The Isles of Ice Book One: The Corrupted Kingdom

Smooth Water and a Gradual Cooling

Atlas and Rose went out to sea not long after Jacob was taken to the woods. They wordlessly boarded the ship and Atlas piloted the boat away from the island.

Rose was left to sit in silence and replay what had just happened to her. The images of Jacob with the wound on his head, running at her with the intent to kill in his eyes.

She couldn't quite believe how it had escalated so far. The hatred Jacob felt for her and the constant ridicule he directed at her drove the mage insane.

Rose tended to get heated when she felt threatened but after seeing how Jacob mercilessly cut down dozens of Kingston soldiers without any hesitation, she felt as though she was in survival mode.

But to hear Xavier scold her, with a tone that oozed disappointment, was enough to break her and she couldn't help but cry as she remembered the words he had said.

Some captain... I just wanted to stop being yelled at. Rose whimpered. The tears stuck to her face from the combination of high winds and freezing cold temperatures on the sea. At least the wages weren't large enough to knock the boat over anymore.

Atlas picked up on her crying and they tried their best to console her. "Look... For what it's worth, if I was in your situation I would've let him off a lot less lightly."

She sniffled and looked up at the guardian, blinking away tears as she did it. Their expression was nonexistent and their eyes didn't tell much about their mood. "I just don't understand why he hates me. I never did anything!"

"There's no doubt that he has a firecracker up his ass." Atlas agreed. "But isn't this something of an inevitability? You're going against your own home after all."

"I never wanted to." Rose countered. "All I ever wanted was to get home and make sure my dad was ok."

Atlas shrugged. "Pretty complicated way of doing it. But we're both in the same boat when it comes to organizing a revolution we didn't want to organize. This whole thing is a giant waste of time but I suppose the sword had to choose a young passionate revolutionary."

Rose tilted her head. "Choose? You mean like that legend you told us about?"

Atlas looked at her as if she was stupid. "Legend? The prophecy of Lumis is no legend, girl. The weapon is enchanted to only make itself known to a true warrior. The only reason I'm entertaining any of this time-wasting is that it's the only way to get Lumis's wielder on board."

"Makes sense, you're not exactly one for politics." Rose chuckled.

"I'm not one for a lot of things," Atlas replied. "Regardless, it's important you figure out where you stand in all this. You're going to be crippling your own army if this plan succeeds."

Rose nodded and buried her head in her hands. "Trust me, I'm aware." The complicated situation had been giving her trouble sleeping for days. Her mind was plagued with constant concerns about how she would handle the big battle. "I don't want to hurt anyone from Kingston. I don't want my home to be hurt either even though they're doing these awful things."

"Well, why?" Atlas asked. They could sense that Rose didn't grasp the question and clarified. "What I mean is, why do you care about Kingston or people from it more than any other person? Especially since they're doing things you don't like."

The question was dumbfounding to Rose. "Because they're my people. And it's my home."

"What makes them 'your people?'" Atlas asked. "Where you were all born? Look, it's no secret my family sucks. And we don't have to beat around the bush, I don't fit in with my brothers and sisters.