Page 117 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
“We should go inside and celebrate with the others,” I say.
“Why, what happened?” Kilah asks.
If this would be Alana or Eibhlin, I would tease them for having missed the whole fuss, but I’m certainly not there yet with Kilah. Being civil is my goal for now. “Endellion and Azadeh got closer during our trip. Ende decided to take her as his chosen mate.”
“What!?” Kilah squeals, much to my surprise. “Is this true? This is fantastic news!”
“You are happy about the news?” Caelan asks, apparently equally as surprised as I am.
“Azadeh is such a good person,” she says with a smile. “She is my friend. And I’m glad she chose one of my brothers. I need to go and congratulate them.” With that she turns to leave, completely forgetting that she originally asked if we needed help. Looking back at it now, that was new, too.
“Is it mean to say that this is the first time that I saw her genuinely happy for someone else?” I ask, while I help Caelan close the doors to the stables.
“Not really. I was surprised too. But it makes me happy,” he says. “Do you dislike her, Flinn? I mean,
Kilah.”
“She is my sister,” I say. “And as that, I do love her, but I would be lying if I said I like her.”
“Just don’t let it eat you up,” he says quietly. “I mean your resentment.”
I smack his back. “See? And you were worried you weren’t smart enough? I told you, social intelligence is a thing!”
“Do you really mean that?” he asks, a hint of hope in his voice. “You are not making fun of me.”
“I would never.” I pause. “Yeah, no, I totally would,” I admit, making Caelan smile. “But never about something that could hurt you or Ende. Believe me when I say that you are very capable.”
“Let’s go and celebrate with him and Azadeh,” he suggests. “We got ourselves a sweet, new sister.”
“And a great friend,” I add.
“We’ll find it too,” Caelan says.
“You mean a mate?”
“Yes, someone who loves us like Azadeh loves Ende, and someone to love the way he loves her.”
“I hope so,” I say. Ever since we knew we had no mate bond, I said goodbye to the idea of ever falling in love with someone. But what Ende and Aza have is real, it’s beautiful and strong. And ever since she came into our lives, Caelan and I began to feel more and more like we have a bond growing to… someone. Maybe our mates.
The thought that someone is waiting for us, is such a comforting thought. But even if we never develop a mate bond, seeing Ende and Aza gives me hope that we will find this deep love too one day.
Caelan and I are stepping through the front door into the castle when we feel it, a searing pain shoots through us. I have felt it once before, shortly after I turned eighteen. It was when mom’s brother, our uncle, died. I clench my chest. “This was someone we share a bond with,” I pant.
“Family or one of the ranked members!” Caelan stares at me, and I instantly know we fear the same. We don’t exchange another word and instead run to the private living room where father has dragged Ende and Aza to. Most of my siblings are here. Minus one.
Oh Goddess, let Alana be safe!
Let her be safe.
My kind and strong sister.
We both barge into the room. “What happened?” Caelan yells. “We felt someone pass.”
“It’s not Alana,” Father calms us instantly, probably seeing the fear on our faces. “If it were Alana, you would feel it much stronger, and I would know for certain.” He pauses. “It has to be one of our ranked members.”
I pale at the thought. I love all of our ranked pack members. They have been chosen for their rank for a reason. Not only because they are strong, but also because they are loyal and trustworthy and kind.
Royan is a genuinely kind guy. He is fun and strong, but also caring and nice. Ita is one of the fiercest warriors we have, and also one of our closest friends. Ty, our sweet dunce. It can’t be any of them… My father closes his eyes, as he focuses on the bonds he has as the king to his pack members, subordinates and ranked members. He is silent for a while. “It’s Ita,” he says quietly. “She went ahead to the moon.”
