Page 129 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
“You said you would go slow,” he pants. “That’s not slow! Only a psychopath would call that slow.”
“You are not doing bad, though,” I tell him. “You are used to being active, and it shows. You just use too much strength to run, while your movements should be smoother.”
“How come you can talk so effortlessly while running?” he asks.
I chuckle. Despite my teasing, I really think he is doing well. Nevyn always gives one hundred percent when he does something, even when knows he might not be particularly good at it. He always gives things a try first. It’s really commendable.
We are jogging through the forest towards the lake when I sense a feeling of dread washing over me. It’s just a hint of it at first, something small like a ball clenching in my stomach, before strings of icy cold rush through me.
I halt instantly.
“Did you get tired?” Nevyn jokes. Once he looks at me, he immediately gets serious. “What’s wrong, Ende?”
To the lake,Caspian barks.
I let him take control over my body, not overthinking anything. He shifts into his wolf form effortlessly before dashing towards the lake. I can feel Nevyn hot on our heels; he has shifted too.
Endellion, what’s wrong?He links me.
I don’t know,I reply.I just know something happened.
Once we reach the lake, Caspian halts. There is nothing in front of us. The ice of the lake looks smooth as usual. In the distance, I can see a bench with a canvas, remembering that the young dragon Elio likes to paint there.
And there is a blue blanket….
A blue blanket.
That’s Azadeh’s,I tell my wolf.
He growls, raising his snout in the air and sniffing slightly. Then, without further explanation, he just dashes over the icy surface of the lake. It’s then that our ears take up the slight sound of something splashing. Water? But how?
My mind switches to emergency mode.Nevyn, go and get the blanket from the bench. Call Caelan or Flinn or anyone for backup here! And link the maids to make sure to have something warm prepared.
Yes, of course,Nevyn says. He sounds confused, but as usual, he knows when to ask questions and when to just follow orders. Now, he does the latter and runs off towards the bench.
Her scent is so weak,Caspian huffs.
Head towards the water,I yell.Fuck, she is in there, our mate, Aza… she is….
No way,Caspian growls. I can feel the fear going through his body, and he picks up his pace before coming to an abrupt halt in front of a huge opening in the lake. The ice broke here. It should be impossible, as it’s way too thick to break, but it did.
Caspian immediately hands the rein back to me, letting me shift. I don’t think twice, just jump into the cold water, my body tensing at the sheer cold of it. But I push the feeling aside, diving deeper until I can see a shimmer of red in front of me. Aza’s dress today was red.Isred. I reach out my hands, grabbing her arm and tugging her towards me.
Fast, swim up again,Caspian growls his order.
He doesn’t need to tell me twice. I keep my arm around her middle, swimming upward again. Swimming underwater in a frozen lake is incredibly dangerous, even for wolves. It’s easy to get lost there and never find your way up again. But Caspian is an alpha wolf, and his amazing sense of smell manages to lead me up again. With all the strength I can muster, I basically toss Azadeh out of the water.
Fuck, I need to get out of it myself. I’m not sure if she is breathing, I need to-
“Endellion!” Caelan screams while he runs towards us.
He drops down to his knees next to the hole. “Help Aza first!” I beg.
“Of course,” he hurries to her, positioning her, and starting to reanimate her. Not even half a minute later, Flinn catches up with us and pulls me out of the water. To my relief, more and more people are coming, and most importantly, Aylin is with them.
I push past Flinn, rushing towards Aza. Together with Caelan, I continue to revive her. “Please don’t…” I beg. “Aza… please.”
With a cough, she spits out some water. My heart basically skips a beat, and I start to laugh hysterically as I help to turn her to the side so she can cough out the remainder of the water. “Shit, love… oh Goddess…”
