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“This snow better let up before Béke, otherwise the army will never get through,” Viktor grumbled. We briefly reunited with the Night and Crystal Realm’s armies in Zheka, relaying our plans. They were worn out from the long days on the road, so we gave them time to rest, and Queen Viktoria ensured they had extra food and places to sleep before we departed. We also grabbed our larger bags from the wagon we’d left them in, and I immediately searched mine for my father’s journal, tucking it into my saddlebags.
“We need to get going. The snow will slow us down,” Kaztar said.
“Lil, why don’t you ride Mistik for a bit and let me sit in the carriage?” Vadim begged, nearly linking his palms and dropping to his knees.
“Not a chance, brother,” she laughed, tossing her chocolate hair over her shoulder and returning to the carriage where Queen Viktoria, Queen Immonen, and Domi waited.
“I am glad Queen Viktoria decided to join us for the feast. It would have been awkward to show up without her,” Endre commented as we returned to our waiting horses.
“Agreed. It would have been suspicious, and we are going tobe subtle, remember?” Viktor looked straight at me with an expression that said I was not allowed to rip Ruslan’s head from his shoulders the second I laid eyes on him.
“I remember,” I growled.
“Everything will be okay, Kazimir,” Endre reassured me as we guided our mounts toward Radence.
I blew out a breath, fogging up the air in front of me as hot met cold. “I know. Just keep grounding me, yeah? We are so close, and I can’t lose her or myself.”
“I won’t let that happen.”
We lapsed into silence, each of us bracing against the bitter wind that tore through the carved path, blowing flakes straight into our faces the higher we climbed. I scanned the mountainside, but it was pointless searching for a surprise attack when the weather was awful. If the Iron Realm wanted easy prey, we were certainly that as we trudged up the hard-packed path that was rapidly icing over. I glanced at the carriage behind us, hoping the procession had broken up enough ice that the wheels would not slip. The six horses that pulled it strained against their harnesses, their hides dark with sweat as they fought the incline. We’d been riding like this for at least an hour, and I prayed that we would reach the point where the pass evened out before the horses slipped.
Endre must have followed my train of thought because he shouted over the wind, “We should get Liliana and Domi out of the carriage to lighten the load. I don’t know when the path will level off. I can barely see Geza and Airre.”
“If we stop the horses they might not be able to start again with how slick the path is,” I yelled back. His brows furrowed, and I understood his worry for Liliana. Ever since Vadim gave them his blessing, Endre and Liliana had been inseparable. “Everything will be okay,” I echoed his own words back. Henodded, but we both continued to glance behind us every few paces, keeping watchful eyes on the carriage.
A shout traveled up the line of horses and Fae, and I tensed until Kaztar turned to relay the message to us. “The flat part is just ahead, and we will stop briefly when we get there.” His teeth chattered and frost coated his brows. I passed along the message to Vadim, whose beard looked like icicles rather than the lush hair he meticulously groomed.
Silence fell over us the moment we crested the hill, the wind nothing more than a trickle through the mountain. The air temperature rose, though snow continued to coat my furs and Fek’s mane. Endre breathed an audible sigh of relief as the carriage rolled to a stop beside us. “We need to warm up,” I shouted to Kaztar, who nodded, unable to argue that we needed to continue.
A low overhang that almost formed a cave behind us provided temporary shelter from the cold. Vadim lit a fire using wood stacked as far away from the mouth as possible, and we huddled around it, shoulder to shoulder as snow and ice melted from our bodies. King Geza and King Airre joined their wives in the carriage, Liliana and Domi rushing to the fire beside us to give them privacy. Two of the Day Realm’s High Lords joined our journey, and as they shivered beside us, I joked, “Soma, Domon, I’ve never seen such mighty warriors cower in the face of the weather.”
High Lord Soma threw his braided hair back and laughed, loud and deep. “If you grew up on the beaches of the Day Realm as I did, you would cower too.”
“I don’t know that I would call Soma a mighty warrior to begin with, though. He is soft from his years by the ocean,” High Lord Domon bantered.
“The ocean gives you great perspective, Domon,” he tsked. “That’s how I knew this war was important. The calmest waters appear after the strongest storms.”
“You should write that in your next book,” Domon grinned in response.
“Will you actually read this one?” Soma teased.
“Philosophy is boring, my friend. Maybe if you write an adventure.”
“I think you will have plenty of material for one after this, Soma,” I chuckled.
He waved me off. “Don’t assume we know the ending before we know the beginning.”
Conversation picked up around me as we thawed, and Soma shared a wineskin with the group, the alcohol chasing away the last of the chill. I was ready to ride by the time the kings exited the carriage, my furs thoroughly dried and feeling returned to my toes.
“How much longer do we have to ride?” Liliana asked Endre as Vadim put out the fire.
“A few more hours through the mountains, and then perhaps a few hours to reach Radence after that.”
“Ugh. I am going to take a nap.” Her braid whipped behind her as she scurried to the warm carriage.
Fek stomped as I approached him with Endre by my side. “Is she tired because she hasn’t slept much lately?”
A lopsided grin covered Endre’s face. “Maybe.”
