her, cocooning her in a breeze that urged her forward yet kept her balanced. The air was safe and sturdy, different from the delicate edge of her own abilities. She found Kazaar braced on the ice, and although she could not see his eyes from here, she knew he was protecting her.
An arrow flew overhead towards Nerida’s border, and Elisara glanced at both of the watchtowers on either side of the lake. She was unsure if the arrow had come from Vala’s soldiers or Nerida’s. Taking comfort in the safety of Kazaar’s power, Elisara slowed briefly and glanced at the water. She no longer saw the creature. She scanned the ice, and at the same moment, a warbled roar sounded below. The lake vibrated with a groan, and cracks rippled across the lake.
“Get to the island!”Elisara commanded though Kazaar did not listen. He took sure and steady strides towards her while scanning the ice.
“I am not abandoning my queen.”Elisara slowed as the ice vibrated too close for comfort. She focused on Kazaar’swords.“I am not abandoning you.”The softness of his voice cradled her mind. Kazaar paused and mirrored her stance, their shared minds sensing the threat creeping closer. They needed to be quiet and wait for it to swim away again. Elisara could not see it and focused only on the sound of her panting as she tried to keep calm. She watched the rise and fall of Kazaar’s chest beneath his black leathers as they waited, readying for a fight.
Darkness swept beneath the ice, roaming between Elisara and Kazaar before turning back towards Nerida. Elisara eased her breathing and tried to relax her shoulders. Kazaar drew his sword while the men in their watchtowers shouted in the distance. Elisara waited for the ridged back to appear in Nerida’s waters.
“I think it’s gone—”
Elisara fell to her side as the lake shook. Cold pierced her cheek as she collided with the ice, where an elongated black shape rose fast towards the gap between her and Kazaar. Frantically, she tried to push herself up but instead was forced to shield her face as the lake splintered. The ice beneath tilted, and her body rolled with it. Using her gloved hands to find purchase, Elisara pushed to her knees, surveying the broken ice, her only path to the island—her only path to Kazaar. Large cracks fragmented the lake, creating pockets of floating platforms, one of which she knelt on now. Kazaar crouched, and green vines twisted from below him, gathering the floating pieces in a bid to reach her. She glanced behind at the two guards crawling towards Elisara. One attempted to pull the ice towards them so the other could reach her.
“Elisara!” Kazaar shouted. She whipped her head back round. “Brace yourself!” He turned his head, his gaze fixed on something. Elisara gripped the edges of the ice, tracking the movement in the slithers of water that now appeared amongst the broken ice. The creature glided in her direction before its ridged back disappeared, reappearing moments later as it rose fast towards the surface. Elisara gasped and clung tightly to the ice as a monstrous scaled tail broke through the surface and crashed against the ice. Elisara’s eyeswidened as the flash of deep blue scales disappeared beneath the water.
“What is it?”Elisara asked Kazaar.
