Early in the morning, King Rhobart, together with his Paladins, Milton, Ayla, and Kristoff, went to the barracks to see the war prisoners. Ayla spent many hours on top of Star while thinking about how King Rhobart treated the war prisoners. Many times, she imagined her people in cold cells, without blankets to keep them warm and slowly dying of hunger or because of their untreated wounds. But when she stepped inside the warm barracks and saw beds covered with warm furs and around thirty men that appeared to be in good health, she pondered if she had misjudged the King. Her gaze found his—he stood in the middle of the barracks, next to Kristoff, his black eyes on her. She gave him a curt nod and silently thanked him. He returned her nod as if to tell her, ‘You are welcome.’ The war prisoners sat at tables playing cards or rolling dice. A few of them were reading. “King Rhobart is here to talk to you.” Kristoff said, and the war prisoners rose from their chairs.

Strong arms wrapped around Ayla's torso, her back pressed against a man's chest. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and she tried to slam the heel of her boot on top of the man's foot —Drax taught her how to do it when she told him her dream of being free and traveling around the world—but he hit the back of her thigh with his knee, making her hiss in pain. He covered her mouth and nose with a gloved hand, muffling her screams, and something sharp dug into her ribs. “If you don’t want to end up as food for the ice wolf, I suggest you stop struggling,” the man snarled in her left ear. The ice wolf stopped close to where they were standing, sniffing the air, and Ayla stilled. Her heart pounded so hard she was sure the beast would hear it. Ayla had few regrets in life, but she wished she had told King Rhobart that she did not hate him when she had the chance. Sure, she had been angry at him and might have thought she hated him, but he managed to gain her respect when sh

Ayla looked into Nixx’s eyes and said, “I see you.” Nixx looked at her for a long moment. When Ayla thought he won’t say anything, Nixx opened his mouth, “You do see me.” Once Scar had Ayla pack the things in the satchels, he got on his horse. “Come on, Sweetheart, you are riding with me,” Nixx said and helped Ayla get on his horse. She had never ridden with someone before, and having someone so close to her made Ayla feel very uncomfortable. Nixx put his hands around her, grabbed the reins, and said into Ayla’s ear, “Hold on, Sweetheart!” before nudging the horse to start walking. “My name is Ayla, not Sweetheart!” she said. “You have a beautiful name, but I like Sweetheart more,” Nixx murmured into her right ear. “Bet you taste real sweet too! Tell me, Sweetheart, have you ever kissed someone before?” Ayla blushed and said in an appalled tone, “That’s none of your business!” “Quiet back there!” Scar’s harsh tone reached Ayla’s ears. In a seriou

Nixx looked at the whip, then looked into Scar’s eyes and said in a cold tone, “If that’s what it takes to get sweetheart on the horse with me, I will gladly take a beating from you. It won’t be the first, and I am sure it won’t be the last.” Ayla was shocked. Not only did Nixx get hurt by Scar in the past, but he was willing to be whipped for her. “I don’t want Scar to harm you because of me,” Ayla whispered to Nixx. “It will be alright,” Nixx whispered back. Scar muttered something that sounded a lot like ‘bloody half-elf’ and ‘teach you to respect me.’ He looked a few more moments at Nixx, but in the end, he put the whip back in its place and got on his horse. By now, Ayla did not doubt that Scar was evil. But she could not understand why Nixx, who was a much better person, would travel with someone like Scar. “Why did you help me today, but you told Scar about the plant last night?” Ayla asked Nixx in a low tone when they were moving again. Nixx t

“You can’t be sure, sweetheart. It could be another snowcat.” It was Kerra. Ayla wanted it to be true. She needed it to be true, but she was scared she was wrong. What were the odds? It’s been days since the blizzard. Plus, Scar took her far away from the place he found her. “But what if it’s them? Please, Nixx! I need to get back. You can come with me!” Nixx swore under his breath while the horses raced between the trees. “Please!” Ayla insisted. “I can’t, sweetheart. And trust me, I would love to come with you and see the world. I want to be free with you because you are the only one that sees me for who I am. I want to ride that dragon. But I can’t....” Nixx said in a defeated tone. Ayla and Nixx had talked about them traveling to Korinus Island and finding the dragon. Nixx even promised he would always be her friend. But now he was refusing to come with her. “Why? Look, you could turn Spirit around and go back to the camp and see if my compan