In Ice We Burn (The Liftsal Guardians Book 1)

by Alexandra Moody

  Emha laughed and climbed on Sloane’s back. When she rose, the woman was nearly at the orb. ‘This could be it,’ Emha whispered, in her ear.

  Sloane nodded, this very well could be. There was something different about the way Kai was holding himself as the woman neared. He stood taller, his shoulders more square. As their eyes connected, Kai’s lower lip dropped and he stared at the woman in wonder.

  The orb’s colour slowly began to change as she approached. It gradually became brighter, shifting from white to pink, then to yellow. It continued to change, the colour intensifying and the glowing shimmer of the orb becoming more pronounced. Kai’s eyes grew wide as he watched the colours shifting. His hands clenched at his sides, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

  Sloane wasn’t sure whether to watch him or the orb, but her eyes settled back on the orb. The whole room held its breath, following the morphing colours as the brightness continued to strengthen until the orb finally turned sparkling silver in colour.

  Sloane felt a wave of disappointment. ‘She’s not the one,’ she said.

  Emha, however, was bouncing on her back with excitement. ‘But she’s a match. That’s nearly as hard to find as the one. They’d be so happy together if they joined.’

  Sloane watched Kai closely. He didn’t seem disappointed by the result. In fact, he was actually beaming at the woman, who smiled happily back. His smile dropped as she moved away from him, and he didn’t seem nearly so keen as he watched the next hopeful approach.

  ‘What happens now?’ Sloane asked.

  ‘The rest of the women will present themselves, then the official part of the night is over and everyone can go back to dancing.’

  ‘I mean for Kai?’

  ‘Oh, well if he doesn’t meet the one, he’ll have a very big decision to make about his matches.’

  ‘But, so far there’s only one.’

  ‘He may only find one match tonight. Sometimes people won’t even get one at all. I’ve even heard stories of people searching for years, only to settle for someone who wasn’t even a match.’ Her voice held so much shock and she almost whispered the words, as if they were scandalous to say aloud.

  ‘Kai would never settle for someone he wasn’t happy with,’ Sloane responded confidently. She wondered whether he’d make an offer to join with the red-haired woman. Kai had told Sloane he wasn’t sure if he would join with a match, but he kept stealing glances at the woman, even now as another stood beside him.

  ‘Do you know who the match is?’ Sloane asked. She’d seen so many new faces in the village when the women had arrived, but did not recognise hers.

  ‘No. I’ve never seen her before. People were arriving up until last night though, so she could have only just got here.’

  Sloane began eyeing the door as the night progressed. She needed to make a move soon if she wanted a chance to get out of there while everyone was distracted. She felt torn though, as she wanted to see if Kai found his one. She kept telling herself she’d watch just one more woman approach the orb. Before she knew it though, there was only a handful left.

  The crowd seemed to be growing restless. Sloane didn’t know whether it was because there hadn’t been another match, or if they were growing disappointed because Kai hadn’t found the one. She suspected it was a bit of both. She too felt saddened that Kai hadn’t found his perfect match.

  When the last woman left the dais and no other matches had been found, the music started up again, and people resumed dancing and chatting excitedly about the ceremony they’d just witnessed. The women who were all dressed in silver dispersed to join in on the festivities, while Kai returned to his spot sitting on the dais. He looked to be deep in thought as he stared at the orb.

  ‘Oh, I can see my mother. I should go,’ Emha said.

  ‘Of course,’ Sloane responded. She was not in the mood to be yelled at again.

  ‘I’ll find you later,’ Emha said, disappearing into the crowd.

  Sloane sighed and lent against the pillar she was beside. She scanned the room for Orelle and Rhyn, but couldn’t see them anywhere. She wanted to see their reactions to Kai’s ceremony. She hoped Orelle wouldn’t be too disappointed Kai hadn’t found the one.

  ‘I thought I told you not to come tonight.’

  Sloane jumped at the sound of Rhyn’s voice right beside her ear. ‘Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to sneak up on people like that?’ she snapped.

  Rhyn smiled, apparently pleased to have surprised her. ‘I thought you might be more aware of your surroundings by now. We’ve been working on that for weeks in training.’

  Sloane glared at him and turned away to watch the people dancing.

  ‘So…’ he ventured.

  ‘So?’

  ‘So, why are you here when I explicitly told you not to come?’

  She raised one eyebrow at him. ‘When have I ever listened to you?’

  ‘True.’

  ‘Besides, Orelle said I should be here,’ Sloane continued. ‘You’re never letting me return to my people, so you should at least try to help me fit in a little better.’

  Rhyn’s eyes glanced at her before looking firmly away. Sloane thought for a moment she had seen a flicker of guilt in his expression, but she found it hard to believe he cared about how she felt.

  ‘Would you like to dance?’ he asked.

  ‘With you?’ Sloane struggled to keep the distaste from her voice.

  ‘Maybe you dance better than you fight,’ he responded.

  She looked at all the people gracefully moving across the dance floor and knew she’d look like an idiot if she tried to dance in front of them. She hated the idea of looking incompetent at anything and already knew she was terrible at dancing. She shuddered at the thought of it.

  ‘Don’t tell me you don’t know how to dance…’ he grinned like he already knew how uncomfortable she was.

  ‘No, of course I do.’

  ‘Well…’ he held out his hand to her and she slowly reached out and took it. Every inch of her was screaming out that this was a bad idea, but she couldn’t back down from the challenge in his voice. Sometimes she absolutely hated how stubborn she could be.

  He drew her in, placing one hand on her lower back. She could practically feel the warmth of his skin through her dress. Sloane involuntarily shivered at the sensation and Rhyn smiled knowingly down at her.

  The two of them danced slowly, on the edge of the dance floor, towards the back of the room. They left plenty of space between them and everyone else. Rhyn was glowing as he watched Sloane stumble through the steps, and he actually beamed whenever she stepped on his foot. He was enjoying this way too much.

  She gritted her teeth and tried to concentrate. The dance felt extremely complicated to Sloane, but having seen the way people danced earlier, Rhyn was clearly taking her through the beginner steps. This only made her feel worse.

  She didn’t know why physical contact was necessary when people danced. It only seemed to make things more difficult. She couldn’t stop thinking about the way Rhyn held her waist, and she blamed his hands for distracting her from the steps. She wanted to feel repulsed by his touch, but instead it sent a thrill through her body. Her body was such a traitor.

  Rhyn eventually laughed when Sloane stepped on his foot yet again. ‘For someone who is so graceful with a sword, you are quite terrible at dancing.’

  She immediately dismissed the insult, her ears only hearing the mention of her swordsmanship. ‘Oh, so I’m graceful with a sword, am I?’ she asked, smothering a gloating smile. In a twisted way he’d almost given her a compliment. Almost.

  ‘Or a very poor dancer,’ he shot back.

  His eyes were bright with laughter, and she glared at him in response. She stepped on his foot again—not by mistake this time.

  He hissed in through his teeth and she smiled. Maybe being terrible at dancing wasn’t such a curse after all.

  She tilted her head and watched the room over Rhyn’s shoulder.
Half the guests were dancing now, and the women’s dresses swirled as they moved around the dance floor. People watched on from the borders of the room, their eyes twinkling with happiness. There was an air of warmth to the place and excitement clearly resounded in people’s voices as they talked. It was so at odds with her life on Earth, and Sloane struggled to remember a single moment that compared.

  She felt content in that moment, and the realisation struck her cold. She began to slowly shake her head, her gaze dropping from the room around her to stare at Rhyn’s chest. She shouldn’t feel that way. It was wrong and deep inside she knew that. She just needed to remember that these people were her enemy. They were holding her hostage and they were never letting her go.

  A small part of her questioned if that was really such a bad thing, and she wanted to slap herself for even thinking the thought. She needed to get back to Aeris, and that meant focusing on the goal she’d set herself that night, which started with escaping the great hall.

  She chewed on her lower lip as her gaze drifted to the exits. They didn’t appear to be guarded, in fact, she hadn’t seen a uniformed guard in the room all night. It probably wasn’t necessary to protect the castellum from its own people. They could be trusted.

  She watched the main entrance keenly, waiting to see if she’d been mistaken, but no guards appeared and the hallway beyond remained empty. She needed to act now if she wanted to search the castellum. No one would notice she was gone while so many people danced. The only problem was Rhyn. She needed to get out of his arms first.

  She glanced up at his face, before looking back down at his chest. He was watching the room with a small smile shaping his lips. He looked quite content dancing with her, but it shouldn’t take much to change that. Sloane hardened her expression before she looked up at him again.

  ‘Why do you take so much pleasure in my weaknesses?’ she asked, returning the conversation to her dancing skills.

  ‘Because this one happens to be rather amusing,’ he responded.

  ‘Why?’ she asked, her voice bristling with anger.

  ‘I don’t always…’

  ‘Yes, you do. You’re always criticising me in front of your men at training.’

  He leant closer to her, bringing his lips to her ear. ‘I tell you what you need to improve on when we train because it’s the only way you’ll become the best fighter you can be. Not because I think you’re bad, but because I think you could be brilliant.’

  He pulled back and looked at her with such sincerity. His words filled her with warmth, but this only confused her, and for a moment she lost sight of what she was doing. She’d meant to pick a stupid fight with him, and he’d somehow turned it around on her. He wanted her to be brilliant.

  She tossed the idea around in her head. She’d spent so long regarding him as the enemy, but somewhere along the line they’d formed a sort of friendship. She’d be lying to herself if she tried to refute that fact. She was no longer just his prisoner. She was something more to him, and she could see it in the way he looked at her. She didn’t dare consider how she regarded him though. That felt like a dangerous line of thinking and something she wasn’t nearly ready to consider.

  The song ended and Sloane dropped her hands from Rhyn’s shoulders. She’d already spent too long lingering there tonight and needed to focus on getting out of the hall. She certainly didn’t need to be dancing with Rhyn or contemplating the complicated nature of their relationship.

  ‘You think I’m weak,’ she said, finding her way back to her argument again. ‘I’m just a pathetic human who could never be as skilled as you.’

  There was confusion in his eyes as she took a step back from him. ‘I don’t think you’re weak,’ he responded.

  She shook her head and looked away. The gentleness in his voice was disarming. He was getting to her, and she couldn’t look him in the eyes.

  She took another step back and his arm twitched at his side, like he wanted to reach out to her, but he held it still. ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘To find someone to talk to who doesn’t see me the way you do,’ she replied.

  She turned and walked away.

  ‘You have no idea how I see you,’ she heard him mutter as she left.

  His eyes followed her as she walked through the crowd. She could feel them on the back of her neck and she knew there would be no leaving the room until he lost interest in her. If he lost interest in her. She made her way towards the dais where Kai sat. Rhyn would hopefully stop watching her once he saw her talking to his brother.

  Kai sat on his chair with his head resting on one of his fists as he continued to stare at the orb. As Sloane approached him, she was able to see the orb better and her curiosity flared. It was larger than she had originally thought, and she naturally took a step closer to inspect.

  Kai cleared his throat. ‘Don’t let Rhyn see you too close to the orb; he’d probably skin you alive if you touched it.’

  ‘He could try,’ she said. Sloane took a step away from it all the same and moved closer to Kai. ‘So, do you know what you’re going to do?’

  He shook his head. ‘I have no idea. I intended to keep my mind open coming into the ceremony and Reetha is incredible. I’ve never felt a connection like that at first sight.’

  ‘Reetha is the match?’ Sloane asked.

  He nodded, his eyes searching the room to find her. ‘Yes. As you can imagine, I feel quite torn.’

  ‘Why don’t you spend some time with her and get to know her?’

  ‘That’s not done,’ Kai responded. ‘I have to trust the orb.’

  ‘Screw what’s done. Go ask her to dance.’ Sloane could see Reetha chatting with another woman nearby. She was looking determinedly away from Kai, but kept sneaking glances at him. She was struggling to hide the smile on her face, and it was obvious she felt something for him too.

  Kai hesitated. ‘I can’t…’

  ‘Right, the touching thing still, hey?’

  He nodded.

  ‘Well, why don’t you steal her away and go talk?’

  ‘Maybe.’ He frowned at the ground as he considered it.

  ‘Stop thinking and go.’

  Kai laughed and stood. ‘You’re right. It’s a good idea.’

  He walked towards Sloane and the white cloud within the orb began to swirl. Sloane watched it in awe. It was so different to see the orb changing up close. It was almost like the orb was filled with a churning mist, or a plume of clouds that was erupting against the dome. The colour slowly began to change, shifting as it developed a soft tone of yellow. Sloane’s heart beat quickly as she watched; she couldn’t seem to look away. The colour seemed to solidify, settling on a bright hue of yellow. It didn’t sparkle or glow the way it had when Kai found his match, but Sloane was still startled by the sight.

  ‘What does yellow mean?’ Sloane said, trying to keep the panic from her voice.

  Kai smiled. ‘We’re like sunshine for each other; we make each other feel happy and warm, just like good friends should.’

  ‘So we’re not a match or anything?’

  Kai laughed. ‘No. No reason to panic.’

  Sloane’s shoulders relaxed. ‘I don’t need an orb to tell me we’d make good friends.’ She looked around at the room, to make sure no one saw the orb changing colour for them, only to see Rhyn stalking towards the dais, a scowl on his face.

  ‘You better go if you don’t want to stand here for an hour getting a lecture from your brother,’ Sloane said. ‘Go talk with Reetha; I’ll cover for you.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Kai grinned. ‘I owe you.’

  He eagerly walked over to where Reetha stood, just near the bottom step of the dais. She looked nervous as she saw him approaching, but a small and radiant smile touched her lips when he stopped to talk with her.

  They spoke briefly, and her smile grew wider as they talked. She nodded shyly and proceeded to follow him towards the exit. Several Unfaih shot disapproving looks in their direction as they left, b
ut the sight made Sloane so happy she almost forgot her own impending talk with Rhyn. She’d missed another opportunity to escape, but she’d find another chance.

  She went to take a step away from the orb, only to find she was face to face with Rhyn. ‘Why would you do that?’ he asked, a pained look on his face.

  ‘Do what?’

  ‘Test yourself with Kai; did you think he was your one? I’ve seen the way the two of you are always talking to each other.’

  ‘What are you talking about? We were accidentally too close to the orb and it changed colour. I don’t need an orb to tell me how to feel about someone.’

  ‘Are you sure about that?’

  ‘Of course I am.’

  ‘Then I guess you know what colour it would turn for us?’

  The question threw her completely. ‘Us?’ she stammered, before she gathered her wits. ‘I’m fairly certain it would turn black.’

  ‘Really?’ he said, taking a step closer to her.

  ‘Yes.’ It definitely wouldn’t be yellow like her and Kai; Sloane was certain of that.

  He continued to walk towards her, and she glanced at the orb, feeling worry building inside of her. The colours began to change in the orb, and she threw her eyes away from it to look at Rhyn.

  ‘Don’t come any closer,’ she said to him, but his eyes were fixated on the orb. She took a quick few steps away from the orb, putting as much distance between herself and the glowing ball as possible.

  ‘What are you doing?’ she yelled at Rhyn. She didn’t think the orb had settled on a colour, but she wasn’t brave enough to look at it. She didn’t want to know how well they were suited for each other. She needed to be with her sister, and that was all she needed.

  Sloane ran down the steps, towards the doors. She had to get out of there, and no longer cared if anyone saw her leaving. She needed to get away from that orb and away from Rhyn. But, more than anything, she needed to find her way back home.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Sloane flew down the corridors as she attempted to get as far away from the great hall as possible. She needed distance if she was going to have any chance at searching the castellum before she was caught. She tried to concentrate on where she was going as she ran, but her thoughts were erratic. Her mind kept focusing in on the way Rhyn had watched the orb as its colour had begun to change. What had he seen?