AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Good,” he added, pointing across from him. “Now, let’s go. They’re all waiting for you.”
Nodding, I started to walk. Tallin followed—he had his tail between his legs too. As I began the climb back up the hill I had come down, I noticed my father approaching the edge of the ridge I had nearly gone over a moment ago. He seemed… concerned, but not enough to go down there himself. Not now, anyway.
Filing my own curiosity away, I made my way back to the castle where the entirety of the Winter Court and theRoyal Selectionwas waiting for me. There were at least two more weeks of this, and at the end of it all, one of the Fae fighting for my hand would win the right to marry me, and I had no say in the matter.
I hated it.
All I wanted was to be out here, to explore, to see more of Arcadia than I was able to see from behind my castle walls. Fate, however, had other plans for me… and who was I to argue with Fate?
CHAPTERTWO
The King’s carriage waited for us at the edge of the forest. Around it, four armed and armored soldiers gathered, standing at attention as soon as my father emerged past the tree line. The carriage I could understand; the trek back to the castle was long if you couldn’t run on all fours like I could, after all. But the armed escort seemed a little much.
At the head of the carriage, the driver fed a carrot to the large, white, Arcadian creature strapped to its reins. It was majestic, tall, regal—a cross between a moose and a reindeer—and its white fur shimmered against the sunlight as if it too was as sparkly and reflective as the snow around it. A huge crown of black antlers topped its head, and when it looked at me, I couldn’t help but feel the intelligence in the creature’s deep, brown eyes.
It was a Maukibou, one of the most sought-after animals in the entire Kingdom of Winter. Only Windhelm had the right conditions, the right breeders, and the right trainers to produce them. Not only were they highly intelligent, they were also fiercely loyal, forming psychic bonds with their handlers from birth.
I walked up to it, smiled at the driver, then at the Maukibou, and carefully offered it the back of my hand on which sat a series of small, silvery tattoos. The beast lowered its head, sniffed my hand, and then dropped its head further.Respect.It knew what I was, had identified me as a superior predator, but it wasn’t afraid.
“What’s its name?” I asked the driver, the creature’s handler.
“Colbolt,” he said. “He doesn’t normally let people get this close.”
I gently stroked Colbolt, showing him nothing but kindness, and softness. I wasn’t going to hurt him. As much as I wore the mark of the wolf, I wasn’t in the business of hunting and killing wild animals with my teeth. My mother said I would one day feel the pull, but that hadn’t happened yet, and I was grateful for it.
“That’s a lovely name,” I said. “I’ve always wanted to know more about them—"
“—Amara,” barked my father. He was standing at the carriage door, holding it open for me to step inside. “Let’s not delay this any further.”
Tallin bounded up beside me. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll pass on the carriage ride,” he said, trailing off.
“Really?” I asked, “You don’t want to join the King and I on a lively joy-ride to the castle?”
“Politely, no…” Tallin took a step back. “No, I think I won’t.”
“Coward,” I hissed, as Tallin bounced off toward the bridge.
Taking a short, exasperated breath, I walked up to the carriage and stepped inside. My father followed. His entourage, however,didn’t; they stuck around the edge of the forest as we started to move away. It wasn’t long before Colbolt had us on the road back to Windhelm again. In truth, we weren’t far from the city, but we were all the way on the other side of the thin ice bridge that separated Windhelm from the mainland.
Below us and all around us was a vast chasm of deep blue ice boulders and caves. Windhelm itself stood high above the crater, built on top of an atoll that made the city look like a glittering island in a sea of white snow. It was breathtaking. There was something about the way the sunlight hit its tall domes and buildings that made them sparkle and shine so they could be seen for miles and miles. In the distance, white mountains stood tall and proud, tresses of wispy wind blowing across their peaks.
I had been told there wasn’t a single place in all of Arcadia as magnificent or as wonderous as this. Frozen waterfalls that fell upwards, cities built on the bones of ancient, titanic creatures, mountains so tall their tips couldn’t be seen from the ground. Arcadia was a vast and wonderful place, but being told a thing, or reading about it in a book, wasn’t enough for me.
“You shouldn’t go running off like that,” said my father. I was so lost fantasizing about the world, I had forgotten he was there.
“I didn’t gothatfar,” I said.
“Some would say the forest is far.”
I looked over at him, grinning. “Most can’t run like I can.”
“How far or how fast you can run means nothing in the face of your responsibilities. You know that.”
“I know what’sexpectedof me.”
“Then why do you continue to shirk your duties to the crown?”
I shook my head. “My whole life I’ve done as you have asked. I’ve attended the functions, I’ve talked to the people, I’ve paraded myself around in front of them like the pretty little princess they wanted to see. Why is it so difficult for you to let me have a little freedom every once in a while?”
