The Guardians of the Forest: Book Two Read online

CHAPTER 35

  MELTED

  Kiethara gasped, opening her eyes as feelings of horror and shock took over her. Her hammock was swinging dangerously underneath her, which confused her further. She had been by a river…surrounded by people, people with pit black eyes…

  Relief, glorious relief, filled her with a warmth that was only ever achieved from waking up from a nightmare. None of it had been real; the river, the people, Gandador standing over her…and especially her eyes. They were not black. More importantly, they would never hold what Gandador’s did.

  Of course, not all aspects of the dream had been lies. She was shivering in reality, too, for her robe had slipped off with her movements. Also—

  No. She really did not want to think about it. Every time she did, she felt like ripping her hair out in humiliation and anger. She would do what Aaron told her and, if she was lucky, it just might work.

  Kiethara shook her head as she sat up. Somehow it was still hard to believe that it had happened. She had not thought he was capable of such an unworthy crime, but then again, she had only known him for a few months, at the most. She had lost her head in the thick of it all, and her inability to judge and see was the only real problem she had. Their relationship had never been rational.

  But since when had love ever been rational?

  Aaron was right. She was her mother—her mother had made the same mistake. That fact mollified Kiethara slightly, but not completely. Gandador and Navadar’s betrayals were very different; one was cruel, the other shallow.

  With a sigh, Kiethara raised her hand to push her hair out of her face. Her fingers brushed silent, salty tears that streaked down her cheek. Startled, she wiped them away quickly and then rose to her feet.

  The walk was slightly refreshing, what with the cool air nipping at her cheeks and nose. She had left her robe behind again. Today, all she wanted was a drink of water before she crawled back into her hammock again, hiding until Aaron started badgering her. Goodness knows she wasn’t in the mood, but it wasn’t as though she had much of a choice.

  With that, she took a long drink, grimacing as the icy water froze her gums before it ran down her throat. Not fun. Hopefully winter would drift by fast. She remembered the first time a blizzard had hit the forest…

  Eight year old Kiethara was curled tight against one of the two trees supporting her hammock, wishing nothing more than to die.

  The wind was howling, the temperature dropping rapidly, and she was blinded by the fiercely swirling snow that refused to still. Kiethara’s hair was being yanked harshly while her raw skin was being cut up. Her toes—or solid bricks of ice, as they were now—tried to clutch at the frozen ground for dear life; she felt as though if she loosened her grip even by a fraction the storm would pick her up and blow her away. Although, she may have sufficiently become ice by this point, and perhaps the winds would not be able to take her.

  The storm was growing worse, though she did not know how that was possible.

  She could not see very far, could not feel, and the roar of the wind blocked out all other sounds. Her hands were turning blue and her shivers were turning into convulsions. She clenched her eyes shut tight, knowing the only thing she could do was scream silently in her head.

  At first, Kiethara did not notice Aaron’s arrival. It was only when he whispered words of salvation into her ear did she realize she had company.

  “Not to worry, Kiethara. Can you fly?” he had asked.

  Relief, as well as shock, had flooded through her numb body. Without opening her eyes, she concentrated on becoming weightless, drifting slowly into the air.

  The strong wind had immediately thrown her small form into a far tree, but ironically, that had been just what she needed. Now protected by the line of trees she had been forced into, the wind lessened slightly, allowing her to grab hold of the tree limbs around her. Every movement in the cold was painful, making it harder and harder to stay in the air.

  “Can you make it into the guardian’s lake?”

  Kiethara did not answer; instead, she pulled herself towards the next tree, using her dead feet to push herself off the tree behind her and into the right direction. Her shoulder length hair whipped in her eyes.

  It was, by far, the worse time she had ever had while flying.

  Aaron stayed below her the entire time, making sure, probably, that she didn’t freeze to a tree or wander in the wrong direction. The swirling storm was beyond confusing and, even though she had traveled the distance countless times, she still relied on her small carvings several feet below.

  Eventually, Kiethara had made it to the center of the forest. She wanted to give herself a resonant round of applause, but her hands were such a sickening color she feared they might snap off if she worked them that hard.

  “Into the lake,” Aaron had ordered.

  Kiethara propelled herself off the tree and into the swirling white. The wind immediately tried to drive her off her course, but as soon as she felt she had managed to be tossed far enough, she let herself drop.

  Kiethara had never been able to explain why the guardian’s lake never froze in the winter; Aaron had not been very helpful when she asked. All of the other lakes and rivers froze, but this lake wouldn’t even drop in temperature.

  She didn’t complain about it, though; warm, heavenly water was waiting for her falling, numbed body. Once she fell in, the wind no longer pulled at her and the white snow could no longer blind her. Kiethara let out a frustrated huff as she watched her hands turn back to their normal color.

  ‘Better?” Aaron had asked as she reached the bottom.

  “You have no idea,” she sighed, closing her eyes and sinking down to the floor.

  “You almost died, Kiethara. You need to be more careful.”

  “More careful? I just woke up with the snow falling, and then the wind started up like crazy! What was I supposed to do?” her high-pitched voice demanded.

  “Take precautions.”

  “So now I have to defend myself from the weather, too?”

  “It can kill you,” he reasoned.

  “Fine,” she relented. “But how do I take precautions?”

  “Maybe you should sleep closer to the center,” he suggested.

  “But Aaron! That’s my clearing!”

  “And what do you propose to do if this happened again?”

  “Come on, Aaron, you know you enjoy playing hero and rescuing a damsel in distress.”

  “Not if she doesn’t learn anything by it,” he said. “You cannot underestimate anything.”

  “Not a day goes by where you don’t lecture me,” she complained.

  “You’re still young, and you have lots to learn.”

  “Eight years old isn’t young!” she sniffed.

  “Whatever you say, Kiethara,” he yielded. She could hear the smile in his voice.

  She looked up towards the surface, but she could not make rhyme or reason of what was happening above. How long would it take before the storm passed? She could not stay down here forever.

  Or could she?

  “How long would I be able to stay here?” she had asked tentatively.

  “As long as was necessary, Kiethara. Whenever the weather gets too bad, you should come down here, but you can’t stay here forever.”

  Well, that was disappointing. She would rather stay in this one spot for all of winter than go back up and face the cold again.

  But it couldn’t be helped.