Page 122 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
“She has some deep wounds and gashes, one of her lungs got pierced and her kidneys got damaged. Usually, that’s nothing life-threatening for a werewolf. Her wolf is extremely weakened and exhausted, though, which is why healing takes her longer than usual. But, she will make it.”
I nod in relief while following her through the corridor. There, we pass Tynan and Flinn. Tynan keeps looking around nervously. “Where is he, Flinn? The bond… I can feel it, but it’s so distant.”
“Come, man,” Flinn replies. “Let’s go somewhere else. I need to tell you something.”
Flinn and I exchange a short glance. I try to show him an encouraging smile, but I know how he feels. Delivering bad news to someone who is already hurt like Tynan, is awful. I just hope Tynan will hang in there and have faith in Shayan.
forty
Artio
*AZADEH*
Gillean stays with Alana the whole day and the following night. Everyone’s exhausted from being up for more than forty-eight hours. Eventually, though, Endellion and Caelan manage to lure their father away, reasoning with him that he needs to rest, or he wouldn’t be in the right state of mind to defend his pack, if necessary.
“But, she can’t be alone,” Gillean insists. “She needs a familiar face when she wakes up.”
“I will stay with her,” Simin promises. “I consider Princess Alana a friend, and I will make sure she isn’t alone when she wakes up.”
“We can take turns,” Eibhlin offers. We have made sure she was spared from seeing the wounds on her sister’s body. Despite her slightly creepy attitude, she is still a child. But now that she wants to help, there is nothing we can say against that.
In fact, it’s probably helpful for Alana to have one of her sisters there.
“I can… too,” Kilah offers. “I just don’t know… if…” Her voice trails off. “Maybe it’s better if I help somewhere else,” she finally says, just a little too upbeat. “Some of the warriors are still recovering.”
“Yes, they will be happy and honored to have their princess attend to them,” Endellion tells her.
“Really?” she asks. When he nods, she seems to be relieved and instantly hurries to work. We leave Simin with Alana for now and promise that Eibhlin will join her later, while the rest of us gather in the private dining room to eat and drink something. Later tonight, we will also need to say goodbye to the fallen warriors.
When the maids serve us our tea and early dinner, a surprise guest joins us: Aylin and… the young dragon.
“It’s time,” Aylin says without further ado. “I know most of you are still grieving, but we don’t have too much time to allow us to grieve.”
“I agree,” Tynan growls. “My mate is still out there.”
“He isn’t wrong,” Flinn agrees. “We have Royan and Shayan still undercover and they’re relying on us to have their backs, which, frankly, we haven’t.”
“With that said,” Aylin says urgently. “Let me introduce the young man who fended off the creature. He stayed with me ever since our warriors returned to get some rest, too.”
The young man looks at us shyly. “I’m Elio,” he says, shifting around nervously.
I can’t believe that I completely forgot we had a dragon shifter among us. Going by the perplexed expressions around me, I assume I’m not the only one who forgot.
The king is the first to regain his composure and takes a step forward to be eye-to-eye with the young dragon shifter. He smiles. “I thank you for saving our warriors, Elio. My name is Gillean.”
Elio nods. “You are the Alpha King,” he points out.
“You know about us?”
“Of course,” he smiles proudly. “I’m a dragon prince.”
“You are of royal blood?” Endellion asks, stunned.
Elio nods. “That’s why I can shift so early,” he says proudly.
“Elio is sixteen,” Aylin fills us in. “He has only recently been able to shift. He told me only the royal dragons shift so early.”
Gillean begins to introduce us all to the young dragon. Elio follows his words curiously, beaming happily whenever someone greets him. “It’s the first time I’ve gotten to meet so many new people,” he says happily. “I’ve been hiding until now.”
