Page 114 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
“This can’t be real,” someone whispers.
I glance upwards again. It is real, just like it was real many years ago when I was a child.
The dragon lets itself drop downward directly towards the massive bear creature, screeching again. The bear winces and tosses its body from one side to another.
“It’s the noise,” I breathe out. “He hates the noise,” I yell towards the witch.
She nods grimly at me, starting to chant something towards the creature. I don’t know what she is doing, but it clasps its ears, and the next time the dragon screeches, it roars and growls in pain. Tynan throws himself into the fight again, attacking it now that it’s weakened. The dragon comes down again, clawing at the bear, before sitting right in front of me and Ita, spreading its wings as if he wants to protect us. The creature roars again, tossing its body against a tree to shake the warriors off and then takes off into the direction of the mountains.
It's leaving… it’s… gone.
The warriors who accompanied Tynan are still dazed, but Tynan recovers fast and sends them to retrieve the wounded and fallen soldiers. Meanwhile, Tynan and the witch hurry towards me.
“How hurt is she?” Tynan asks, panicked.
“I don’t know,” I sob, feeling how the gravity of the situation finally catches up with me. “I… a lot…”
“Let me check,” the witch softly moves my hand away to check on Ita’s wound. One of the claws is still stuck in her chest. “It’s pierced her lungs,” the witch whispers. “And the artery leading to the heart.” She pauses. “I don’t think…”
Her voice trails off, and something about it enrages me. “You don’t think what?” I yell.
“I, I am sorry,” she says sadly.
She exchanges a gaze with Tynan before carefully moving back. Tynan and I try to pull the piece of the claw out, stopping when Ita coughs up more blood. “There is no use…” she says, her voice hoarse and barely audible.
“No,” I whisper.
To my surprise, Tynan gets up and takes a few steps back. He looks devastated.
“Don’t just stand there,” I yell at him. “Go and get help.”
Ita grabs my hand. “My Warrior Princess,” she whispers. “I love you, so much. I don’t regret what happened between us yesterday. I’ve loved you all along, and I would have been proud to become your chosen mate. I… I am so sorry, I hurt you.”
“No,” I whisper, tears filling my eyes. I lean my head against her chest. “Please don’t leave me.”
Her fingers keep brushing through my hair until they stop moving. Everything goes still around me, silence engulfing me. There is no noise reaching my ears, just Ita’s shallow breathing, and then complete silence.
Eventually, I feel Tynan’s hands on my shoulders, his arms pulling me into a hug.
“I’m so sorry,” I sob. “So sorry. I love you, Ita.”
“She knows it,” Tynan mutters into my hair. “She has always known it. She loved you, too.”
I can feel a blanket being wrapped around me. “You need to stay warm, Warrior Princess.” I don’t know this voice… there is a slightly foreign accent to it, but I don’t know where it’s from.
Warrior Princess.
Ita used to call me that. Warrior Princess. I feel my heart break even further. She will never smile at me again, never will her laugh echo through a room, never will I see the glint in her eyes again, and the strength. She had this unique way of turning around while walking and smiling at me. She was my escape, my safety blanket. I would sneak out sometimes as a teen when I felt overwhelmed with the burdens of my rank and the expectations of my father, and I would meet her.
She always gave me peace. She did so much for me, and I couldn’t even repay her. I wanted to be someone she could rely on, but in the end, she died to save me.
She gave her life for me.
I will never see her smile again.
She was the true Warrior Princess.
I feel a searing pain going through my body when she takes her last breath, and the Gamma bond to me and everyone else breaks. There is emptiness in place of it now. And silence.
