Page 38 of Blades of Ice

“I hear you, but all I’m doing is walking, and I’m not very good at that.”

“Fuckin’ hell. We’re going to have a long talk when this is all over. Before I let you go, I found something. I did some snooping.” Lydia snorted, and Carleigh huffed. “Okay, some more snooping. It seems Amara has been saving for a rainy day. She has an offshore account worth millions.”

“Or instead of a rainy day, she’s saving in case she was overthrown again. I wonder if her daughters know that?”

“That remains to be seen. Please be careful, and remember I love you.”

“Love you too.” Lydia set the phone on her lap and tore off a hunk of her sandwich.

Lydia hoped Dooley wasn’t too bored waiting on her. She also prayed wherever Beck was, he wasn’t being tortured. Lydia had prayed to the gods more in the last couple of days than in herwhole life. She also had a few words with the goddess. Since she was Beck’s mate, maybe the female deity would listen.

After finishing her snack, she got back to it for a couple of hours, then set up camp. Once she was inside the tent, Lydia didn’t bother eating. She couldn’t stomach another peanut butter sandwich. Besides that, Lydia couldn’t hold her eyes open, and she fell asleep as soon as she stretched out. The first thing she noticed upon waking was that she hadn’t had a nightmare. It was the first night in weeks she didn’t dream about killing Tinsley. Note to self: Exhaust yourself and you’ll be too tired to dream. The second thing that hit her was how bright it was. When she pulled out her phone and checked the time, Lydia groaned. It was already after nine, which meant she was getting a late start.

“Fuckin’ hell,” she muttered, borrowing Carleigh’s words. She should be excited. Today was the day. If she didn’t get lost, she would arrive at the Cessna. If she couldn’t figure out how to sail it back to Valdez, she could call someone to help. Was there such a thing as AAA for seaplanes? Only one way to find out.

Lydia packed up and set out. She was beyond tired even after sleeping like the dead. A strange noise stopped Lydia in her tracks. She searched for the cause, and when she saw the figure, she pushed her goggles up. “Beck?” She took a few steps his direction, but the figure disappeared. Lydia rushed to where she’d seen him, as fast as she could wearing snowshoes. When she got there, she searched the ground for footprints, but the snow was unbothered. Was she losing her mind? Was she wishing to see her mate so badly that she was conjuring his image? She wanted to cry. To scream. To curse the gods. Since none of those would help her situation, she turned to follow her tracks back the way she’d come, only a polar bear stood in her way.

“You’re a question mark,”its distorted voice taunted.

“No, I’m not. I’m an exclamation point.”

The bear laughed. How could a bear laugh?

“An exclamation point wouldn’t be lost, walking in circles, while her mate dies a slow death.”

“No! He’s not dying. I-I can still feel him.” Lydia’s throat tightened. “I’m an exclamation point, dammit.” Her mother had told her so many times. “Beck?” Lydia tried aloud and in her mind. “Beck? Please.” The bear took a step toward Lydia, and when she called on her sword, it didn’t work. Why wouldn’t it work? She was going to be eaten by a damn polar bear, and she’d never see her mate again. Or her parents. She wouldn’t get to meet little Gio, or give Locke a hard time about being smarter than her. Damn, her heart hurt.

The whir of helicopter blades sounded in the distance, but they wouldn’t get there in time. The bear… Where was the bear? Lydia scanned the ground around her, but there were no tracks. No indication the animal had been there. Gods, shewaslosing her mind. She dropped both backpacks as she waited for the helo to come into view. When it did, she waved her arms over her head in case it was Caleb. The bird hovered above her without landing. Lydia took in the area and realized she wasn’t in a space large enough. Before she could panic, the side door opened, and Dooley appeared. He waved at her, then lowered a rope ladder.

Shit. Lydia didn’t know if she had the strength to climb it. Dooley descended the ladder as it swayed. He jumped the last few feet, then made his way through the snow to where she was frozen.

“Hiya, Lydia. How are you holding up?”

Tears welled in her eyes. She’d never been so thankful to see another being in her life. Lydia transferred the poles to one hand, slid the mask up, and swiped at the wetness with one glove.

“That good, huh? Let’s get you out of here.” Dooley picked up both packs and motioned with his head for her to follow.

“I don’t know if I can climb the ladder,” she admitted.

Dooley rounded on her. “You listen to me, Lydia Stone. You are a fucking Gargoyle. You are Beck’s mate, and you are stronger than any female I’ve ever met. I’ll stay on the ground and hold the ladder while you climb. And youwillclimb. You had the strength to keep walking another ten miles, so you have the strength to get your ass into the helicopter.”

Lydia nodded. “I can do this.”

“Damn straight you can.” Dooley lowered the backpacks to the ground, then pointed to the snowshoes. “Might want to take those off first.”

Lydia glanced down. She’d worn them so long they’d become an afterthought. Lydia popped them off. When he held out his hands for the poles, she decided to trust the male with her secret and returned them to her wrist.

Dooley took a step back. “What in the actual fuck?”

“Magic. I’ll explain later.” Lydia waited for Dooley to pull himself together. When he did, he grabbed hold of the ladder, and Lydia climbed. Her arms were noodles, and her legs were close to numb, but she called on her Goyle as well as her mother’s spirit, and she made it to the top, all but falling into the helo. She moved to a seat so she wasn’t in Dooley’s way, and in much less time than it took Lydia, he was onboard carrying both packs as well as her snowshoes. He placed her things under the bench, pulled up the ladder, and closed the door. When he took the seat beside her, Dooley grabbed the cans from a hook beside his head, slipped them on, and gave Caleb the okay to go. Dooley helped Lydia strap in, then did the same for himself. He introduced her to the pilot, who gave her a brief nod.

Lydia leaned her head back and closed her eyes. The vibration of the helo was a welcomed sensation, though it madestaying awake difficult. Dooley and Caleb chatted the whole trip, but she’d be hard pressed to remember what they talked about.

“We’re here,” Dooley said, gently shaking her arm.

Lydia opened her eyes and looked out the window. “Where’s here?”

“Well, it was an abandoned warehouse, but now someone named CLS owns it.”

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