The Kingdom of Burning Ice

Prologue

Prologue

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission of the author. The Kingdom of Burning Ice © A. Gupta 2021. All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. 

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Frostine

At the age of fourteen...

I swallowed a painful whimper as the stick came down on my soft palm, harder than before. It hurt so bad, I wanted to scream. I could feel the fire burning beneath my skin, like hot coals rolling beneath the surface, it felt like anytime now my hand would alight with flames. I had felt this slight burn inside me every time she hurts me and when I start feeling too much of one particular emotion it gets unbearable. Like sadness or anger.

“How many times I’ve told you to clean my daughter’s bed before you could have breakfast!” Aunt Sedha yelled as once again she brought the stick down on my palm, this time the splintered wood piercing my flesh and a drop of blood pooled in the middle of my palm. But she didn’t care as she hit me again and again. The third time when she was about to, she gasped aloud.

 I looked down at my hand, my eyes wide as I watched the fire eating at the end of the stick. With alarming scream, Aunt Sedha dropped the stick on the floor and looked at it with wide eyes. For the first time she looked pale. When she looked back at me, she cursed and grabbed my shoulder, her fingers digging into me, making me wince in pain. I was still looking at the burning piece of wood as she dragged me away and pushed me down the höle, not caring if I fell, a moment later I heard the tell-tale sign of the hatch door slamming above me.

I sat down in the dark, knowing she’ll open the door only when she’d want to or when her precious daughter asked her to. It wasn’t like her daughter liked me, no, it was because just like Aunt Sedha her daughter liked to hurt me. She was as cruel as her mother. Other children in this tiny village played with their toys or their pet animals, Livia likes to hurt me for her amusement or make me do things.

I put my chin on my bent knees, circling my arms around my legs. It was just a hôle in the ground, about three by three. From what I’ve seen, I knew every house has one. It was meant for the villagers to keep their valuable or seasonal food items here for them to be safe in the ground. But Aunt Sedha used it to punish me. To lock me whenever she’s displeased with me, which was all the time.

I don’t know how long I’d have to stay with her. It was clear that she didn’t want me. And it was clear that she hated me so very much. But for some reason she won’t let me go. The one time I had tried to run away she had beat me so much, she had broken three of my bones and made me bleed with the beating she gave me. And left me in the höle. I was feverish. Hurting. Bleeding. And shivering uncontrollably. But when I was sure that I’d die, something had happened. I didn’t tell her or anyone that when the dark had descended, a spark had flew from the ground, and slowly the whole space of the höle I was in was bright with burning embers around me. It was like stars. I had watched with swollen eyes, almost in a trance, as those stars had meshed together and then slowly moved toward me. It was like a ball of fire. I should have been afraid. But I wasn't. Just a little away from my mouth it had stopped and then it had turned to a ball of ice. On instinct I had opened my mouth and the ball had slid inside, melting on my tongue.

When the next day I had woken up, I was healed from the inside, there was no pain, but the bruises were still on my body though they didn’t hurt anymore. I had thought that it was all a dream, but how could a dream heal me. It was something I didn’t understand and if I lived here I think I never would. Because I was sure Aunt Sedha would kill me one of these days and this time whatever that mystical thing was wouldn't be able to save me.

At the age of eighteen...

I sighed and counted the numbers in my head as I sat in my höle. It feels like mine because I spent most of my time here then I do above on the ground. Trench, the boy who was the only person that I could call a friend of some type, has taught me how to count. He’s the only one who was different from others, there was something about him that makes me feel better with him. Almost safe. But the other day when he had come at the house, Aunt Sedha has refused to let me go and meet him. She had been quite irritated after his visit and I had heard her talking to her daughter.

“He is one of those. And if he senses her, and somehow knows who she is...” There was a deliberate pause. “We’ll be in trouble.”

I didn’t know what she was talking about but a few days ago, when I was out to pull the water from the well there was a loud howl followed by the villagers screaming and running into their houses. I had frozen when the surrounding bushes of this small clearing where our village was situated had parted and a large beast has stepped out. It was only when he had walked closer that I had realised it was a wolf. Eyes wide, mouth open I had stared at him.

When he had come close, towering over me, I had been sure that I was going to be eaten alive but to my shock the wolf had flicked his tongue and then put his left paw on my shoulder before circling around me.

Tentatively at first, when I had started to walk toward the house, he had walked by my side. Aunt Sedha was peeking through the window and she had seen what had happened, but she couldn’t do anything as when I entered, the wolf had also come inside with me. He had roamed around the small house, sniffing and inspecting, which had led him to the hidden hatch in the ground. To my höle.

And then when he was gone, Aunt Sedha had told me to stay away from that wolf. She had threatened everything under the sun, this time she had gone as far as to say that she’ll sell me to the shaman who lives in the woods and sacrifices innocents. I hadn’t understand why she was so angry but later when Trench had sneaked into the house and found me in the hòle— where once again I was because of something I had done— he had told me that he was wolf with dirty brown coat who had come with me in the house earlier. I was amazed and for a while I was excited to be a friend of a wolf.

He also told me that this village I lived in was exiled one, the king had taken the powers of the people who lived here because of how they had abused their powers in the past. And now they live like this in worst conditions and not even valued as humans— who the king takes care of. Trench told me as much as he knew, and that for me was way too much because I didn’t know anything at all. I only knew that when I opened my eyes when I was four years old, the first person I saw was cruel Aunt Sedha. And she wasn’t even my real Aunt, that Livia had taken great delight in telling me. She had said my parents didn’t want me and threw me away. But I didn’t believe her. Because I just don’t want to believe her.

Now as I sat in my hôle, I was worried about my only friend, Trench. Because a few days ago, I had heard Livia tell Aunt Sedha that villagers had decided to kill him as they were afraid that he will hurt someone and they hated his kind. Because the king was one too who had punished them. I wondered about the king, who was wolf and get he takes care of the humans. But most of my thoughts were worries focused on my friend— Trench. I hadn’t seen him since then and from what I heard Trench has been locked in a cage, waiting for a witch to spell him to death.

The door above me opened, startling me and Aunt Sedha called out, “Come out, there’s something you could be useful for.”

I sighed and stood up. I climbed the rungs of the rope ladder, it comes easily to me now but my palm was still healing and it burned a bit too. When I reached on the landing, Aunt Sedha pulled me and shoved me on the floor beside her daughter. There was an old woman sitting across from us and two small candles were burning in the middle. I looked from one person to another. Aunt Sedha looked anxious and impatient. Livia looked excited. The old woman looked between me and the Aunt Sedha with shrewd eyes.

“Hold out your hand, child.” The old woman said.

I didn’t want to but Aunt Sedha’s hand clamped down on my shoulder and she squeezed painfully. I held out my hand reluctantly. The old woman grasped my hand and her eyes flew to mine. Then, she looked at Aunt Sedha and said, “She could die.”

I stiffened as the sense of foreboding took hold of me. “I don’t care. You do as you are told, old witch.” Aunt Sedha announced.

“What... What’s happening?” I asked now nervous about this whole thing, and scared for all the different reason. Aunt Sedha had hurt me in so many ways that I had become numb but now she wanted to kill me! Whatever I did to her?

Livia laughed. And said in an excited tone, “Oh dear, Tin.” I hated that name. My name was Frostine, I remembered that much, but she and Aunt Sedha refused to call me that. “This old witch is going to give your destiny to me.”

I didn’t understand. My gaze flew to the old witch who looked between Livia and me. Then she said, “I will need a wolf’s blood.”

“Here.”

 I was surprised when Aunt Sedha thrust a small vial with red liquid in it. Blood. I thought how did she get the wolf’s blood and then the horrified realisation came. “You killed Trench!” I gasped, horrified for my friend.

“I didn’t, but villagers hurt him. Soon, he’ll be gone though.” Aunt Sedha said. She was distracted as she looked out the window, otherwise she wouldn’t have answered me.

“Drink this.” The old witch held the vial of blood to Livia.

“Eww... I won’t drink the blood.” Livia made a face, she was pretty with dark hair and big blue eyes, but there was nothing pretty about her nature. She was evil underneath her outside beauty.

“Then I can’t do much.” The old witch said as she started to stand up. For some reason I got the feeling that she looked reluctant to do what Aunt Sedha wanted her to do.

For a moment I felt relief that she was going but Aunt Sedha snapped at the old witch to sit down and then for the first time glared at her own daughter. “Livia, remember what we talked about, if you want that to happen then do as you’re told.”

“But, mama, I could not drink this blood!” Livia whined.

“Drink it!” Aunt Sedha screamed in anger.

With a sniffle and tears in her eyes, Livia drank the blood. The old witch held out her hands and gestured for us to slid ours. I was starting to feel real scared and I could feel my toes heating up. I wondered if once again something would catch the flames. At the thought, the twin flames of the candles in front of me flared.

The old witch gasped. “She is the fiery one!” She exclaimed, her wide eyes going to Aunt Sedha.

I didn’t understand what she was saying but a second later, Aunt Sedha held a dagger to the old witch’s throat. “Do the spell.” She hissed.

The old witch looked at me, her face full of regret now. “I am sorry.” She murmured and then clutching my hand in one and Livia’s in the other she started to whisper the words that were inaudible.

I tried to free myself but Livia grabbed my other hand. “You are not going anywhere. You’ll die here while I rule the kingdom.”

Something burned on my wrist and a moment later I watched as an image of snowflake emerged from beneath my skin, as if it was hiding there for a long time and just now resurfaced. The old witch’s voice grew in crescendo and the snowflake floated in air and it seemed to have burned my skin. I whimpered in pain as I tried to get away but Aunt Sedha clasped her hands on my shoulders, pushing me down in place. I watched as slowly the snowflake moved toward Livia and then it lowered on her wrist and disappeared inside the flesh. I didn’t understand what happened because my attention was on the burn that now I was starting feel on my behind. I screamed as if someone had pressed a hot piece of iron on the left side of my hip as it but ed more than it did on my wrist.

Somehow, the flames of the candles grew higher and higher and then the door to the house burst open, before I could see who was there Aunt Sedha was dragging me toward the höle once again. I felt weak and all I could see was fire as the flimsy curtains burned and Livia cried, her skin turning black. I smiled to myself to see her scratching at her arms as black lines formed on her body. But then my gaze fell on the old witch who was lying there in a pool of her own blood. Aunt Sedha had killed her.

I fell down in the höle, my eyes closing as unconsciousness took me under with my wrist and behind burning in agony.

A warm welcome to all my lovely readers, new and old ones.... 

This is my first book in fantasy world but I'm hoping you'll all like it here.

I can promise you one thing for certain that it won't be everyday alpha romance.

So, fingers crossed!!

And enjoy this journey....

And if you're new you can check my other books. Disclaimer- they are all dark romances with anti-heroes you'll hate. 

A. Gupta