by Eva Brandt
* * *
Emmerich
It was difficult to explain the horror that exploded through all of us upon receiving February’s news. While the tengu’s injury had been bad, it had not hit me all that hard, not emotionally. I’d been upset, yes, but only because my female deemed it her responsibility to fix the whole mess and refused to let us aid her. It hadn’t helped that I hadn’t been entirely sure she was wrong in making these demands.
My anger had escalated at the news of what Cassia had been forced to go through at such a young age, but taking her in my arms had helped. It had comforted me to feel her body against my own, to know that she was safe, real and away from any threat to her life.
The attack on the amaroks was different. All of us—with the exception of our parents—still remembered the recent conversation between the amaroks and Cassia, when their Alpha had invited Cassia to bless their pups.
In Terra Dracones, even when we were at war, hatchlings were off limits. It was one of our most basic rules. Children always had to be spared. They were precious in a way very few things were. To hurt a child was taboo, and any dragon who dared would’ve been mercilessly hunted down and ripped apart by his own clan.
The rules might not have been identical here, but Cassia obviously had a similar opinion. Her eyes widened and small tremors started to course through her body. “No... She wouldn’t... There were young pups there. Surely she wouldn’t have gone so far.”
“Your Majesty, you just said that she tried to kill you when you were practically a hatchling,” Kasumi replied. “Of course she would have.”
I wasn’t sure Cassia even heard the words. Her eyes flashed and her icicle claws emerged again, forming, cracking and reforming in response to her fury. “This is worse than I thought.” She took a deep breath and snapped her fingers. “Alva!” she called out.
The nisse healer instantly appeared and bowed in front of Cassia, just as ready to serve my female as she had been earlier. “Yes, Your Majesty. How may I assist you?”
“Snegurka has attacked the amarok pack at The Bridge of Melting Snowflakes. Assemble your best healers in the bailey. We must go provide the amaroks with aid. “
The nisse’s eyes widened, but she didn’t let her obvious fear get in the way of her duty. “Yes, Your Majesty. At once.”
With that, Alva vanished, presumably to gather the group of healers who would go with us to the bridge. Unlike nisse transportation, this would not be an instantaneous process, so Cassia took advantage of the opportunity to give her third lieutenant some instructions. “February, you and January will have to deal with matters here until I have returned from The Bridge of Melting Snowflakes. I am relying on you to protect The Frozen Peaks.”
“I will not let you down, Your Majesty,” February promised. “I will make sure the realm is safe in your absence.”
She might have said something else, but my fellow dragons and I decided to pull her aside. “You realize Snegurka is baiting you with the attack on the amarok pack, don’t you?” I asked. “She’s trying to lure you out.”
“Yes, I know that,” Cassia answered. “It’s no coincidence that she chose to attack the same area where she and I fought when I was ten. I have to go, regardless. I may still be able to help in some way.”
“We can do that too,” Kerryn said. “I know you hate the idea of us risking our lives, but we are trained for this. Let us help you. Let us protect you.”
Raijin brushed his hand against hers in a tentative, bur affectionate caress. “My magic isn’t all that conducive to healing, but we’ll find a method to support you. We can attempt to track down Snegurka. We’ve done it once before, with Jack.”
It was less likely that she would fight us on this now, when she had to prioritize and think about the wounded pack first and her own feelings second. Cassia took her responsibilities very seriously, to the point that she blamed herself for every single thing that went wrong in the realm, just because she was queen. As her soul mates, we couldn’t allow that to happen, nor could we allow her to face Snegurka alone.
Once, when we had been in The Realm of Eternal Bounties, my fellow dragons and I had argued over the fact that we’d all left our soulmate’s side to handle a mission any of us could have easily dealt with on our own. I didn’t want to stumble into that mistake once again, not when it was so obvious that our soulmate needed help.
I did feel a little sore over the fact that she’d obviously been keeping things from us, important things that, as her mates, we should’ve been informed about. I could not fault her for not wanting to bring up something so painful, but she had faulted us for not being able to share our family life with her.
However, now was not the time to argue about that. I could prioritize as well as she could, and making sure she was safe was more important than pointing out the flaw in her thinking.
Cassia proved to be a little more flexible and practical this time around. “You can’t track her down,” she answered. “It would be pointless. You’re not equipped to deal with her. I don’t know when she attacked the amaroks. It might have been before she possessed Karasu, or she might have done it after, using his body. Either way, if you attempt to go against her, you’ll just end up hurting yourselves in the process. But on the other hand, I do need someone to warn Jack about this, quickly. Abby is still keeping an eye on The Bridge of Frozen Leaves on our side. He and the rest of the yetis cannot stand against her, so he has to be notified to keep a low profile and not fight her if she does attack. I wanted to ask your parents to send these messages, but they’re not familiar enough with the realm and finding a guide for them would be too time-consuming.”
“Raijin and I can do that and Emmerich can stay with you,” Kerryn offered with a slightly strained smile. “It’s probably safest.”
As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. Out of all of us, I was the most vulnerable one to ice magic, and while our female’s blessing appeared to have made me immune to the low temperatures in The Realm of Eternal Ice, I’d still be the easiest target should Snegurka somehow be able to override Cassia’s spell.
“So be it,” Cassia said. “Now, here is the situation. Jack may truly be at risk due to the new developments in his love life. For the moment, Snegurka might be too weak to leave The Realm of Eternal Ice and I doubt she knows what actually happened, but we cannot take any chances. It’s not out of the question that she would target him again. Ask him to let Pandora know about this, as well. It will be the fastest method.
“I’ve sent December to Oki’s garrison. He is slower than you, but if you run into him on your way there, tell him what happened and have him look into the state of the prison as we originally discussed. Try to find Oki and Mariko together. And for gods’ sake, if an incident occurs and you run into Snegurka, don’t try to fight her. Promise me.”
Kerryn and Raijin weren’t thrilled with the idea of staying out of a fight while another male battled our soulmate’s nemesis. It went against everything we had been taught as dragons. But this was not about our pride or our opinion. Since Cassia was so insistent, Kerryn and Raijin had no other choice but to agree. “Very well, treasure.”
“We promise.”
Cassia rewarded them with a small smile. “Thank you. I would not ask this of you if I didn’t think it was necessary.” Turning toward me, she said, “Come, Emmerich. I believe the nisse must have made the preparations for our departure by now.”
Unfortunately, before Cassia and I could take our leave, my mother approached us, a determined expression on her face. “If I may, Your Majesty, I have a quick question. This enchantment of the Snegurka creature... Is it the same one that led to the disappearance of our sons?”
I froze. It should have occurred to me sooner that our parents would make the connection, but I hadn’t had the time to give it much thought. What would Cassia say? She hadn’t revealed the truth about it to anyone due to her desire to protect Jack, but this might turn out to be a problem. Due to ou
r disputes with Ton Daímon, we didn’t like demonic beings and magic much, and there was no telling how our parents would interpret our soulmate’s involvement with the spell.
“Yes and no,” Cassia answered, her tone perfectly level. “As I said before, it was a botched enchantment. Someone else cast it in an attempt to find their own soulmate, and it interacted with the magic of the realm, which is, incidentally, my own. That’s why Emmerich, Kerryn, and Raijin ended up here.
“I understand why you might be worried, considering what you’ve seen recently. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to explain everything in detail. Kerryn and Raijin will be delivering a message for me to someone of my trust. Considering how dangerous Snegurka is, it is perhaps better for you all to stick together. As such, I would appreciate it if you joined them. Should you have any further questions about the enchantment, you can ask them.”
Delivering messages was a big change from what our parents had earlier suggested. Still, they understood the necessity, and the promise of more information sweetened the deal. Brigid even smiled, visibly relieved at being able to join her own young on his mission. “Very well, Your Majesty,” she offered, her eyes glowing with resolve. “It will be as you say.”
Cassia acknowledged Brigid’s words with a nod, shot Kerryn and Raijin one last look and then waved her hand. The balcony doors burst open at her gesture and she stalked out of the room. I followed her in silence, knowing that there was very little I could do at this point but be there for my female.
Carried by the strong winter winds, we met up with the group of nisse in the bailey. Cassia’s confidence in them had not been misplaced. The nisse had indeed procured everything they needed for the intervention, having mobilized at a miraculous speed. It was a shame they could only travel this way when inside a particular home. If they left the location in question, their powers were greatly reduced, bound to the owner of the household they served. The healers could assist the amarok pack without Cassia being present, but Cassia’s magic was still the fastest way to get to our destination.
Today, Cassia’s blizzard was particularly fast, and we arrived at The Bridge of Melting Snowflakes in record time. I hadn’t actually been here before, although Cassia had told me and my fellow dragons that once things settled down a little more, she’d introduce us to every garrison and every single area we needed to be aware of.
The structure itself was somewhat similar to The Bridge of Frosted Leaves, ice and flowering vines entwining in a creation that bound together two realms as different as night and day. But it was not the bridge itself that was my focus. Snegurka didn’t seem to have passed it, and she had unleashed her viciousness onto the amarok pack. The garrison itself had been completely destroyed, to the point that I could not tell what the building had looked like before Snegurka’s attack. There were no bodies in sight, but blood tainted the snow crimson, and the scent of pain, anger, and death shrouded the entire location.
My beast stirred inside me in response, urging me to track down the perpetrator of the crime. I reminded myself that I could not act until Cassia gave me leave, lest I make things worse than they already were.
The amarok Alpha was already waiting for us when we arrived. “Your Majesty, thank the gods you’ve come,” he said as he bounded toward our group. “We feared you might not get the message in time.”
“How serious was the attack, Alpha Panuk, and when did it occur?”
“Roughly three hours ago, Your Majesty. We’ve lost three males and two females so far, and we have several other injured. For the most part, we were able to evacuate our young before the storm hit, but several pups were hurt, regardless. Those who’ve lost their mothers are not coping well. This way, please.”
Without being bid, the Alpha guided us down a small, well-trodden path, toward an evergreen forest. The trees had obviously taken damage, as several uprooted firs lay upended in snow drifts and splinters of wood littered the icy ground.
Several gigantic wolves lurked in front of the forest, pacing to and fro, carefully monitoring the area for any sign of intruders. Even from the distance, I could sense their agitation and despair. After all, if Snegurka chose to attack again, they would likely not be able to change the outcome too much, beyond providing a delay for the females to escape.
Despite the fact that we were of an entirely different species and they couldn’t shape-shift, I empathized with their plight. I couldn’t do much for my female either, and I was stuck having to watch her shoulder a duty she should’ve never had to bear.
The amaroks bowed as soon as we came within view, displaying the same deference and relief their Alpha had. “Your Majesty, welcome to our pack.”
“Welcome to our pack. You honor us with your presence.”
Cassia barely acknowledged their words, disregarding all formality in favor of sweeping past them and entering the actual territory of the pack. I could not blame her, as the smell of blood had become stronger as we’d approached the forest. Even if Alpha Panuk hadn’t already reported the extent of the damage to his pack, the scent alone would’ve had me on edge.
The amaroks had chosen to stash their wounded and dead just beyond the tree line. I could not see any pups nearby, and I assumed they might’ve been hidden in a different location.
Cassia took a quick look around, her keen, icy gaze assessing the situation with ease. “Alpha Panuk, the most serious of the injured are here, correct?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the amarok leader answered. “We could not move them any further lest we accidentally kill them in the process.”
“You did the right thing. Do not fear. We will provide aid to the wounded, and your fallen warriors will be avenged.” She waved for her nisse to come closer. “Alva, we will need two groups of healers, one for the injured here, and another for the pups.”
Alva didn’t need to be told twice, and within less than a minute, she and several other nisse were already tending to the amaroks. A smaller group, led by Viveka, took up position behind Cassia.
Satisfied with the actions of her subordinates, my female turned toward Alpha Panuk again. “Now, where are your females and pups?”
“They are being sheltered in the dens. The injured ones are under the care of our older females, but there is not much we can do.”
The amarok dens turned out to be an intricate labyrinth of underground caverns so large it could’ve held an incipient dragon clan. We found the females clustered together in the central cave, attempting to aid their wounded young. A small white pup had been hit hardest in the attack. I could not tell where the damage on his body originated from, but it must’ve been severe, as his fur was covered in blood, and he was having trouble breathing.
Two of the nisse scrambled to deal with the less wounded pups, and the rest of them focused on the most seriously injured one. They knelt by his side in a circle that perfectly mimicked the form of Chronikos, attempting to save the life of the tiny wolf. Unfortunately, even powerful magic had its limits, and in the pup’s case, those limits had been reached.
A few minutes after our arrival, Viveka looked up at Cassia, shaking her head. “I am sorry. There is nothing more we can do.”
Next to her, a female amarok, probably the pup’s mother, let out a mournful howl. Cassia pressed her lips together so hard they went white. “Oh, I think that’s not quite true. I won’t give up, not as long as there’s still a chance.”
She dropped to her knees next to the pup and gently took him in her arms. The small amarok let out a whine and curled closer into her embrace. She passed a steady, pale hand through the white fur, whispering, “It’s all right, little one. You’re safe now. It’s not time to join the gods just yet.”
My heart hurt, not just for the amarok pack, but also for Cassia. She loved her people so much, and she would see this loss as a personal failure.
Something rebellious rose in my chest as I watched my female cradle the small, furry body in her arms. Cassia was right. This was not over yet. No ma
tter what Viveka had said, even if neither Cassia nor I were healers, I did not believe in giving up any more than Cassia did.
I joined my soulmate on the ground and wrapped my arms around her middle. Perhaps I could do very little to aid her, in practice, but at the very least, I could be there for her, emotionally.
A strange haze settled over me, and warmth bloomed from my fingertips, right over the point where I was making contact with Cassia’s body. Cassia’s breath caught. She pulled the amarok pup a little closer, all the while leaning against my chest. “Emmerich...”
“Shh, I’m here, treasure. I’ll never let you go.” We might have our problems. We might all be struggling to adjust to the bond more than I would have liked. But we were hers, and she was ours, and we would never be separated.
A bright, white glow engulfed our bodies, and I held Cassia even closer, doing my best to provide my soulmate with the comfort and aid she needed. It was a shame that, in my zeal to assist my mate, I didn’t notice the newly arrived female presence until it was much too late.
Seven
Helpless
Kerryn
When Cassia had sentenced Jack Frost to exile, I had expected to not have to deal with the man anytime soon. I’d selfishly been glad about that, as despite Cassia’s obvious attachment to him, I’d still felt resentful over his actions and the pain they had brought onto Cassia. We’d wanted Cassia to punish him a little more harshly, but since that hadn’t been possible, I’d contented myself with the knowledge that he would not be in her presence for quite some time.
The fact that Raijin and I were once again forced to go find him would’ve irritated me greatly had I not had other more important concerns. I was not in the least bit happy with the prospect of our female having to face Snegurka alone. As we flew through the skies of The Realm of Eternal Ice, I wondered if Jack Frost had any idea on how we could better support Cassia, maybe another weakness Snegurka might have that our female had not been aware of.