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I turned my eyes back down to the ground, only venturing forward when he dipped his head and stretched out his front leg so that I could climb up. I didn’t say anything at all, simply pressing my body into the same place that I had the last time.
He stretched his wings wide and I turned back, taking one last glance at the castle that had become something of a home to me. As he leapt off the ground and took to the sky, I saw so much more than I would have seen from far below.
The castle was built on the peak of a city carved into the rock of the mountains. Much of it was wind swept and covered with snow, but in several places the pristine white marble shone through with such luster it took my breath away. The buildings sprawled over cliffsides and sunk deep into the valleys, revealing a once magnificent city that had been abandoned long ago and had fallen into ruin.
I tightened my fingers on the spires of his neck, keeping myself steady on his back. He soared through the sky, and I searched the horizon, seeing several columns of smoke far off in the distance.
He was flying away from them.
I turned my head, trying to see where we were heading. I wasn’t sure if the same rules applied to Icegard, but it appeared we were heading south, and the layers of snow seemed thinner the further we flew away.
As we continued, I spotted more cities and villages. Each one of them had been abandoned. Some appeared worse than others, including a few that had been burned to the ground, the sooty scar still visible on stone.
What was happening here? Where had the people that lived in these places gone?
I kept quiet, studying the landscape as we flew through the skies. It was hours before I saw the first sign of life other than the two of us.
* * *
“Welcome to Glacierhold!” a voice roared out from above us. I looked up to see a man with a pale face and dark black hair that shone with a purple sheen up on a balcony, an ostentatious silver crown on his head as well as a violet, fur-lined velvet mantle flowing from his shoulders.
Nykor had only just landed in the central square in front of a massive castle that was a little bit smaller than the one in Icehelm. Much of it seemed newer, like it had been built only recently as something of an afterthought. I didn’t voice my thoughts about it, wanting to get a handle on things before I did.
“This is an unexpected visit, Nykor. We had no word of your journey here,” the man called out next.
He seemed a little bit annoyed, but I guessed that was to be expected when a giant dragon landed right in the king’s front yard. I climbed down to the ground, and Nykor shifted into his human form moments later. A tense silence followed until Nykor cleared his throat.
“I bring news, Steward Valtimir,” Nykor replied. There was a certain frosty edge to his voice, and I turned back to face him. That hadn’t been there before, and he certainly never directed that tone at me.
Nykor held this man in no high esteem. If anything, he detested him. Why?
I hadn’t missed the fact that he hadn’t called him king either, but a steward. My gaze slipped between the two men, and I held back a snort of amusement. This was a contest between two alpha males squaring off, and I was going to enjoy the show.
“I will prepare the great hall for you. Let me have the servants prepare us dinner,” Valtimir replied. There was a bit of cockiness in his tone, carefully hidden beneath what I could tell was engineered respect.
“There is no need for theatrics, Steward. Gather the members of the council and have them wait for me in the war room,” Nykor commanded.
“We will have dinner, and then we may have all the talk of war you wish,” Valtimir declared, his voice rising in pitch.
Nykor’s jawline tensed, and I watched in awe as he stood there, frozen for the briefest of seconds before he nodded with understanding.
“So be it.”
“The girl?” Valtimir asked.
“She is human. I found her in the northern reaches and brought her here for safekeeping. See to it that she is given accommodations for the night. She will need someplace to stay with her kind,” Nykor explained.
He said it all so simply, like the two of us had shared nothing at all. I glanced in his direction, trying to hide my true feelings to the best of my ability. His rejection hurt at the same time it made me even more angry at myself for allowing myself to fall for him even a little bit.
“She has a name,” I declared loudly. I made no effort to hide my displeasure, choosing not to look in Nykor’s direction. Instead, I met the dark grey gaze of the steward who had turned his attention to me.
“My name is Valtimir. I am steward to the crown of Icegard,” he said warmly.
“My name is Ella Snow,” I offered, and he smiled, cocking his head as he stared down at me. I noticed as he turned his head that his ears were pointed. Was he an elf?
“Welcome, Ella. Please, come inside and get warm. I will have a warm mug of mulled wine waiting for you by the hearth.”
“Thank you,” I said gratefully. I shot Nykor one last icy glare of my own before I swept forward as the great carved wooden doors of the castle pushed open. A man in a white ruffled shirt and black velvet pants bowed respectfully and gestured for me to enter. He bowed his head towards Nykor, and I didn’t miss the quiet deference in his posture.
