“I love you,” she whispered.
Hal heard her words, but it took a moment for them to register. His body kept moving, pushing into her. He felt Laurel tense, her legs wrapping around him, as though the admission had been a trigger for her orgasm. Hal held her tight, at a loss for how to respond.
He loved her, too. But to say it back to her would be dooming them both to a greater heartache than either of them were prepared for. It would give their love time to build, time for the delusion of a happy ending to take them by the reins. He couldn’t hurt her like that, could he?
“I love you too,” he whispered.
Laurel held him tight. Hal was pumping into her as fast as he could, feeling the intensity of the moment building, pushing him toward a climax.
“Halrin?” Cadrian walked back through the mouth of the cave. Hal froze in mid thrust, feeling an even mixture of ridiculous and embarrassed.
“Uh…” Hal was at a loss for words. “Laurel… was cold.”
“Right,” said Cadrian. “Good thinking.”
If she knew what had been going on, her tone gave away nothing. Laurel was feigning sleep, but her cheeks were bright red, and Hal could tell she was holding back laughter.
“I found most of our stuff,” said Cadrian. “Laurel’s pack, mine, and both of our swords. I have to go back for the rest, but I managed to bring yours with me.”
“Uh, thanks,” said Hal. He shifted, feeling his cock throbbing inside Laurel, practically screaming for him to start moving again, even if just slowly.
“Some snow got into the scabbard and froze,” said Cadrian. “It’s stuck halfway in.”
A single, tiny laugh escaped Laurel’s lips.
“I’ll just… jiggle it around, or something,” said Hal, feeling his face flush.
“I’ll be back with the rest,” said Cadrian. She smiled and folded her arms. “Make sure you do a good job warming her up.”
Hal waited until he heard the crunching of her steps on the snow fade, and then picked up right from where he left off. He was thrusting as fast and as hard as he could, desperate for release. He didn’t have to wait for long, primed as he was. He pumped into her as deep as he could go and let out a small sigh as he released, Laurel’s hands running through his hair.
The pleasure was as sweet as any forbidden pleasure could be, and it seemed to confirm the truth of what he’d said before. They would find another excuse. Now that they’d crossed over the line, they’d lost what little measure of the control they’d once had. They wouldn’t be able to keep their hands off each other.
“Laurel…” whispered Hal.
She looked at him and pressed her hand against his cheek.
“Let’s not think too much about it,” she said.
Hal nodded. He wanted to say more, but before he could, he heard Zoria let out an exaggerated yawn.
“I’m cold too, master,” she said. “Come warm me up next.”
CHAPTER 44
“How much of that were you awake for?” asked Hal.
Zoria leaned up on her elbows, letting the sleeping bag fall loose and revealing her naked breasts. “All of it. I heard the two of you confess your love for each other. Does this mean you can’t play with me anymore, master?”
Hal winced. He looked at Laurel, knowing that the answer was more about her feelings than his.
“It doesn’t mean anything,” Laurel said, her voice stubborn. “Hal was just… helping warm me up. The situation is still complicated by reality, for him, for me. For all of us, out here in the freezing cold.”
“That’s good to know,” said Zoria. “I’ve grown quite fond of his surfacer ways in the sheets.”
Laurel pouted slightly, but she didn’t say anything more on the matter. Hal pulled her into an embrace with one arm, letting her rest with her head on her shoulder, running one of his hands through her hair.
Cadrian arrived back at the cave a few minutes later, carrying the last of their scattered equipment. Hal reheated the boulder using his ruby essence, and soon enough, they were all resting for the night, him and Laurel still sharing a sleeping bag.
The morning was cold, but more in temperature than in spirit. Hal pulled on both layers of clothing and joined the others in a meal consisting of cold cheese and traveling bread. Their water skins had been frozen when Cadrian had recovered them the night before, but she’d used the heat of the boulder to thaw them, and then melted snow from their cooking pot to refill them.
“Have you gotten information from the memory crystal?” asked Laurel. “On where we’re going?”
Hal nodded. “I do, though it’s kind of vague. She says that we need to keep heading north, past the border of ancient Eklidia, which is what the Upper Realm was called back when it was still on the surface.”
“How far is it?” asked Cadrian.
“I have no idea,” said Hal.
“That’s not very reassuring, master,” said Zoria.
“It’s all we have to go on,” said Hal. “We can’t turn back now. Not after coming so far.”
Cadrian and Laurel nodded, and Zoria at least held her objections. They finished their food and replaced everything within their packs.
It had snowed some over the course of the previous night, just enough to make it a little harder for them to traverse the powder. The sun was obscured by thick, grey clouds blanketing the sky, and the air was dry and biting cold. Hal’s lips and eyes began to hurt within a few minutes of exposure.
The snow left an obvious trail behind them. He knew that if Tessianna held any suspicions of them still being alive, their paths through the powder would be fairly easy to follow back to them. There was nothing they could do about it in the time they had, however.
They used White Mountain to keep their course straight north, making sure the peak stayed directly at their backs. The landscape ahead of them was a featureless void of white, with the only change coming from the snow, where the top layer was either freshly fallen or frozen into a crust.
They stopped for lunch, and Hal was far hungrier than he expected to be. He wolfed down a minimalist sandwich of bread and dried beef, feeling a little guilty as he considered how long their supplies would last them at that rate.
“We will have to set a point where we turn back,” said Cadrian. “I know it isn’t ideal, but this type of climate does not offer much mercy for unprepared travelers.”
“We’re close,” said Hal. “I can feel it.”
They traveled another few hours. The cold was their greatest enemy, and without being within an insulated space, there was nothing he could do about it with his magic.
I could try lighting myself on fire. That might warm me up… for a few seconds.
He marched at the front of the group, looking over his shoulder occasionally to confirm they hadn’t lost anyone. It was after one of these times, as he turned to look back in the direction they were traveling, that he saw it. Though of course, he wasn’t quite sure what “it” was.
Ahead of them, a spire extended up from the snow. It was hard to tell both how large it was or how distant it might be, but it was distinct from the flat snow. The object was covered in thick ice, but it was still almost perfectly symmetrical, a pillar rising from the ground and coming to a pyramid point.
They drew closer, and Hal figured the object was about a dozen feet tall, and maybe six feet across in diameter. He hesitated as the party drew close enough to touch it, his instincts telling him that it might be a bad idea.
“Hold on,” he said. “I think…”
He tried to remember. He’d seen something like it before, in one of Jessa’s memory trials.
“…Yes. This is one of the lift crystals. I saw this, or something like it, while I was exploring Jessa’s memories.”
“This is what we came here for, then,” said Cadrian. “If we can destroy, or damage this.”
She reached a hand out to touch the crystal. Hal grabbed her wrist a second before her fingers made contact.
“Hold on,” he said. “Something’s wrong, here.”
He dug through his pack, finding an unlit torch. He stood a few feet back from the crystal and tossed the torch at it. The instant it made contact ice flashed over its length, coating it in a layer that must have been an inch or two thick.
“Interesting…” said Zoria. “We could try using magic on it. You could use your fire spells, and I could attack with my runic weapons.”
“I don’t think there is anything we can do to it,” said Hal. “Jessa said the Pale Lady guards over this region, and that we need to deal with her if we want to undo the magic protecting the crystals.”
“How do we find the Pale Lady?” asked Laurel.
“I don’t know for sure, but I think we just have to keep going,” he said.
All three of his traveling companions looked skeptical. Hal smiled and shrugged.
“We can always come back this way if we don’t find anything beyond,” said Hal. “Sound good?”
Laurel and Cadrian nodded. Zoria just smiled.
They traveled further, holding the same line they’d been on, but with less intention than they’d had before. It started snowing after a few minutes, large, lazy flakes.
After about an hour, the wind began to pick up with the snow, scattering powder and obscuring their vision. The snow fell faster, coming down relentlessly. Cadrian had the group draw closer together as visibility plunged.
The wind buffeted them from all directions, blowing as though eager to find the chinks in their warm clothing. Hal’s teeth were chattering incessantly. His nose started running, which left him with two frozen lines of snot stuck to his upper lip.
The snow practically danced into shapes and patterns, tendrils of it reaching out to engage or strike them. They’d linked arms, by this point, the wind too strong for them to endure as a group in any other way. Hal started to worry, and couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he’d made a mistake by having them push on.
And then, far more abruptly than the snowstorm had begun, it ended. It was as though they’d stepped past its outer boundary and out of its reach. Or rather, as though it had brought them somewhere, and dissipated as soon as it had served its purpose.
They were in the courtyard of a grand, winter estate. Behind them stretched an empty expanse of frozen tundra, filled with lumpy hills, different from the ground they’d just been traveling. The courtyard itself was free of snow, but still cold, and that seemed to be the overarching theme of the decorations.
There was a central fountain, the water within it flash frozen in mid-spurt. To either side were statues made of ice, two naked swordsmen in the middle of a duel, and two naked women in the middle of a more intimate engagement.
Behind the decorations stood the palace itself, a massive, dark blue structure with gold trim and circular windows. Two sets of curved stairs led up to the front entrance, forming the shape of a heart with the empty space in between. The door at the top was polished oak, and it stood slightly open, as though they were expected.
CHAPTER 45
“What is this place?” whispered Laurel.
“Jessa told me about it, but not much,” said Hal. “The Eternal Palace. The realm of the Pale Lady.”
He frowned, remembering his experience with the Desert Lady shortly after arriving in Krestia’s Cradle. She’d been kind and gentle, which had been a blessing, given how powerful Hal now suspected she must have been.
“I’m not sure about this,” said Cadrian. “We’re placing herself in her power.”
“We’ve already done that,” said Zoria. “The dice have been rolled. We must see which faces have come up.”
Hal nodded, and started toward the stairs. He felt wary of the statues, as though one or all of them might come to life at any second.
They all chose the same staircase to make their way up, and they all drew their weapons before opening the door. Hal swept his pistol from side to side as he stepped into the regal audience chamber on the other side.
A red and gold carpet ran from the door up to a dais in the back of the room. Torches with blue flames were set into pillars spaced evenly across both sides of the room. A window in the shape of a snowflake was set into the chamber’s back wall, but it appeared to look out onto another room of the palace, rather than the outside world.
“Well, she certainly has expensive taste when it comes to décor,” said Hal. His companions didn’t reply. He glanced over his shoulder and flinched back in surprise at what he saw.
Laurel, Cadrian, and Zoria were frozen in place, in a literal sense. A thin, bluish layer of ice completely coated their clothing and skin. Their eyes were unresponsive, still open, but unseeing and unmoving. Hal shook his head, a slow horror taking root in his heart.
“No…” he muttered. “No!”
“Yes,” said a voice.
Hal turned around and caught sight of a woman, standing atop the dais. Her skin was milky white, and she was naked, but for a few strategically placed flecks of snow on her nipples and across her crotch. Her eyes and hair were both shiny silver, and her body was one made for seduction, with generous breasts and hips and a slim waist.
Hal aimed his pistol at her, feeling for the ruby essence in his heartgem. He pulled the trigger and gasped in pain as ice encased the weapon, the cold of it harsh enough to burn his palm and fingers. He reached for his sword only to find it in similar straits, frozen inside its scabbard.
“Those won’t be necessary,” said the woman. “Though I do appreciate an aggressive man.”
“What did you do to my friends?” asked Hal.
“I froze them,” she said, furrowing her brow as though it should be obvious to him.
I can’t fight her, not without my weapons. If there’s any chance in saving them, it will be through diplomacy.
“…You’re the Pale Lady,” he said, after a pause.
The woman nodded. “And you’re the Heart Holder. You can’t imagine how eager I am to make your acquaintance.”
Hal met her gaze, feeling an icy chill run through his body that he suspected was more than just his imagination.
“Why did you bring me here?” he asked.
“We’ll get to that in a second, along with your reason for seeking me out,” said the Pale Lady. She sniffed the air a few times. “But first…”
Slowly, she strode from the dais, hips swaying back and forth with each step she took. She had a small smile on her pale, slender face, one that seemed both amused and dangerous. Hal tried to keep his eyes from roving, but her body called to him, emanating a raw, undeniable sexuality. She was almost completely naked, and that fact seemed far more relevant and compelling than it should have. The Pale Lady began sniffing again as she came within a few feet of him.
“You smell like my sister,” she said. “That’s very interesting. I’ll have to ask her about you the next time we speak. Did she like you?”
Hal opened his mouth, but she cut him off before he could reply.
“She must have,” said the Pale Lady. “You wouldn’t still be alive, if she didn’t.” She sniffed a third time. “You also smell like… could it be… Jessa?”
“I’ve spoken with her,” said Hal.
The Pale Lady grinned. “You’ve done more than just that. Oh, you are so interesting! This will be fun!”
She laughed, and Hal felt uncomfortable at how arousing the sound of it was to him.
“My friends,” he said. “Are they still…?”
“Alive?” asked the Pale Lady. “Yes and no. There will be no damage done to any of them, if I choose to unfreeze them. And as long as you please me, I have no reason not to.”
Hal nodded slowly. “Fair enough. Is there anything in particular that would please you?”
He feigned confidence along with a vaguely suggestive tone. She was a succubus, just like her sister, and he suspected that sex would be the quickest way to get into her good graces.
“There is,” said the Pale Lady. “T
ell me what Jessa told you that convinced you to seek me out.”
“She said that you could help us,” said Hal. “That you were the one protecting the lift crystals that keep the Upper Realm in the air, and that it might be possible to convince you to release your hold on them.”
It was close to the truth. Hal omitted what Jessa had said about them possibly needing to kill her. It didn’t seem like it would be even remotely possible, given the strength of the Pale Lady’s ice magic. She laughed again as he finished speaking, and Hal had to take slow breaths to keep from losing himself in lustful thoughts.
“Is that all she said?” asked the Pale Lady. “No mention of how her body lies within my palace, frozen in time and awaiting her return?”
“Her… body?”
“That’s why you’ve actually come here,” she said. “Whatever story Jessa spun to convince you was just that: a story. She wants her body back, as anyone trapped within crystal purgatory would. I suspect she glossed over the risk you were taking by placing yourself in my power.”
Hal slowly shook his head, but the Pale Lady spoke with so much confidence that he couldn’t outright deny what she was saying.
“The lift crystals,” he said. “Could you still release them, and help us?”
The Pale Lady drew closer, arching her back slightly. She was tall, of a height with him, and the gesture made it impossible for Hal to ignore her breasts. Her nipples were blue instead of pink, and hard from the cold.
“You are very intriguing,” she said. “But I must demand a favor for a favor.”
“What would you have me do?” Hal moved a little closer to her. He wasn’t sure if his heart was pounding from fear, or from excitement. And he really wasn’t sure if it would be a good idea to try to kiss her.
“You’re eager,” whispered the Pale Lady. “That’s good.” She took a step back from him. “I require a message to be carried to an old ally of mine, who has been serving me in the shadows for the past few hundred years.”
Hal nodded, trying to keep the disappointment off his face. Was he disappointed that she wanted something other than passion from him? He wasn’t entirely sure that he would even survive a sexual encounter with her.
Eternal Palace (Sexcraft Chronicles Book 4) Page 24
