Page 99 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
I stare at him. “A blue light?”
“Yes, and there were strings attached to that light.” He says quietly. “All the strings led to somewhere in the distance.”
I gasp. They are enchanted! The fucking werebears are under a spell. I don’t know if they are willingly or not, but I know the blue light the kid is talking about. Aylin and my mother taught us kids about it, and said if our wolves ever saw such a light, to tread carefully. “Thank you for telling me,” I tell the boy. “You helped me a lot.”
“You believe me!?” he gasps.
“I absolutely do,” I say grimly. “I know this kind of light.”
“And the huge bear?” one girl asks curiously. “I saw one in the distance when they attacked!”
“I did too,” a girl backs her up. “But, mommy said I was probably just dreaming.”
I can’t believe it, a whole group of witnesses and they were dismissed. I know kids can make things up, and their imagination is broad, but this was a moment of trauma for them, too. Even if their imagination added something to what they saw, it would still be worth investigating.
“Can you describe the big bear? Was it white like the others?”
“No, it was dark brown, and big, like three times our house,” she tells excitedly.
“And it was wearing armor!” the other girl adds.
“The blue light was around it too!”
“The bear…” the girl looks flustered. “I know it sounds silly, but I think there were little branches coming out of its head with leaves attached to them like a tree growing from it.”
I stare at them. It sounds like a wild fantasy, but something rings a bell. This is something that might fall into Eibhlin’s knowledge. The kids keep chatting a bit longer about what they saw, but I think they have told me what they knew. So, I help them some more with their snow family, before retreating. Before I can leave, though, Dalene takes my hand and pulls me to the side.
“Don’t tell anyone,” she pleads, her voice low. “My sister and Blaine are really nice, but… I think they won’t believe me. I think no one will, not even-” She looks at the other kids. “Them.”
“Tell me,” I urge her softly.
“A few days ago…” she pauses. “I saw a dragon.”
thirty-three
The Witch’s Lair
*ROYAN*
The closer we get, the more I can feel the tension around us. It’s not just my own I feel. I can also feel Rona getting more nervous, the mate bond already kicking in and connecting us. Shayan has become eerily quiet, too.
The fox has settled around his shoulders now, its gaze ever so attentive. Rona leads us through a narrow path, and for a moment I think we are in for another few hours just walking through the snow, when suddenly a small building is in front of us.
“That’s it,” Rona confirms, a hint of fear in her voice.
I instinctively pull her to my side to protect her, in case it’s necessary. There is a weird atmosphere around this place. I’m sure it has to be witchcraft. Even Shayan’s fox hides in his jacket now. Shayan and I exchange a gaze.
I swallow deeply; here goes nothing. I try to reach out to Quinn through the mind link. I secretly linked him when we found Rona and set off, but when I try now, there seems to be a blockade. Fuck, we are in a witch’s lair.
Shayan throws another gaze at me, and then just steps forward and knocks at the door. I’m amazed. Either he truly doesn’t feel how terrifying the atmosphere here is, or he is just that brave. It doesn’t take long for the door to open and a tall, beautiful woman steps outside. In a way her appearance resembles Aylin’s, they both have this air of dignity and arrogance around them, but there is something kind about Aylin, while she… she just looks like she could slaughter children. Her eyes are dark, her smile sinister. She is breathtakingly beautiful though, with her long black hair and tall slender body, but all the beauty doesn’t matter once you look into the depth of her eyes.
And, she carries the same tattoo as the rest of the cult. Hers is more prominent though, directly on her neck. She is clearly a proud member, maybe their leader.
The witch’s eyes wander to me and Rona, a smirk curling around her lips. “Interesting,” she mutters.
Rona looks nervous. “They… wanted to meet you, Madame.”
“Is that so?” the witch sneers.
