Soft fur tickling her nose woke Cinder from the chilling night. At first, the plush hairs merely toyed with her skin as she cuddled closer, warmth spreading throughout her entire body as she did. At least most of her body; the cavity where her icy heart rested remained unmoved by anything but the frost of winter. It took her a long moment of dazed sleep to realize the fur did not belong to anything she owned.
Slowly prying her cemented eyelids open, the first thing she saw were lips slightly parted in sleep. As she traveled up the face belonging to the lips, she found olive tinted skin, closed, almond-shaped eyes, and disheveled hair spilling into a boy's face.
Cinder shot up immediately, devoid of sleep, and gently scurried away from what she now saw was a sleeping Kai. The rabbit fur lining his gloves was what brushed her nose, as his hand shifted in his sleep. Raking her brain of the night before, she tried remembering how the two of them ended up snuggled together with their sleeping bags next to the now flameless fireplace.
Of course. While they slept the fire diminished, and their bodies craved more heat than what their thick blankets had provided. Cheeks flaring with embarrassment, Cinder pulled her hood over her face to hide her puzzling excitement at being near him.
Kai stirring brought her back from deep in her own thoughts. Before he could fully awaken himself, Cinder shot up and began busing herself with collecting their supplies. She could only hope Kai hadn't realized their close proximity during the night for fear the little friendship they managed might dwindle into nothing.
"Good morning," he greeted, once he got his bearings. Cinder replied in a sweet smile and equally as pleasant greeting, hiding any suspicious feelings buzzing around in her cold heart. Kai didn't seem to notice, "Hopefully we'll be able to make it over the peaks today."
"How long from there to the Lost Sea?"
He looked at her strangely, confused at the mention of an unknown destination. Cinder looked down, forgetting that she never told him where she was headed after he managed to guide her over the Northern Peaks.
"Don't worry," she rambled. "You only have to take me over the mountains – I'm just saying where I need to go is farther. It's past the Lost Sea, but I'm not sure what the city is called now and I'm not exactly sure where it is, but I wasn't implying you had to use the time when you could be making deliveries to help me . . ." Kai rested a hand on her shoulder to end her babbles.
"I agreed to help you," he smiled. "Wherever that takes us."
Beaming with gratitude, Cinder gave him a sparkling smile usually only seen by her family. She couldn't stop smiling in fact; she smiled while packing their many supplies, she smiled while securing them back in Nainsi, and she smiled whenever Kai's glance fell on her. For the first time since her parents' deaths, she felt happy through and through.
Until a strident, husky voice sounded from behind them.
"Hello Princess."
Against the sun's blinding radiance, Cinder could only make out the dark outline of seven figures looming over them. Each towering over six feet in height with muscles built like armor, only they could be the source of the eerie words able to make skin crawl beneath layers of clothing. Once a heavy cloud dimmed the sky's light, she saw the dark uniforms buttoned over humanoid monsters.
Faces twisted into deformed sneers, long muzzles protruded from the men – some long enough to be considered snouts. Lines of teeth barely hid beneath their wicked smiles, dripping hunger and madness into the snow where it reacted like acid. In the center of the mass of beasts stood a frighteningly composed soldier whose stare of glowing eyes wouldn't leave her smaller form. Obviously the one who spoke – their leader – the salivating men eagerly awaited his order to tear Cinder limb from limb.
The insignia of the Luna Family did not even need to gleam on his buttons for Cinder to know they were sent by the Snow Queen.
"Princess?" Kai's unexpected question had her spinning toward him in alarm. Consumed by her fear of the creatures only yards away, she regrettably forgot his existence entirely. His confused eyes bore through her, body and soul, with the faintest hope she would deny the title. Ashamed, her breaking of their gaze only confirmed a fact Kai didn't want to believe.
"Prepare a successful report to Her Majesty," the husky voice ordered. As his glare remained glued to Cinder while he spoke, she mistakenly thought the soldier's words were meant for her. Among a cluster of thick trees, something moved into view and nodded at his words. The girl seemed young – much too young – to see something as horrific as what Cinder knew was about to take place. She must have known it too; tears brimmed her look of self-disgust.
Gulping down the fear that would have choked her voice, Cinder stated, "I am not dead yet."
A thin smile revealed the sharp fangs the leader kept well-hidden behind his lips, reminding Cinder of the type of people she was dealing with. His amusement either stemmed from her unanticipated conclusion of their plan or her confirmation that she would be putting up a fight.
"No, not yet."
Behind his back, the leader snapped his fingers like a whip. As instructed, one of his loyal beasts leaped the length of the hill headed straight for Cinder. Watching in horror, his body grotesquely morphed from skin to fur. Joints curved into sharp lines, some cracking at odd angles until his body become a crouching mess of tattered clothing and something distinctly, but not entirely, wolf.
He landed just before Cinder as she slowly tried backing away, his paw-hands growing sharp claws as he walked. Unable to turn away, her eyes were drawn to the remaining hominid features on his face. Bulging eyes appeared as if they would pop from his sockets until the brown iris became fully consumed by the black pupil.
Snarling, he kneeled slightly in preparation for a deadly pounce. Cinder's feet found their courage, but not in enough time for her to escape the creature's range as he dived into the air. Jaw opened, his aim meant to send his teeth deep into her neck.
"Cinder!" She heard seconds before a loud noise popped her eardrums. The world spun – or rather, she was being spun out of the monster's way – before she fell deep into the snow. Arms guarded her back from any severe impact while a body sat between her and what would have been her death.
Kai's eyes were filled with even more fear than Cinder's as he helped her back into a standing position. The hands clutching her shook, though his stance remained confident and ready to bolt as soon as they were able. It was he who screamed her name with alarm just as he pulled her away from the salivating beast.
Cinder felt as compelled to leave as he was, anxious to put distance between them and the group of moon soldiers. What kept her feet locked in place was the pained whines of an animal, the very animal that had its jaws ready to taste her blood. Keeled over in the snow, it slowly bent back into a more human shape where the red blotch swallowing his shoulder could be seen.
A clicking sound tugged Cinder's attention behind them, as it did to the attention of everyone else. Red coat billowing slightly in the wind, a girl stood like a blazing fire against the white world. Narrowed eyes spit into the leading soldier, whose eyes flickered back to a normal shade at the surprising sound of the gun in her hands.
"You're very attractive," she shouted over the wind. "But not enough to convince me not to kill you."
Her next shots came in rapid fire at the still baffled soldiers, sending them scuffling for cover behind nearby trees. Their surprise only lasted the moments it took them to unfasten their own weapons and return fire. Cinder and Kai ducked to the ground, stuck in the middle of flying bullets and laser rays.
Squeezing her hand in the snow, Kai urged Cinder forward through the chaos of battle. Every time a bang rang out across the peaks instinct convinced her head down again not allowing her much visual. Trusting the hand protecting her, she followed him up a slight slope and behind the cover of the cabin.
Free of ricocheting debris, the two felt safe enough to stand and run to the sleeping sleigh parked against a tree. Cinder jumped into the seat and began clasping down any loose supplies, while scanning the horde for anything that could be remotely useful. Kai instantly collected Nainsi's wires and began cursing as he struggled to bring their only hope of escape to life.
Not soon enough, the screen came to life as did the brimming voice of their friend, "Ah, nothing rejuvenates the interior like beauty sleep–"
"Go!" Kai ordered, hopping into his seat with the reigns tight in his clutches. The desperation in his voice was enough to silence Nainsi as well as convinced her to step on it. Pulling out onto open snow, they narrowly escaped the soldiers' eyes as the sleigh darted upward towards the mountain tips.
"The princess is escaping!" a rage-filled voice scratched against the sounds of gunfire. Cinder couldn't help but glance cautiously back at her pursuers hidden by trees and snowcaps. Some tried slipping out toward her, only to meet the persistent bullets of the red-cloaked girl. They resigned themselves to reclusion behind their covers, until the girl's myriad abruptly ended with the trigger making short, clipped sounds when she clasped it.
Swearing, she slid down her mound of snow and began sprinting away from the quickly recovering soldiers. Only one leaped into action immediately – the leading soldier. Eyes glowing and teeth protruding from his mouth, he chased after the girl with terrifying speed. As he darted over the uneven terrain, he began hunching over to run on all fours, slowly changing into one of the monstrous beasts.
Cinder saw how threatening close the creature nipped at the girl's heels and decided to act spontaneously. Jumping over the back of her seat, she landed on their piles of supplies on Nainsi's back, narrowly being tossed to the snow zipping by. Behind her, Kai shouted vigorously for her to sit down, but driving had him too preoccupied to do anything about it. Praying her plan would work, she turned back to reach Kai's ear.
"When I say now, give Nainsi a burst of speed," she yelled over the wind.
Kai looked bewildered. "She's going as fast as she can!"
"Please," Cinder begged, turning back to the girl catching up to them – and the soldier catching up to her. She must have caught wind of Cinder's idea; her path had become straighter and her eyes didn't leave the back of the sleigh. Leaning to the very back of Nainsi, Cinder reached outward as far as her arms would allow while clinging to the wooden back.
A growl escaped the beast tailing them as he pursued, also realizing their plan in action. Had he realized it sooner, the red-cloaked girl would not have been able to vault herself into the arms of Cinder. They tumbled together, disrupting the bundles of supplies that were once packaged tightly into place. Inches farther from each other and the girl would have landed at the hands of her beastly hunter.
Thinking themselves safe, the two girls righted themselves with appreciative nods – a show of gratitude for both attempts at saving each other's lives. Just as Cinder took in a breath to signal Kai, the red-cloaked girl let out a terribly scream. Grasping for purchase on the wooden sled, the leading soldier – fully morphed into his slobbering half-wolf form – clung to the girl's ankle by his piercing teeth.
Cinder screamed in fear as the monster's eyes fell on her. You are next, their bulging pupils said.
Before he was able to crawl his way onto the small vehicle, the girl slid out a second gun hidden in the back of her waistband. Instead of crying hysterically as Cinder would have, the girl grinned at the leech fighting to rip her leg from its socket. She shoved the barrel into his mouth where it banged against his thick teeth.
"You bite me," she snickered. "You buy me dinner first."
The gun went off, shattered bone and tooth and whatever else the creature had stuffed behind the fur of his muzzle. Howling a painfully sick howl, he reluctantly released the girl's leg and tumbled into a pile of snow. Cinder didn't wait to see if he moved again before yelling at Kai their signal and speeding as far away from their enemies as possible.
This chapter was meant to be Winter and Jacin having a bit of a scuffle, but instead a choose a more meaty chapter. Here's why: A lot of you have been asking for longer chapters and speeding up the story ― and I hear you. Instead of my original plan, I am going to cut some unnecessary chapters and make the chapters longer (at least 2,000 words). I might add the other chapters in once the story is finished, but for now I think you all deserve a quicker pace. Hope you like this new direction!
Cheesehead101: Thank you for the advice! I understand where you are coming from and I hope you like the changes I made to speed things up.
lunartic: It was a 'meanwhile' chapter, I admit. Before, I was really only writing on a who-hasn't-had-a-chapter-in-awhile-basis. Now I've cut a lot of unnecessary chapters and am only focusing on the story points that matter to the overall resolution. Which means now Thorne and Cress will be meeting a lot sooner :)
I Am The Black Werewolf: Here you go :) Thanks for the review!
Thanks to all of you who are reading and reviewing! Especially those who confessed to me that the story was being dragged on - thanks for letting me know. I really appreciate your opinions so I know what I am doing right and wrong.