Page 212 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
Everyone nodded at the same time. A strange sense of anticipation coated the air.
“Then may the gods have mercy on us today.” He raised his right hand high in the air. “We will return victorious.”
“Victorious,” Nadya murmured.
His arm fell in one slashing movement.
In the next breath the sled lurched forward, pushing me violently back against the wooden frame. The jolt was so powerful, the palaver almost slipped out of my grasp as we flew over the icy roads and straight into the snow-covered field outside the city. But I held onto it with a vice grip, tugging it underneath the furs.
Behind me, Nadya shouted at the wolves, her voice almost drowned out by the crisp wind which made it almost impossible to breathe.
“Are you okay?” I yelled back. I might as well have whispered with the cold gust slashing at my cheeks.
“Yes!” she howled back.
In all fairness, all we had to do was hold on for dear life, just like Ryker had said, as the wolves carried us further into thewilderness. The sled bounced and thudded against any indent in the snow, my spine taking the brunt of it.
I never imagined I’d ever miss hiding in that rickety carriage.
All around me, sleds raced forward, a united front against whatever strangeness awaited us on the other end of the crater, just like the explorers of ancient times had explored unforgiving valleys and unflinching mountains.
A moment later, a blur appeared right in front of us, leading the way.
I barely saw him, but I knew it was Ryker, opening up the horizon for us. If any danger awaited us, he would face it first.
My heart leaped. It had nothing to do with the jarring motion and everything with the man steering all of us forward.
To protect his realm and all of us.
I didn’t know what we’d find at the crater’s rim. But I could swear I heard that strange hum shouting after us–a warning or a farewell, only time would tell.
Chapter
Forty-Five
ALLIE
Solkar’s Reach was beautiful.
It had taken me weeks to see anything aside from my own sorrow, but now that my eyes were open, I couldn’t stop wondering at the crater which had accepted and embraced me like its leader.
They both had an attitude, but hid something radiant underneath.
And this crater, which had met me with hail and gale, now spread before me in all its glory. Snow shimmered underneath the crisp sun, broken now and then by crystal streams bubbling beneath old stone bridges.
Solkar’s Reach didn’t endure winter, it thrived in it.
Ryker guided us through neverending forests, where the trees seemed to spear the sky, and not even songbirds dared enter. Snow fell from the tops as we passed, falling over us in gentle waves.
The wolves seemed to enjoy it the most, opening their jaws and gulping up the snowflakes like treats, even as their paws hit the ground with unforgiving speed.
They didn’t tire, didn’t whine, didn’t even bark or growl as we passed herds of deer and elk, walking proudly among their territories.
These were no normal beings, that was sure.
The valleys dipped and peaked, the snow our constant companion. Every once in a while, I spotted small shrubs full of bloodred berries, shaken by the eager birds coming to feast.
This realm, isolated from the Clan greed commanding the rest of Malhaven, was like a fairytale come to life.
