Page 164 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
“His undercover name,” she explains. “Short story: He saved my life when the werebears caught me in my fox form, and I hid with him. Only revealed myself to him when they imprisoned Roy, after his mate ended up being a backstabbing bitch.”
“Roy?” I ask. “His mate?”
She nods. “Yep.”
Once this is over, I’m sure these two will have a huge story to tell. Without any of us noticing, Aylin has approached. “We should probably get going,” she says. “Noemi can lead us back the way she came, and we’ll remain hidden until we receive Azadeh’s sign.” She looks at me. “I know you don’t feel comfortable involving a teenager.”
“I’m already sixteen!” Noemi exclaims. “The moment I got my fox spirit, I stopped being a child!”
I take a wild guess that her father will have a different take on this. I don’t even know how she ended up here. I know the foxes like to stay within themselves, like all shifters here do. I’m starting to think that this was a mistake. I will talk to our father once this is over, and present him with a few ideas I have.
We are so much stronger united.
“Oh, there is something,” Noemi says, looking worried now. “The crazy witch tattooed Shay with their cult symbol. I bet there is a spell on it.”
“Yes, probably a spell she puts on all her followers,” Aylin says. “Did she tattoo Royan… Roy, too?”
“No, he got busted before that. But, I doubt she would have done it anyway. She only liked Shay.”
I can see Tynan’s eyes getting darker at her revelation, but fortunately, he keeps his thoughts to himself.
“Then, we have nothing to worry about,” Aylin says with a shrug.
“But if he is enchanted,” Tynan says. “It might be endangering his life!”
“She is such a powerful witch,” Aylin chuckles. “Trapping old deities and binding them through dark magic, but she is ignorant at the same time.” Her eyes glint in amusement. “Spells like that don’t work on humans. She can tattoo his whole body. It won’t help.”
“Are you sure?” Tynan asks.
“Yes, pup, I’m certain. Now, there are plenty of spells that will work on humans, but binding them with a tattoo only works on magical or mythical beings, and Shayan isn’t either.”
Tynan straightens his back. “Then what are we waiting for?”
“He is right,” I say. “Let’s take that witch down!”
“Anyone know what kind of sign Aza is going to give us?” Alana asks.
I shake my head. “She said, we will know for sure.”
“That has to be good enough,” Aylin says. “Besides,” she looks at me again. “We still have our secret weapon. Our very own Ice Wolf.”
I nod. “Then let’s gather everyone, and leave.”
*AZADEH*
It doesn’t take us long to reach the mountains where the dragons are supposed to reside… or where they used to live, until the witch bound Cailleach and almost committed genocide. Once this is over, the remaining dragons can rejoin again, and hopefully work towards a bright future once more.
I’m sure Favian will be a good leader. He has learned from his father’s mistakes, and he has proven to have strength by being able to lock his mind. He has survived hidden and prepared himself for all these years while keeping his brother safe.I don’t know what I expected, but I didn’t expect the dragons to reside in a whole town that is built into a mountain. It’s a sight to behold. The castle towers over everything, yet merging with the mountain as well. It looks majestic and beautiful.
Around the castle, I spot werebears, although, no other shifters. Elio told me that all dragons left the area to go into hiding. Only Favian is supposed to be there, locked in his mind and forced to stay there until Cailleach breaks through his walls.
I’ve told Elio to let me down somewhere close to the castle, away from prying eyes. When I jump off his back, I turn to look at him. “Do you think you can distract the bears here so that I can reach the woman in white?”
Elio’s dragon lowers his head and makes a noise similar to the snorting of a horse. He sounds mildly insulted–apparently, he doesn’t like me questioning his ability to act as a distraction and remain safe.
“Good,” I say, grabbing the teddy bear and hiding it in my coat. “Stay safe, and hopefully I will see you in a few minutes.”
I watch his dragon rise into the air again, then he screeches. It doesn't look like he can spew fire, but still, his distraction works. Well, he knows how to play the bait, it seems. Soon I can hear growls coming from all sides, bears appearing out of nowhere to see what’s going on.
