White Force

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If I listened hard enough, I could hear the wind speaking to me in harsh, foreboding tones, warning me against taking another step forward. Ice had formed at the peak of my frozen nose, but I was too stiff to wipe it away. The higher we climbed the mountain, the colder the unforgiving winds got. The temperatures were extreme, even for our kind.

Prince Sebastian was in a better state than I, although his slightly arched eyebrows were covered in frost. He shook a little as he walked, the cold clearly weighing him down, but the determination in his eyes were a promise that this cold wouldn't defeat him.

I couldn't assess how well Cros was fairing as he had been paving the trail ahead of us, knowing exactly which rock to climb and what to sidestep. We had taken the long way to the top to avoid heavy climbing, although Cros warned that parts would be so dangerous, we'd want to turn around. I didn't want to dwell on what lay ahead, especially with the past already taunting me. Every second of every hour was exhausting. Instead, I tried to focus on staying alive.

Two weeks. He said it could take two weeks to travel up the mountain. We didn't have two weeks to spare. We needed to get back to Luca. We needed to get back to the castle, and the queen, and Cora...

Cora.

My heart ached just remembering what state we'd left her in. Cora, who could probably be dead and it would be our fault. I needed to make it back, even if the only good I would be able to do would be to apologize. I'd do it, and I'd hold my chin up as I continued to scale the mountain.

Our bears and cubs had been lost in the storm. I'd learned that much from Sebastian during sprouts of conversation. All of our food and aid had been carried away with the wind as well. We had nothing, save for what Cros kept in his backpack. We certainly had no idea when our next meal would come. My stomach growled at the thought.

"I can't climb anymore," Syn wined from behind us. We'd being pulling her along by the rope that tied her hands together. She hadn't said a word since we decided to spare her life; she just quietly accepted her fate with no signs of resistance. "I'm too tired."

Ice cracked at my neck as I lifted my head to the sky. The deepening swirls of cobalt and tangerine indicated that we only had a couple hours left until sun fall. Thanks to the large backpack Cros was carrying, we had a tent made of wolf fur that could be assembled within minutes. It wasn't much, but it was large enough to keep four bodies cloaked during the night.

I jerked backward, realizing too late that Syn had stopped walking. The prince came to a halt and turned toward her with speculating eyes. Syn fell to her knees as she begged. "Please!"

With a heart I hadn't known existed in the 'cold prince' when I'd first met him, he turned to Cros and ordered him to stop. My heart thumped with anticipation, knowing Cros would find offense in being ordered. And not a second later, my suspicions were answered.