Athyra POV

It’s her. This wolf has to be Talan’s weird wolf. I can sense an older, powerful magic coming from this wolf. Does she have the magic item that Talan wants? For two months, I have hunted her by chasing rumors and gut feelings, but here she is encased in ice with me. The magic she wields is unlike anything I've ever seen. Her magic item is strong enough to force a connection between the two of us. She was the beast, I believe, that Talan warned me about. Well, this wolf was fierce but very stupid. She can’t seem to harness her magic well or her senses for that matter. If only I could tell Eriz…

Right. The archer… The idiotic monkey who chose to fire an arrow at me and missed must be the snow monkey.

I want to kill her.

After all that I have endured today from that spoiled ass of an elf, relentless wizards hunting me, and the stupid ass monkey, I just want to kill them all. I can see that sweet scared monkey’s face begging me not to kill her as yank that little heart out of the monkey’s chest. Life will drain from the little beast’s eyes as I get my vengeance for Eriz. Maybe, I will even stab each one of the monkey’s pressure points with an ice lance to add to the little stupid animal’s pain. I will make the simian beast pay for its thoughtless actions.

Talan might have offered an insane amount of money for the magic item and the wolf thing, however, the wolf will likely be dead the moment this ice breaks. I can’t wait for those wizards to finish thawing the ice. The heat is beginning to build right above my left wing. It won’t be long until I am free to let my rage rampage on all those who have wronged me. Should I destroy the monkey or the wolf first? Or should I simply catch them and give them to Talan for his sick, perverted torture? So many opportunities!

Eriz POV

"Come on man, wake up!"

Who…who is that?

"Would you wake up already?"

This voice is young and rude. Why is it yelling at me… Could be one of Lord Talan’s servants? Did I forget to clean one of the stalls or something? Oh, dear. Lord Talan will surely beat me again.

Pppplllaaammm!

I forced my eyes open because of the stinging pain on my cheek. Above me, I see a scruffy, large orc and a smaller, amber monkey staring down at me. I try to force myself backward, but my back is flat against the chilled grass. The whole air around me is cold enough to make me shiver. The trees appear to be sprinkled with ice. I know exactly who is responsible for this, but where is she? The monkey waves her hand in my face to get my attention, which causes my eyes to cross for a moment.

“Do you mind?” As my jaw moves, I feel the sting of pain in my cheek. Was I slapped?

“He speaks!” The orc says happily.

“What were you expecting?” I respond without thinking.

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“Honestly, we thought you might die. The arrow that hit you nicked one of your organs, causing some internal bleeding. Luckily, this young lady got you to me in time.” The orc explained.

An arrow… Oh yeah, I was struck with a random arrow while flying around with Athyra. I remember setting me down in the forest and then thrusting herself into a battle with my attackers. With all the blood loss, I must have blacked out. So, the orc decided to save me, but why would he do that? He doesn’t even know me. Or this monkey girl… Wait, wasn’t Athyra looking for a monkey beast?

“Are you able to remember anything?” The monkey spoke.

I studied the monkey for a moment, realizing that the monkey was a young lady. Was she the rude voice from before? “Did you slap me?”

The monkey girl’s ears and tail drooped at my words. Her cheeks flashed a bright red, which was oddly cute. “Uh…yeah. I, also, fired the arrow that hurt you…Look, I am sorry for everything. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I saw a giant dragon and panicked.”

Athyra was frightening in her large dragon form. I can understand that, but it sounds as if I nearly died. “I can understand your fear, but my life nearly ended, and you slapped me.”

“She was trying to wake you up, plus she sought me out to come to heal you. She nearly killed you, yes, but she made sure you lived.” The orc interjected. “That must count for something.”

“I guess. I still think you are quite rude and reckless, little miss.” I answered as I forced myself to my feet. “I need to find my companion. Do you know where the dragon went?”

“Look behind you,” the orc answered.

I turned around to see a giant block of ice. This was the source of the cold air around me. Something was on the ice, but what was it? “What’s in the ice?”

“Your companion and mine,” the monkey girl sighed.

Athyra was in the ice? Did she freeze herself on purpose or did her emotions get the better of her… Only Athyra could tell me. “How long have they been this way, miss?”

“My name is Emera. They have been in there all night into this morning. Some of Braxton’s companions are melting the ice now. They should be free soon.” So, her name is Emera, and the orc is Braxton.

Athyra will be furious the moment the ice breaks. Those wizards, Emera’s companion, and anyone else around here will surely be in danger. I might be in danger because I am in her blast radius. Would she calm down if she saw me? I wonder if I could calm her like the first day we met. If I don’t at least try, all these people might die. Athyra may not care who she kills, but I don’t intend to be responsible for these people dying.

Crrrraaacckkk!

It sounded like the ground was breaking. Oh no, the ice! “Hurry, take me to the wizards or we might all die,” I commanded the two.

“That’s what we were hoping you would say,” Emera smirked. “Braxton, lead the way. I am going topside.” Braxton nodded as Emera jumped off the ground onto the branch above us. I watched her for a moment before she disappeared into the treetops.

“Don’t worry about her, umm… What’s your name?” Braxton asked.

“Eriz,” I replied. “Lead the way.”

Silas POV

Crrrraaacckkk!

The ice thundered under the stress of the heat from the fire magic. Heat was building up all around us from the constant fire magic. Breaking through the dragon’s ice has been more difficult than I imagined it would be. It feels like I have been caught in a steamy rain with the sweat rolling off my body. Warm water is beginning to pool at my ankles. The ice may take another hour to fully break at this rate. We need to speed this up, or we won't have enough magic to face the dragon inside the ice.

“Full power now, everyone. We are close.” Master Renaldy urged.

The four of us forced the heat magic to strengthen. My skin feels like it is roasting in this heat. My legs were beginning to wade in the water pooling around me. The ice was melting faster and chunks of the ice were floating past me. The white dragon and red wolf should be feeling the ice begin to break. If only those two beasts would try to fight their way out of the ice, then the ice block would break faster.

Crrrraaacckkk!

A large divide formed in the ice as steam began to fill the area, clouding my sight. Suddenly, I heard the thunder of the ice shattering. Giant rocks of ice came raining down around us. I stopped the fire magic and yelled for everyone to move. I could only see Master Renaldy in front of me as we ran for safety. I saw a large maple tree in front of me and climbed up to the highest branch that I could. The tree bent and shook from the force of the ice as it crashed into the tree. Thankfully, this tree was thick and firmly rooted into the ground. I tethered myself to the tree, so I wouldn’t get knocked out of the tree. I had lost sight of everyone at this point, even Master Renaldy. Shattered ice rained down around me like a hail storm for nearly twenty minutes.

“Is anyone out there?” Braxton’s voice cut through the sound of the ice settling below me. “Hello?”

Roooaaaarrr!

“Shit. The dragon is awake,” I muttered as I released my magic tether from the tree.

Oooooowwwww!

“And the mutt, too.” I sighed.