Page 162 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
“Yes,” she says. “Why?” She looks at me, her eyes widening in hope and excitement. “Oh, oh, oh! I know what you plan. You want me to sneak out and-”
I put my fingers on my lips, signaling her to be quiet. The kid is so excited, she shifts back to her fox form and then back again. Fortunately, fox shifters don’t need to dress and undress to shift, unlike the wolves, or I would feel like a complete creep here.
Tynan, I will send someone your way. The warriors and you go to the town where Royan and I started our investigation. A fox will come and pick you up.
A fox?I can clearly hear his surprise, but thankfully, he doesn’t argue.I trust you and your judgment. We will head there as soon as possible.
Send Prince Flinn to meet with the fox. He is the easiest to recognize. Meanwhile, I will try to stall Penelope. Royan is going to be in terrible shape, make sure to have a healer with you. And be quick!
Be careful,Tynan begs.Whatever you do, please don’t die, Shayan.
It’s a promise I can’t make, as much as it breaks my heart. I resolve to go for middle ground.I will try not to be reckless. That’s all I can promise.
He groans but doesn’t push further.
Noemi and I go into action, fast. She seems eager to prove herself, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to place my trust in her, as I don’t know her. But at the same time, she is the only true chance we have. “Be careful, Countess,” I tell her, when she has shifted back to her fox form, and I open the window for her to climb outside. She is a beautiful white fox, small, but very agile. So, there is hope for her being able to be fast and invisible.
*AZADEH*
Tynan’s mind link to Shayan was successful, and I’m beyond grateful and relieved that he is well. He emphasized how bad Royan’s state is, which made us all worried instantly. The witch- Penelope- it seems Aylin has heard of her. For now, I need to trust the others to do what’s necessary, though it’s hard to leave them with so much on their hands. They have to meet with the fox, Shayan mentioned, sneak through werebear territory, face a dark witch all while running out of time.
Meanwhile, Elio and I will have to do our own little side mission. Elio has told me in advance that due to his young age he isn’t strong enough to fight in battle or to fly very long distances, but promised he can cross the distance we need. He is Favian’s brother, so I decided to trust him.
I cling to Elio’s back while he flies higher and higher, above the various fields and the mountains. “It’s the mountain chain ahead of us,” I tell him.
He shifts his angle slightly, aiming for the mountains, now.
“There is a forest there, but we need to find the area where the trees are getting fewer and fewer,” I say, while describing over and over again what I saw when the goddess took me to the place. “In the distance, you could see a lake, shaped like a moon.”
Elio picks up his pace and soon crosses the lake I just described. “Let me down in the forest,” I instruct him. “We don’t want your wings to blow up too much snow, it will make it more difficult for us.”
I wait for him to land before jumping off his back and Elio shifts back to his human form. “You never explained what we are going to do here,” he asks curiously.
“This is going to be our way to your brother,” I tell him, while running up the path and out of the forest. Elio follows me. I know he has a lot of questions, they all did, but we were running out of time, so I only shared the most important parts of my plan with everyone. I need them to trust me now.
“What are we looking for?” Elio asks, while I keep pacing up and down the area.
“Look for a huge rock, something that might host a little cave for small animals.”
He nods and shuffles in the other direction. I know this is the right area, it’s exactly where Arianrhod took me, but it’s difficult to find the exact spot now. It has snowed during the last few hours and everything is freshly covered, which makes my task even more difficult. I’m growing more and more frustrated when Elio calls out to me. “Princess! Is this the rock?”
I hurry towards him, my heart skipping a beat when I indeed recognize the place. I push past Elio, dropping to my knees and digging through the snow. Elio helps me, brushing away as much snow as possible until I find the little rocks I used. Beneath them, I spot the teddy bear I hid.
It worked, it worked! Thank Goddess, I had the right intuition.
I take the bear, hugging it to my chest, before standing up again.
Elio looks at me, both surprised and curious. “And now?”
“Now, you need to take me to the place your brother is being kept.”
fifty-one
Preparing for Battle
*ENDELLION*
We put together our most elite team of warriors to make sure we will have the upper hand in this coming battle. My father put it all in my hands while staying at home to protect the kingdom.
