Page 155 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
“Yes,” she says. She lets go of my hand, allowing me to step forward. I remember Favian’s advice about being quiet and not doing anything rash. This is not real, this is her memory.
The woman has blonde hair, and a kind face, but worry and panic is written all over it. “Jeremiah?” she calls out. “Jerry!”
She runs through the snow, ignoring the storm, all the while screaming the same name over and over again.
“Eada,” two men come running towards her. “We need to leave.”
“I’m not going without him,” she cries, while hugging a small teddy bear to her chest.
“This storm will kill us all,” one of the men yells. “We will come back tomorrow!”
“Tomorrow is going to be too late,” she screams.
But despite her words, they forcefully grab her and tug her along. Her screams and cries echo through the sky, piercing my heart with her sorrow. I take a step towards the little bear she dropped, picking it up. I look at it for a while before walking towards a huge rock and gently putting it beneath it. I make sure to put some smaller rocks on top of it.
I look around for a bit, scanning my surroundings. There is a forest beneath us, but the mountain chain in particular, is massive. A lake shaped like a moon is below the area.
I feel Arianrhod step closer behind me. “Do you understand now?”
“Yes,” I say. “I do.”
“Princess of Prosperity, Azadeh?” She takes my hand in hers. “You have made your choice, my kind child… with Endellion.”
“Yes, I love him,” I answer honestly. “And it’s real and strong. I want no one else, but him.”
“Do you think he feels the same?”
“Yes,” I say. “I have no doubt about his feelings or mine.”
Arianrhod seems content with my answer, touching my cheek softly. “Good,” she says softly. “Now, are you ready to return?”
I nod firmly. “I am.”
She smiles. “Just know,” she whispers. “Your choice truly changed the fates now. The fateless triplet princes aren’t fateless anymore. It was you who gave this to them, I just allowed it to happen.”
forty-nine
Fate
*AZADEH*
Iopen my eyes to a dimly lit room. To… my room. This is… I’m back. Was it all a dream? When I look at my palms, though, I can still feel the cold from the snow, and on my wrist there is a small silver tattoo now, a snowflake.
I smile. The goddess gave me a gift; it seems.
Talking about gifts…
My gaze shifts to the side, noticing how Endellion is sitting on a chair, his head resting against his arm. He looks exhausted. On the floor, I can see a book with fairy tales… he was probably reading it for me.
“Endellion,” I say softly.
As if I emptied a bucket of cold water over him, his head snaps up and his eyes are open. “What… where… Aza!!”
“I’m back,” I say softly.
“Are you hurt? Do you need something? Can I help?”
“I’m fine,” I say with a smile. “I learned a lot on this trip.”
