Page 18 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
“I’m a wolf, though,” he points out.
“I know.” I smile at him. “But you only recently got your wolf, and it will take a while for him to grow into his whole strength.”
“You’re right.” Nevyn shakes his head and accepts the coat I hand him. He pulls his long hair in a bun and wraps a scarf around his neck. “I tend to forget. Since I got my wolf, everything feels so surreal, but in a good way.”
“I know the feeling,” I admit. “When I connected with Caspian for the first time, I felt so powerful, like I could take on the whole world. It’s an empowering feeling.”
We leave the castle from one of the side doors. The guards have already cleared the road of the snow, and we can walk comfortably. Once we reach the outer parts of the pack, it will get more difficult, though. There are smaller paths there, and I’m sure the warriors and guards haven’t had the time yet to clean all of them.
“It’s going to be a long walk,” I tell Nevyn.
Nevyn’s face falls. “I’m not that weak.”
“That’s not what I said.” I frown. “It’s just going to be a long walk, that’s a fact. I didn’t want you to complain about getting bored.”
“Oh,” he blinks. “I’m not getting bored.”
“Who told you you’re weak?” I demand to know.
He shrugs. “Everyone.”
“Who is everyone!?” I ask him, sharper than I intended to. When he doesn’t answer, I soften my tone. “You are not weak, Nevyn,” I say empathically.
“But look at me. I’m of alpha blood, and yet I look so… skinny.”
“You are athletic,” I point out. “There is nothing wrong with that. You just have a different body build.”
“In school, some used to say I’m a vampire’s child,” he admits.
I don’t even need Caspian to feel anger bubbling inside me. “So, they think their king went behind their queen’s back and betrayed her?” I ask coldly.
“They probably just wanted to hurt me,” he says. “Don’t worry. I never fell for their tricks.”
His words don’t set me at ease at all. Had I known my brother would have been subjected to bullies, I would have intervened for sure. For a while we walk in silence, soon leaving the road and fighting our way through a snow-covered side-path. “Nevyn, doyouthink you are weak?”
“I’m not like you or Caelan, or Flinn. And Alana is tougher, too. I’m a man, I shouldn’t be so…” he pauses. “Meek. I’m not a good fighter.”
“Who cares what you should or should not be?” I ask. “Did you never consider that you might have other strengths? Not everything revolves around fighting.”
“It’s easy for you to say that. You are tall and muscular, and everyone finds you either attractive or scary.”
“They find Caelan scarier,” I point out. “And they find Flinn smarter. It doesn’t mean that I’m not strong or not smart though.”
“I don’t get your point,” he says.
“My point is that there is always going to be someone who is a little better at something than you are. But just because someone else might be stronger, it doesn’t make you weak. Strength comes in various shades. You barely just turned eighteen and you are already keen to support us in our duties. Your diligence and hard-working nature will take you further than if you were a lazy guy with strong fists.”
The blizzard has knocked over a tree and it’s blocking the road, so I make Nevyn go to the other side and help me pull it off the road so that the wolves living in that part of the pack can come and go as usual.
“And now-” With a growl, I push the tree aside. “Tell me at least one thing you like about yourself.”
“You are not really going to make me do that?” Nevyn groans.
“Absolutely. If you don’t, I will tell Caelan you want a private sparring session with him.”
“You wouldn’t!?” he glares.
“Well, it’s up to you to take the risk,” I say with my best poker face on. I would never subject him to Caelan’s training. Caelan used to have difficulties to adapt to those who are just beginning and who might need more guidance. A fact Flinn calls him out for a lot. He doesn’t mean harm, it’s just… who he is.
