Page 3 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
“You did well evacuating the townspeople,” Caelan praises her.
“Thanks, Cae. I had help though, the warriors did great.” She takes my hand and Flinn’s, and nudges Caelan with her foot. “Come. There is hot wine and food waiting for you. Everyone is already expecting you.”
two
The Triplet Princes
*CAELAN*
The moment we reach the huge dining hall where we usually host parties and festivals, cheers erupt. The place is crowded with the villagers we just saved and townspeople whose houses were on risky terrain; close to a river or a mountain. I’m proud of our sister Alana for having evacuated everyone who needed it. She also made sure those that stayed in their houses had everything to ensure their safety and health for a few days, in case the blizzard hit us with full force.
Last time we were caught in a snowstorm, it took hours for it to pass. The snow was so high it was impossible to reach any of the surrounding houses, let alone the close by villages.
Endellion and I literally had to dig our way through the snow to reach those in need of help.
“Caelan.” Small arms snuggle around me. Eibhlin, my youngest sister and youngest of us siblings in general, tickles my side.
I take her hands to stop her assault. “Is this the way a princess is supposed to greet her older brother?”
She pouts, looking at me through her huge, innocent doe eyes. “Dunno, don’t care.” She turned sixteen recently, but she looks so much younger with her long blonde locks and her big blue eyes. I guess we all dote on her a bit.
I sigh. “Alana,” I beg.
She rolls her eyes at me. “Really, Caelan? She isn’t a toddler anymore!”
“I’m almost an adult,” Eibhlin giggles and twirls around. She looks more like a child than ever. “I even had a boy in school interested in me.”
I freeze. “What?” I say. My voice is just a rumble. I can feel my wolf clawing inside me to get to the surface and punish the unworthy creature who laid eyes on my baby sister.
“A 14-year-old boy told her she is cute and borrowed her pen,” Alana says dryly. “No reason for a blood bath.”
“It always starts with a pen,” Flinn says with a sly grin. He had approached us without us noticing.
“Goddess,” Alana groans. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”
He laughs. “As if that’s possible!” He pretends to be all touched and teary-eyed all of a sudden. “Our baby had her pen borrowed. Oh, I remember like it was yesterday when I borrowed Ceci’s pen, and then it led to-”
“If you don’t want me to punch you, you will stop here,” I threaten.
Flinn grins, but wisely keeps his mouth shut.
I notice our other two siblings are missing, and so is our father. “Where are Kilah, Nevyn and Dad?”
“They are checking on the castle servants to see if they and their families are all safe,” Alana explains.
I nod. Dad’s trying to involve our younger brother, Nevyn, in more of the work too. He just recently turned eighteen and is eager to prove himself. Kilah is nineteen and loves all the representative princess work. Where Alana is trying to stay away from it, Kilah is ready to jump in. Sometimes, I feel like she is a little envious of Alana’s position and popularity with the townspeople, but since she hasn’t said anything, I’m not going to comment on it.
Meanwhile, Endellion has been roaming the room and checking on the villagers we saved. “Everyone is well,” he tells us. “Tired with a few scratches, but mostly well. Some will need more medical attention, though. One of the men broke his leg during the attack. It’s a miracle that he was able to ride the whole way.”
“These are determined people,” I point out. “All packs and villages in the mountain, and close to the borders to no-man’s land, are tough.”
Endellion is about to answer when a young woman approaches us. I instantly recognize her as one of the female survivors, the woman with the baby.
“Prince Endellion,” she says, turning to Endellion, maybe because he is the kindest of us three and the most approachable. People usually think I’m cold and distant, and Flinn too cunning and a prankster. “I wanted to thank you for making sure my baby and I arrived safely.”
The woman’s face is wearing several healed scars, one of them going through her left eye, leaving her blind in it. She radiates a calm fierceness though, a certain dignity. Endellion feels it, too, because he raises his brows in surprise. “You are the luna.”
She nods.
