Page 43 of Own to Obtain

“What is it?” he asked, sensing her hesitation.

“How do we… what is our role during the blizzards?” she asked. “How do we help the people?”

“You will see when we get there,” Kardos said. “It’s not the same for every blizzard, sometimes there is nothing we can do but be their support.”

Shaya nodded and pressed her face into his neck. Sensing her nervousness, he purred and stroked her back until the portal was alive and glowing in the middle of the room.

His warriors immediately readied themselves and at his nod, ran through the portal one by one. He inclined his head at Emperor Drocco, who returned the gesture, before tucking his mouth down to Shaya’s ear. “Ready?”

“Ready,” she said, her voice barely audible.

Kardos took the portal at a run.

As soon as he passed through, the iciness in the air seemed to press the air out of his lungs. It was as though tiny blades of cold fire stabbed across his face and skin, and his whole body began to tingle at the sudden drastic change in temperature.

He heard Shaya gasp, but he focused on running straight ahead, along the bridge her sister had created. It seemed to lead nowhere but the open ocean, but Kardos knew the island was at the other end. He recognized the landscape from when his ship navigated the ocean to find the island.

Reaching the end of the bridge, he jumped from it and landed on the tough ground as the island materialized all around them. He didn’t stop, and continued to run as fast he could. The air was so full of snow that it was impossible to see beyond arm’s length, but that was not unusual. What he was worried about was the cold. Shaya didn’t have her furs and the longer she stayed exposed to the snow, the more dangerous it was.

“My chief! My chief!”

Kardos’ head snapped to the side, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from, but he didn’t stop running.

“My chief, I have a carriage waiting for you!”

“Who is that?”

“Denos. Follow my voice to the carriage.” Denos had superb eyesight in bad weather, and tended to be Kardos’ eyes when he needed to travel during the blizzards.

Kardos angled toward him, running in his direction. “How can you have a carriage? How did you know I would be here?”

“Zolt posted lookouts for your return,” Denos yelled back. “He said to stay until the heart of the of the blizzard approached and then make our way back if you didn’t arrive in time.”

Kardos grunted. He should have known that Zolt would be prepared, but it was dangerous to have his men out in this blizzard just to look for him.

“The warriors that came with me, where are they?”

“They have been led to a carriage already, my chief,” Denos said. “They are on their way to their homes. I only await your arrival and then we can make our way.”

“I want to go to my hut first and then the shelter.”

Denos’ chuckle drifted back to him through the snow. “Yes, he thought you might want to.”

Kardos kept running until he almost crashed into the carriage. It was different from the usual ones they used to travel. This one was shaped like a diamond with frosted windows and a hatched door; although, it still had the sleds to move it across the snow. He climbed in and immediately banged on the wall to tell Denos to leave.

He placed Shaya on the cushion on the ground and pulled her slightly away from him to examine her.

She was already shuddering, her teeth chattering.

“That was…,” she said, breathlessly. “That was so unbelievably cold.”

“You should warm up in a few moments.” Kardos rubbed her hands, blowing on them to warm her up. “This carriage insulates the heat better than the other ones.”

Shaya looked around. “This is a carriage?”

“Yes, it is one that we use during the blizzards. It’s specially shaped so if it gets caught in the blizzard and knocked around, or buried in snow, there is a greater chance of survival, which is why there are no benches or seats.”

She was silent for a moment as she examined her surroundings. “How many people die in these blizzards?”

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