Breaking the Ice (Book 1)

Chapter Thirty

FLARE

He grimaced, glaring at the scenery. What was once annoyingly tranquil was now silent. Still. The sun had fled, leaving them in darkness—save for the little orange and yellow flame dancing to and fro in his palm. The insects didn't dare chirp, the wind ceased its whispers, even the stars were too afraid to show themselves on this cloudless night.

Flare didn't like it one bit.

In front of him, the Icee inhaled something that made him wince. He immediately proceeded to regurgitate whatever his last meal was into the nearest bush. The Scorpian gagged and cupped his large hand over his mouth. Flare lifted his nose into the air and took a sniff. Nothing smelled amiss.

When he was finished spitting out the meal Flare had provided a few hours ago, he wiped his lips. "What's wrong?" The Scorpian whispered, keeping his distance from the bush and the Icee.

The wolf let out a whimper before answering. "Something....Something's not right." He mumbled, then spat again to rid himself of the dissatisfying flavor in his mouth. "I can't smell her anymore. But....there's this bothersome smell that reeks of evil."

There was a moment of silence before Flare snorted. "What the hell is evil 'posed to smell like?"

The Icee glared at him coldly, his strained eyes glassy with exhaustion. "You don't want to know." There was a growl in his tone that made Flare shiver in excitement. A fight was drawing near. He just knew it!

The two encouraged the Icee against his will to follow the trail. When they entered a gray, lifeless wasteland, Flare knew something was amiss. A cave dwelled several feet in front of them into the mountainside. The Icee pulled out his bow, something he'd hardly done before. The Scorpian raised his tail in warning. But Flare just grinned, charging straight for the tunnel opening.

But the Scorpion pulled him back, surpassing Flare in strength which was ludicrous. "Whoa, whoa. We don't know who or what is in there. We shouldn't just run in without some sort of plan." Flare growled, growing tired of being bossed around like back at home.

They went back to where green resumed, in need of cover in case someone saw them. Flare had nearly forgotten that there were still assassins in the woods. The Icee began devising a vague, but simple plan with gray sand and a stick. "We don't know how many we're up against, but I think it's safe to assume less than five because they traveled around the wilderness—with Luna in tow—undetected. Since that is a small group, it would just be easier to distract the captors while one of us gets our friend."

Flare's eyes narrowed, observing the crease forming between the Icee's brows as he said the word friend.

"We should proceed right after the sun returns." The Scorpian stated. It wasn't a suggestion, but more of a command. Flare didn't know he had it in him to tell royalty what to do. Not that Flare was royalty any longer, he respectfully rejected his place in line for the throne. If anything happened to King Firework before he had children, Flare would've been heir to the throne.

Flarik forbid anything bad to happen to a soft, weak-minded king.

"What? No!" The Icee's ears snapped up in irritation. "Luna could be in danger!"

"Sleet," The Scorpian murmured, almost pleading. "We were blindly walking for hours, we need to regain our energy or we'll be useless."

"Why do you even care what happens to the Nightling anyway?" Flare grimaced.

"Because we're traveling companions." The Icee said, crossing her arms.

"And not so she could lead you to her tribe?" Flare cocked a brow. A muscle tightened in the Icee's jaw, Flare knew he hit a nerve. The Scorpian looked between the two, opening and closing his mouth, for he didn't know what to say. "Our Nightling doesn't behave like her kind is supposed to. I figured she grew up outside the tribe. Otherwise she'd have known to never trust a wolf. I'm curious, how did you two meet?"

"Sleet's a nice guy, he wouldn't do that." The Scorpian insisted, however he didn't sound convinced himself. He turned to the Icee, whose face was veiled in shadow, "Right?"

"You're very perceptive," the Icee raised his head. For the first time since Flare had known him, his multi-colored eyes gleamed murderously. "It's rather vexing."