Forged in Ice (17 page)

D
arkness engulfed
me as my free-fall continued. I reached out for something, anything to slow me down, but there was nothing there. I continued to fall as my stomach did summersaults, and I struggled to remember which way was up.

Finally what felt like hours later, I landed. Something had miraculously broken my fall. My relief for landing in a soft pile of snow was short lived once I noticed I shared the snow with a decaying mound of the undead. I jumped away, rigorously rubbing off the invisible remnants of the zombies. None of them moved. They had once again returned to death.

I looked around at my surroundings. I was in a dark and forbidding forest. A thick coating of snow covered the ground, as fresh flurries flew all around me. There were tall trees everywhere but the small clearing I was in. I shivered as the snow continued to fall.

After the shock of surviving the fall wore off, a new reality hit me. I was alone in a forest. I had no clue where I was, and I was going to freeze to death if I didn’t find shelter. I ventured a few steps deeper into the trees. I could see nothing but more trees and increasingly deeper snow.

I shivered and strained my ears for the sounds of anything.

I ran through the forest as fast as I could. The snow covered tree roots were slick, and I tripped and fell hard. A sharp pain shot through my knee, and I struggled to return to my feet. I wondered if these trees could move the way the ones had in the forest by Belgard. I shivered and forced myself to start walking again.

I heard the sound of a bird. A single caw echoed through the silent woods. I followed in the direction I thought it came from. Another caw filled the sky, and I followed. I wasn’t sure where it was leading me, but it was something. It was a chance at survival, and I was going to take it.

The pain in my knee got worse, and I dragged my leg behind me as I continued on, listening to the ever louder sound of the bird. I knew that it could be leading me to danger, but I was already in danger. I couldn’t give up. If I went down, it was going to be fighting, not as a popsicle in the middle of some enchanted forest.

The faint light in the thick forest gradually increased, and I knew I was either reaching another clearing or the edge of the woods. I was filled with both elation and fear. I had no clue what I was about to face.

I continued toward the light. The cawing got louder and louder as I walked out onto the shore of an expansive frozen lake. It was exactly like my dream.

I took a tentative step out onto the crystal clear ice and gasped as I took in the sight of the frozen men. I had known to expect them, but somehow seeing them again, when the cold and pain let me know this wasn’t another dream, was altogether different.

I looked among the faces of the men. Each wore a severe and determined expression, with their eyes wide open and had a leather strap slung over their shoulder that attached to a sword. They were shirtless and all wearing dark pants.

How long had they been frozen? Surely they couldn’t be alive, but Gregor had made it sound that way. Maybe like everything else in this world it was some sort of magic.

I stepped back onto the shore. And that’s when I saw him. The man frozen separately from the rest. The familiar face had not been in the ice last time. It was the same strong jaw line. The same big brown eyes. Gregor.

I moved onto my knees and reached over to touch the ice above him. A burning sensation started in my fingertips and spread into my hand, my arm, and then my entire body. I pulled my hand away and stumbled back away from the lake, falling into a sitting position in the process.

The burning started to subside, but I could not bring myself to move when a loud cracking sound filled the air. A hand appeared where Gregor had been. And then another. I returned to my knees and looked out on the lake. It was still frozen except for the one spot where Gregor was. His large brown eyes met mine in a silent pleading. I took his hands and pulled him out onto the shore. He lay immobile on his back, but his chest moved up and down, so I knew he was breathing. I waited. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do, and how any of this was possible. I had nothing warm to give him. I had nothing to dry him off or to cover his exposed chest. My own sweater was wet from the snow, and it had almost frozen against my body.

Suddenly he sat up, and then he stood. He walked over to me. His lips twisted into a smile as his eyes met mine. “Ainsley.”

“Gregor?” I asked through chattering teeth.

“How was your trip?”

“My trip?” A chill from something other than the cold ran through me, and I clamored to my feet. A pain shot through my injured knee.

“Yes. You had to have gotten here somehow.”

“You were in my dream.” I tried to ignore the pain. There were far more pressing matters.

“I told you it was not an ordinary dream.” He looked around and smiled. “You came alone. Perfect.”

“Not by choice.” Real fear surged through me as Gregor stepped closer. In my plans of finding him, I had never intended to do it alone.

“You have the eyes. That is for sure.” He leaned closer.

“What do you want from me?”

“I want you to release the rest of your army.” He gestured to the ice.

“My army?” I choked out.

“Yes. Every king needs a queen.”

“I am no one’s queen. You must have the wrong Ainsley.”

He laughed. It was a deep laugh that shook his entire body. He was soaking wet yet he seemed completely unbothered.

“You’re not cold?”

“Oh.” He touched his still wet skin. “The cold cannot hurt me anymore.”

“How is that possible?”

“We will do the same for you. It is only fair.” He grabbed onto both of my arms.

“Wait, what?” Nothing he was saying made any sense. My head spun, and I could feel sweat building on my forehead. It was like being back in the corridor with Charlotte again. I needed James.

“You will have the choice of kings, and I trust you will make the right decision.”

“I don’t understand. I don’t understand any of this.”

He picked me up, and I kicked at him with my uninjured leg, trying to get him to put me down. “I thought you were going to help me,” I managed to get out between my chattering teeth.

He returned to the spot in the ice where he had just been. “I am.” He grinned, and it only made him more frightening. “Helping you achieve the strength you will need to survive this war.”

“By killing me?”

“I will not kill you. You will be our queen. I already told you.” There was an annoyed edge to his voice.

I shivered, giving up on my kicking once he pinned my legs down against him. “You will not be in there as long as I was. Remember that.” Gregor tossed me into the cold water. I struggled to tread water as I reached for the ice.

“That will not help. No reason to waste your energy.” He started to walk away.

“No! You can’t leave me.”

“I do not wish to watch you struggle. Instead I will watch you return triumphant.” He grinned.

“Help! James!” I screamed out his name even though I knew he couldn’t hear. I was an idiot. I had saved a man only to have myself killed. My body grew colder and colder until I could barely move my arms. I struggled to stay afloat and my head slipped under the water. I struggled without air and gasped as the water entered my lungs and everything went black.

I
reached out for him
. I knew he was there waiting in the deepest corners of my mind. He had never truly left even when I could not hear his voice.
Father.

Hello, son.

I need your help.
I had never needed assistance more.

He laughed. It was the laugh that had frightened me as a child.

You are laughing at my request?
I eyed the iron bars of my prison cell again.

I am laughing because you truly believed this day would not come.

We need to save her.
I would do anything and pay any price.

You mean the infallible Essence has failed you?
He chuckled again. His voice was lighter and happier than I had ever heard it.

We are out of time. I need your help.

And I will give it.

At a cost.
I knew it had to be that way.

Everything has a cost. I taught you that.

He had taught me that, but sometimes the cost does not matter
. Please. She needs me.

She needs us.

I will do anything. Save her.

You need to accept me. You will have to let me in.

You are in. You have been in my head this whole time.
I thought over Charlotte’s words. She had been concerned he had the power to control me.

You must accept me. And you must promise to pay my price.

I made no hesitation with my response.
I accept you, and I will pay any price to save her.

Very well.

My body convulsed while a surge of electricity ran through me. My eyes closed, and the first surge was followed by something even stronger that left me lying on the floor in agony. My body writhed in pain as a torrent of darkness flooded my entire soul. With the darkness came an enormous sense of power and strength that pulsed through my body in currents like nothing I had ever felt before.

I moved to standing while I adjusted to the new sensation of power and strength.

I was nearly overwhelmed by the power in every inch of my body. I silently reached out to others I could sense were nearby. Others who I knew would come to my aid. I called on the undead and any who were already touched by the darkness. I then pulled on the bars, and this time they easily moved at my touch as I used the rage and the fear running through my veins to bend them. I hurried down the corridor, already hearing cries above.

I pushed past every guard that approached me, tossing them aside as if they weighed nothing at all. I was stronger than I had ever been. By the time I reached the front, a small army of corpses were distracting the guards. I slipped through and headed toward the stables.

Charlotte and the rest of the Guardians were nowhere in sight. Not that they could stop me. Nothing could. I was invincible now.

Once I reached the stables and quickly mounted my horse, I rode off in the direction my new internal compass led me. Ainsley was outside the Woods of Elsie. I was sure of it. I rode as fast as I could while a strength so far greater than anything I had ever felt before ushered me on.

The ride took hours. I barely noticed the blurry landscape as I rode. The beauty of the forests and hills were lost on me as thoughts of Ainsley swirled through my head.

Finally I made it, jumping off my horse as soon as I reached the frozen lake. The shore of the lake was empty, but I saw the signs of footsteps in the snow leading to one section in the ice that did not appear as thickly frozen as the rest. I hurried over and looked in. My heart nearly beat out of my chest at the sight of her suspended beneath the ice unmoving, her eyes wide open. I pounded my fist at the ice, expecting it to take several tries to make any headway, but the ice easily broke away and I pulled her out, wrapping her up in my coat and cradling her in my arms.

“James,” She whispered my name against my neck.

“I am here. I am here.” I would always be there for her. I pressed my lips against hers, needing to express the intensity of my feelings and relief. She responded, opening up to me and welcoming me in. She wrapped her arms around my neck. We remained locked in that position for several minutes before we broke the kiss. We were both breathless and holding on to each other as if the other would disappear if we let go.

“You saved me.” Her big blue eyes locked on mine.

“I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

“Making what up to me?” She was not shivering. Her body was wet yet calm.

“Letting you end up in this situation. I will protect you better. I promise.”

She rested her head against me. “Please, take me home.”

“I will. Right away.” I was not taking her back to Charleston or Belgard. I was taking her to a place very few knew existed, a fortress so hidden and secure, no one, not even the Essence could breach it.

But first I had to do something else. I was not sure if I was doing it for myself or my father but I bent down and took Ainsley’s hand in mine. I put our hands on the ice. A warmth spread through me and the ice started to melt. The melting started from the spot we touched and continued spreading across the lake. The men came to life, and with one hand I pulled the first man out. He moved on and helped the next. I waited until they were all on the bank before heading to my horse.

The men silently followed.

“Can I close my eyes?” Ainley asked as I helped her onto my horse.

“Yes. Of course, my love. Rest.” I kept her tight against me, wrapped in my coat. I would protect her no matter the cost.

I knew you would eventually come to me. The future is ours.

Yes, father.
I knew better than to ignore the voice in my head. I owed him everything. Including my soul. But he could not have my heart. I would keep that pure. And it would always belong to Ainsley.

J
ames and Ainsley’s
story will continue in
Forged in Fire
. Please keep reading for a preview of
Dire (The Dire Wolves Chronicles #1)
an NA Paranormal Romance by Alyssa Rose Ivy.

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