Page 68 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
“Kilah,” I say. “I know it’s difficult, but you need to step out of your comfort zone, too. Only you can change Ita’s perception of you, and honestly, I think you are doing quite well.”
She takes a deep breath. “Alright. I will continue to try.” To swallow her pride down is difficult for her, but I truly commend her for trying. I know she still has quite the path in front of her, but so do we all. And every change starts with a first step.
I talk to the kitchen chef for a time and check on the musicians before I join the others heading over to Ita’s place. I’ve known her for so long that I feel at home there. Her parents are like family to me. For a few minutes, we all fuss over Ita’s brothers and the baby before her mom shoos us to the dining room.
Ita follows her to the kitchen and helps her, just to return a few minutes later with a tray with cups full of steaming hot chocolate and a freshly baked pie.
“Say,” Azadeh takes a sip of the hot chocolate Ita brought for us. “There is something I always wanted to ask. What kind of shifters are there? I mean, what type of shifters exist? Every time I wanted to ask, something came up.”
“Oh, right, you were so busy with everything we couldn’t teach you much about the kingdom,” I nudge Ita. “You’re up.”
Ita nods. “You have seen the werebears already,” she says.
“They are enemies of the werewolves?” Aza wants to know.
“Not necessarily,” Ita explains. “They roam our territory but don’t belong to the kingdom. Currently, werebear territory is actually in no-man's land. They live in sleuths, similar to packs, but there aren’t many of them. They are said to be easily manipulated, though. We don’t have much contact with them.”
“And who else?” Aza asks.
“There are fox shifters, but they live at the eastern border, hidden away. They do have their own leader.” Ita frowns. “There is also said to be a pack of bird shifters high in the mountains, not that I have ever met one. But-” Now her eyes gleam. “I once saw a deer shifter. I have never had contact with them, but I saw one… a majestic stag. The deer shifters have their own leader, too, but they respect King Gillean a lot and are allies.”
“And the dragons,” I point out. “I read about them in one of my books.”
“Aren’t they extinct?” Kilah asks curiously.
Ita shrugs. “They are said to be extinct… but…”
“But?” Azadeh probes.
“When I was a child, I saw one,” I admit. I still remember it vividly. “My mother and I were visiting an aunt, who lived in a pack close to the mountains in the north… the sight was fascinating, huge mountains towering in front of us, and building a natural border between us and the lands behind it. They are said to be uninhabited lands. One night, I heard a noise and went outside without my mother realizing. I got lost and almost died. A woman appeared in front of me, then turned into a dragon and carried me back.”
“Maybe you dreamed it?” Kilah whispers.
I would feel annoyed by her doubting me, but she isn’t the first. Not even my mother truly believed me. I was almost frozen to death back then, and she thought I was seeing things due to being so close to dying, but I still remember it as if it was yesterday. The beautiful woman took me in her arms, and tried to warm me, and then I saw her shift, turning into a majestic blue dragon.
“I believe you,” Ita says quietly.
I turn my head to look at her. I don’t talk much about this day, knowing people normally shut me down. “You do?”
“If you say you saw a dragon, then you saw it,” she says in a matter-of-fact tone.
“I don’t know what to think about it, as no one has seen any dragons for years,” Kilah admits.
I see Ita open her mouth to retort something. Please don’t, I link her.
But Alana, she is-
I know, but I doubt she is aware of it.I pause, not sure how to continue.I have a lot of conflicted feelings towards Kilah, and a lot of times, she either hurts me or pushes me away. Both feelings aren’t good ones. But she is also my sister… It’s just… this is the longest we went without an argument, and she is trying.I pause.No one changes overnight. She is my sister, please, give her a chance. And she isn’t the only one that doubts me.
Ita rolls her eyes before smiling gently.Goody-two-shoes.
I return her smile.Thank you.
*AZADEH*
“We look so good!” Simin exclaims, twirling around in front of me. She is in a particularly good mood, because earlier today, while I tagged along with Alana, Ita and Kilah, she had an appointment with King Gillean. He offered for her to go back to school if she wants to. Back at home, as an orphan, she was only able to get a basic education. Now, she finally has the chance to learn something and to make her own decisions about her life.
“We really do,” I agree. “The color suits you so well. Let me prepare your hair.”
