Memories

Chapter 2

The flight to the Ice Fae Lands were long and uncomfortable since we were in saddles on the back of our dragons. Yulen rode with Balthazar, Laceria rode with Lui, and I was alone with my thoughts. It has been many years since I had last seen this place, so I did not know what to expect. When we got there, it looked like a ruined kingdom, long forgotten by time, at the mercy of the weather. The castle stood like a grave stone above it all. Standing before it all, made my heart clench. 

"It is best to not dig in the snow," I told them once we were all off of the dragons. "Why is that," Yulen asked me. "Because there was no one here to bury the bodies after the attack," Balthazar replied instead. "Given the incredibly cold temperatures, it's even possible the bodies aren't decayed," Laceria noted as she looked at the temperature guage on her phone. "Bodies never decay here, even if they're buried," I told them. "The cold here preserves them well. That's why we burned our dead to allow them to fully return to the Gods. Since the snow is so high, we shouldn't have to worry about stepping on them." 

"That's a disgusting thought," Yulen muttered as he shivered in disgust. "It's best we start in the temple," Lui said as he looked around. "If it's a book in the Priest language then the temple should be the first place we look." I looked around, trying to remember what the temple looked like or at the very least where it had been. Many buildings were half buried under snow, making it hard to figure out which building was which. I looked behind me and found the temple on the side of the mountain, overlooking the kingdom. "It's up there," I said pointing to it. "How the hell do we get up there," Yulen asked while looking around for the stairs. "There should be stairs inside the mountain," I said as I looked around. I then saw the round boulder that blocked the entrance. Balthazar, Lui, and Yulen pushed it out of the way, revealing the stairs behind it. "Whatever bodies that died in the temple won't be buried beneath snow," Balthazar said as we looked at the entrance. 

I took a deep breath trying to center myself before entering.

Balthazar's POV

Making her come here was the biggest mistake of my life. This whole place was like a crypt. It was the reason no one settled here after the war. This kingdom was the last scar from the war, forever a declaration of the wrong deed the vampires did. Had the war never broke out, we demons wouldn't have taken over, simply tried to blend in like they did amongst the humans. That had been our plan till we learned they were in the midst of a gruesome war. Wanting to save as many innocents and preserve the land, we stepped in and ended their war.

If only we had come sooner then her people may still be alive and my mate wouldn't be walking through a graveyard filled with people she once loved and cared about.

She lead us to the main part of the temple and several of the Priests were laying there. A thin layer of frost and ice covered them, keeping them perfectly preserved. The kids went over to the large statue that was in the center. "Who's this," Lui asked her.

"Tinolia," Azula replied. "She was the Goddess who gifted us the Crystal Heart as a way to protect us. Her protection was flawed and as a Goddess she wasn't worth worshipping." Her voice had become cold and harsh as she spoke of the Goddess. Azula began to look around the temple to find some compartment of some kind that will allow them to hide the Heart.

"We need to get to the palace before sundown," Azula told us. "The temperatures drop very quickly. Plus the beds are spelled to not absorb the cold. I'm sure we can find enough coal and firewood to keep us warm." "Is lighting fires a smart thing to do," Lui asked, while looking at me.

"No one knows we're here and no one has come here since the war," I told him. "And if there are enemies near by, we can handle them easily," Yulen said while throwing his arms around Laceria and Lui's shoulders.

We looked until signs of sunset drew near. We had the dragons take us to the castle and had them land in the courtyard. "The library should be the best place for us to make camp," Azula stated. "It had special spells to keep out the cold to help the books last longer."

We followed her to a large set of double doors and she opened them. Inside books were stranded about recklessly. Anger flared through the bond at the sight. "Its clear Deckland really did get the book from here," she muttered as she went in.

Once inside you could tell it was several  degrees warmer in here thanks to the spells they had on the library. The kids began pushing back the tables and couches away from the fireplace while Azula and I went to find the firewood. Azula was silent as she walked, her hands in the pockets of her sweater. "Azula," I said, coming to a stop. She turned to look at me, "Yes Balthazar?" "I am so sorry for making you come here," I told her. "Had I known this place would look so..." I trailed off, not knowing how to word it. It was like this place stayed still in time, even preserving the dead.

"Fresh?" She filled in.

I nodded, "Yeah." She looked down at the floor, "You didn't know, and I had forgotten what it was like when it came to the dead. Don't feel guilty for that. The cold is a good sign though that the Heart is still here. Now let's find that fire wood before our children freeze to death."

We found an entire room filled with fire wood, fuel, lanterns, and other things to burn for heat and light. We took a couple of the lanterns and as much firewood as we could carry. We got back to the library and found that they had found the mattresses Azula had told them were in the guest wing of the castle. I started the fire before turning to Azula was looking through the two months worth of food we brought. We didn't know if we would need that much but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Once the beds were thawed we were able to sit on the properly. We ate and discussed how we would go over the temple thoroughly tomorrow. Thanks to the heat from the fireplace we were able to discard our warmer clothes to allow us to sleep comfortably but given the room was large and the fireplace was small, a chill was still in the air.

"Lui, cuddle with me damn it," Yulen stated. "It's cold." "Cuddle yourself you fucking creep," Lui muttered. "Gods you two are pathetic," Laceria said. "Says the one who squeezed in the bed between us to stay warm," Yulen pointed out. Lui sighed before rolling to face them, his wing going across them, the protectant shinning in the light of the fire. "Now both of you hush," Lui said before yawning.

Azula laughed softly at the kids as I wrapped my arms around her. I kissed her softly before getting as comfortable as I could in this strange and morbid environment.