Page 130 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
Aylin and Kilah wrap her in a warm blanket while my father squeezes my shoulder. “Here, my boy.” He wraps a blanket around me, too. Only then do I notice that I’m still naked and freezing. My body is trembling from the cold, and while our wolves can keep us warm, they certainly can’t work miracles.
“You both need to get into the warmth,” my father commands.
He is right. Azadeh can’t stay out there in the freezing cold. I get up to my feet and pick her up to carry her back. She clings to me, her body shaking, while she is sobbing uncontrollably.
“It’s a reaction to the shock,” Aylin advises, almost running next to me, to keep up with my pace.
“It’s okay, my love,” I reassure my mate. “We are getting you into the warmth. I’m here now.”
“She was there,” Azadeh rasps out in a hoarse voice.
My blood freezes at her words. “Who?”
“Cailleach.”
*AZADEH*
I feel myself slipping in and out of consciousness. I felt my life slip away before something dragged me up towards the light again. That something was Endellion. But since, both cold and warmth seem to overcome me, and I go from shaking to sweating and back to shaking.
I still feel like water is surrounding me. My head is feeling dizzy. I press my hand against my chest as I try to get air into my lungs.
When I close my eyes, I see the darkness around me as if the water closes me in.
Endellion is still holding me, whispering words of encouragement to me, and I vaguely notice how there are people buzzing around me. I still have difficulty hearing or seeing anyone, though. Endellion felt cold at first, but his skin is getting warmer and warmer. Almost like someone lit him on fire. I feel sweat pooling on my forehead. My body starts to tingle in the most uncomfortable way I’ve ever experienced. Like needles poking into my skin.
I try to scramble away. “Hot,” I breathe out.
“Aza, please, you need to stay warm,” someone begs. Is that Simin?
I rub over my arms frantically. “I’m burning, something is burning me up from the inside.”
“That’s because your body temperature was very low,” Aylin explains calmly. Hearing her quiet voice is grounding. There is something about these witches that just makes it easier to focus on them. Erin had it too. “Your body is warming up.”
I feel how my senses return, shifting my gaze slightly and noticing that I’m in Endellion’s room. Aylin is here together with Simin. My friend keeps brushing over my arms, probably to help with the tingling. I’m not in my wet clothes anymore, instead I’m wearing a comfortably fluffy dress and am wrapped in an equally fluffy blanket. Endellion is still next to me. He is just wearing a huge coat over his naked body, reminding me of how he jumped in the ice-cold water to save me.
I’m alive because of him.
“Thank you,” I whisper. “Without you, I would be-” My voice fails me, and a shiver goes down my spine.
“You are safe,” Endellion mutters, gently pulling me into his arms again.
“How did you know what happened?”
“I felt it,” Endellion shrugs. “I just felt it, and then Nevyn and I took off to find you.”
Aylin stares at him in surprise. “How is that possible? You haven’t marked her yet.”
“I know it should be impossible,” he says. “But I know what I felt. I felt a terrifying cold gripping me from inside. I felt cold and terrified, and I knew it had to be because my love was in danger.”
The unbearable tingling in my body subsides a fraction, and I finally have it in me to smile at my werewolf. “You’re my hero,” I say, my voice shaking as my emotions overwhelm me. It was so close, so close. I’m still shaken, yet at the same time my heart overflows with love for this man.
“We should make sure you eat something,” Aylin interrupts my trail of thoughts. “There is hot soup being prepared in the kitchen as of now.”
“Do you want to rest a while longer?” Endellion asks.
I shake my head. “I’m okay now,” I say. “Just feeling a bit… weak.”
“That’s why she needs something to eat,” Simin says.
