Kendra was glad they had gotten a hotel that night instead of trying to travel to the preserve in the middle of the night.
Kendra stood in front of the full-length mirror, examining the tiny baby bump. According to her research, she knew that she was supposed to be showing starting at nine weeks, but her immortality had made it hard to feel the symptoms in the first place. Kendra hadn't noticed her growing belly until Bracken had said something to her that morning as they got out of bed.
Kendra still didn't know how to feel about it. At first, it disconcerted her, and maybe she had been a little embarrassed. She didn't say anything to him as she went to to the bathroom to see herself in the mirror.
Kendra lifted her shirt, letting her hand sweep across the surface of her stomach as she gazed at her profile in the mirror. Kendra's frame had always been small, and it should be easy to notice any slight changes. But, on the other hand, her immortality muted many of the symptoms. she was starting to feel a little ridiculous that she hadn't realized the truth sooner. Kendra's mind continued to swirl around all of the changes that had happened in the last week.
Bracken came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed the side of her neck with extreme gentleness.
"I'm sorry," he muttered against her neck. "I shouldn't have said anything. I didn't realize it would make you feel self-conscious," he said placing a kiss on her collar bone. "For what it's worth, I think that the sight of you right now, just starting to show, is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."
Kendra blushed. She hadn't felt highly self-conscious. She had to keep telling herself that this was all a normal part of living, getting married, having babies. It was weird to think that the world of the preserves seemed familiar to her while the pregnancy was still so new. Her normal was being married to a magical unicorn and acting as a handmaiden for the fairy Queen.
"It's okay, but I won't be able to hide this for much longer. The fact that Seth has already figured it out says something; it means that our enemies won't have a hard time figuring out the truth soon enough," whispered Kendra as she put her shirt down and kissed Bracken before going to change.
Bracken caught Kendra's arm as she was closing the bathroom door.
"We should still try to keep it a secret for as long as possible, though," Bracken said. His eyes betraying the fear he tried to hide, but Kendra saw it. She was the only one who truly saw him.
She nodded. She examined him for a moment.
"Come on, we should probably get going. The others are probably waiting for us."
"Of course, we should get dressed"
The rest of the group was waiting in the lobby of the hotel shortly before checkout at noon. After a long day of travel, everyone took the morning to sleep in and relax before heading off to the preserve. They took a boat from the shore to Kalgin Island to meet some of the caretakers who would guide them to the preserve's entrance.
From what Kendra had heard, it was supposed to be unlike any preserve in the world. She had tried to pry more information out of Tanu. However, he wouldn't say a thing insisting that this was a piece of information best left a surprise.
Kendra hated surprises. In her mind, they were very few things that qualified as a suitable surprise, especially when they involved the magical realm. Experience had taught her that ignorance was never bliss.
The boat ride to Kalgin island was a nightmare. The rocking boat and sloshing of waves beating against the side of the ship meant that Kendra spent the entire voyage bent over the side of the ship, hurling up the free hotel breakfast muffins that had tasted like cardboard the first time they were in her mouth.
And it was cold, so damn cold. Even with everyone wearing their warmest winter gear, the wind still nipped at noses, cheeks, and fingers, making them red and raw.
Bracken did everything in his power to help her but what was surprising was how Seth seemed almost eager to do his part to help Kendra as well. He would bring ginger ale and crackers and stand there, looking somewhat awkward and uncomfortable but willing to be there, while Bracken held back her hair and rubbed soothing strokes across her back.
After a while, Kendra was able to find a pattern of sorts on the ocean waves. She allowed herself to move with the rocking of the ship. She stared out at the horizon, focusing on a fixed point where the ocean met the sky.
Kendra sucked in a breath as the land began to loom in the distance. As they got closer, she could see what almost looked like a giant glacier rising out of the ocean.
Seth stood next to Kendra as the ship slowed to avoid the chunks of ice that became denser as they neared the edge of a steep glacier. A small wooden dock that jutted out from the bottom of a steep icy cliff. A narrow set of stairs cut into the ice that led to the top of a cliff.
Standing on the dock was a man dressed in a thick coat and snow boots, his dark eyes watching them as they approached.
Kendra wrapped the blanket that Bracken had placed around her shoulders tighter to keep the freezing air at bay.
The man on the dock waved at the boat, signaled the captain, and carefully guided the ship into the harbor.
Once the boat docked, the crew began to carefully make their way onto the small wooden pier where the man stood waiting for them. Tanu led the way as he clamored off the boat.
Bracken went ahead of Kendra, helping her down off the boat, followed by Seth, who looked ready to catch her if she fell.
"Gather round!" The man on the pier instructed as each member climbed off the boat and huddled together to keep warm.
"Name's Taithen," the man said gruffly, "y'all can call me Taith." He scanned the group, his eyes stopping momentarily on Seth, but he said nothing.
"The stairs are incredibly slippery this time of year. It's just warm enough for them to melt a little during the day and refreeze at night. So, there are anchors in the ice for the wire attached to harnesses by sliding on the attached C clip." He said as he held up a harness and showed the clip he was talking about. "you all will have to wear the harness. We wouldn't want any of y'all to get hurt before ya even get onto the preserve." Taith said, motioning to a blue storage bin that Kendra hadn't noticed until now.
Seth only looked minority put off by the idea of caring for his own safety.
Tanu and Knox went first, each of them carefully stepping into the harness and attaching the c clip to the wires anchored into the ice. Bracken kneeled in front of Kendra and held open the leg straps as she carefully stepped into the harness while holding onto his shoulder.
He looked up at her with a slight smirk, and Kendra couldn't hold back her blush as he secured the harness around her waist, his hands lightly brushing her legs as he secured the leg straps.
Taithen and Tanu led the way, followed by Ashlyn, Tess Knox, and Seth, Kendra, and Bracken in the rear, following at their pace. Once everyone had on their harnesses, they lined up at the base of the icy stairway and slid the clip onto the wire. Kendra kept one hand on the wire anchored into the ice and the other hand on Seth's shoulder while Bracken kept one hand on Kendra's waist, making sure that she didn't fall.
Kendra kept her eyes forward and up as she went from step to step to step. The group would stall every once in a while to regain balance and grip. Once or twice someone ahead of them would slip (most likely knox). Kendra counted each stair as she rose higher and higher, not looking over the side with the cliff.
One, two, three... ten steps. Fifteen steps. Twenty. Thirty. Up and up and up.
She climbed higher and higher, keeping her hand on Seth's shoulder and the railing at all times.
Sixty. Seventy. Eighty. One hundred steps.
Her legs began to shake beneath her, Sweat beading on her forehead despite the chill. Her lungs began burning, drawing shorter and shorter breaths.
Bracken noticed Kendra's struggle and shouted to the front to slow down, to stop.
Kendra hunched over her hands, gripping her knees as a wave of nausea washed over. She tried to keep herself from retching as she tried to breathe in the cool air, but it only sent her into a fit of coughing. Kendra hurled right over the side of the cliff. Bracken held her around the waist, making sure she didn't fall or stumble. When she finished, she stepped back from the edge, not noticing the sheer drop, but she leaned against the wall of ice, letting it cool her down.
She began clawing at the zipper of her jacket, her fingers fumbling with the zipper until Bracken stoped her fumbling hands, holding them in hers, and began to unzip her jacket.
"I'm so sorry, Kendra," Bracken whispered, brushing the wisps that had fallen from her ponytail from her face.
The Cold air hit Kendra, but it felt so good, the air cooling the sweat on her brow.
Bracken gestured to the group to continue moving forward while Kendra, Seth, and Bracken stayed behind, going at a slower pace so that Kendra wouldn't get sick again.
The rest of the group got the message and started moving forward, Tanu leading the group and making some excuse that Kendra had been sick during the night. Muttering about "poor timing" and "nothing to be concerned about." It was only an attempt to sway any suspicion. Only Ashlyn kept looking back at Kendra with obvious concern.
Seth and Bracken waited a moment for Kendra to get her bearings and catch her breath.
Then slowly, they started moving one step at a time. Kendra had lost count of the number of stairs that she had climbed. Looking behind her, she could see that she had climbed two-thirds of the icy stairway.
One step at a time, right foot then the left, she didn't know when she finally felt so exhausted that she held on tight as she let Seth drag her while Bracken pushed her gently forward, keeping her moving from behind. They didn't stop, only slowing a little as necessary. Kendra was keenly aware that if they stopped, she wouldn't be able to move again if they took a chance to rest.
Finally, they reached the top everyone was waiting for them. Kendra huffed for a moment, catching her breath and leaning against Bracken.
Kendra didn't even let the stares of everyone in the group bother her. She was so exhausted, but she didn't complain. The exercise was good, healthy even for her and the baby. Kendra hadn't been expecting it to be so arduous to go up the mountain of stairs. Right now, the ascent of the lost mesa seemed easier of a climb. It was strange Kendra had never felt out of shape before.
When Kendra had finally caught her breath, she stood up straight and gestured for Taithen to continue moving. The group hiked across the ice until they reached what looked like a large hole cut into the frozen ground.
The group gathered around the hole. Kendra peered down the hole. It wasn't an icy drop-off like she was expecting; instead, it looked like a smoothly carved tunnel. The kind you would expect to see on a bobsled track, the tube winding in a downward direction until it went out of sight. Seth looked like he was about to burst with joy. Obviously, to him, there could be nothing better than an icy giant slide.
It was pretty self-explanatory.
Taithen explained it anyway, hinting that "if you hadn't worn snow pants, you were going to wish you had," and "It was easy; just slide down make sure to wait sixty seconds between each person. Then, if desired, you could even go down with a partner." He further explained that the slide went straight to the main house, where the caretakers would greet them.
Tanu leads the way, followed by a very excited Seth. Knox went after that, then Ashlyn and Tess decided to go together.
"Do you want to go on your own, or do you want to slide down together?" Bracken whispered to Kendra, keeping his arms wrapped around her as they waited for Taithen to signal that it was their turn.
"I'll go with you," she whispered back.
Taithen nodded in their direction, signaling that it was their turn to go. Kendra sat down on the edge of the large hole. Her butt was already starting to get cold despite her snow pants keeping moisture from seeping through the layers. Bracken sat behind her, placing his hands carefully around her waist, his right hand on her stomach protectively.
She knew Bracken well enough that she could sense his nervousness as he wrapped his arms around her. Kendra looked up at him, bringing her hand to his cheek, guiding his lips to hers, and kissed him tenderly. She smiled softly at him. Bracken's chest swelled with pride, with love as he looked down at Kendra. She indeed was beautiful. Not just her physical appearance, though, that was part of it. It was her beautiful soul that made his heart stop in his chest and made it hard to breathe. Her otherworldly glow that only a few saw was an outward manifestation of her inner light.
He grinned at her sheepishly when he realized he had been staring at her.
Kendra saw Taithen roll his eyes, and he gestured for them to hurry up.
"Come on, goof," she smiled as she began to scoot forward.
Bracke pushed off the edge of the slide. "Here we go," he breathed.
The descent started slow, the ice a light blue that got darker and darker as they moved away from the sun shining through the hole at the top. Soon though, the descent became steeper, not a gradual winding but a sheer drop in the dark, no way to see anything forward or back. They began to pick up speed faster and faster.
Bracken wrapped his arms around Kendra, not tight but pulling her closer to him. His backside was starting to freeze slowly. He had made the mistake of being one of the few who had not had the foresight to wear snow pants, and the ice was beginning to melt and seep onto his skin.
Soon the tunnel began to fill with warm light, and the tunnel started to even out. Then, finally, the darkness gave way to a brightly lit room.