House of Winter

Chapter 7, Part 2

S A N N A

Sanna did the same, pulling herself up into her saddle tied to Sigrún's back. Beneath her, she could feel her wolf's anticipation at getting out of the now-familiar grounds of the palace and exploring somewhere new.

Tai and Sanna took off into the sky.

Every day in Singtsu seemed to be hot and cloudy, but the suns broke through the clouds occasionally. The glare was harsh as they launched into the sky and Sanna immediately felt the heat on her skin.

Her skin was paler than Tai's, and she thought it must be softer and more delicate. She was used to the long summer days in Norrlund where the suns were gentle, always lingering on the horizon, or the winters in Lombardia where the days grew shorter and shorter and the suns were always across the Lothern sea.

Here in Singtsu the suns were higher than she felt they had any right to be. Now that it was the middle of the day, the suns were almost directly overhead and she could feel their burning fingertips on the back of her neck. She wished for the cold of Norrlund, for the familiarity of a thick winter coat, for a scarf wrapped around her throat that she could nuzzle her nose into to avoid the biting winds of Lombardia.

From high up here, it was possible to see the shape of the Volcano Palace.

The Palace was built into one side of the crater of the dead volcano. From the palace there was the illusion that they were in a deep valley in the clouds, but from up here in the sky Sanna could see the forested hill down the mountain, and then the city beyond.

Singtsu was a hot mess of buildings in rows and jagged alleyways cutting through. The rooves were all bright red and there were plenty of happily smoking chimneys. There were canals cutting through the city, and small boats pushed by poles, selling fresh fruits and vegetables to the houses on the canals. There seemed to be parks and green spaces every few streets.

Tai riding Yainni led them not all the way down the mountain but only halfway, where there was still forest.

They landed in a small clearing, with Sigrún clipping her toes on the leaves of a tree as she descended.

Sigrún could smell more kinnlings, and she sniffed the air in interest.

The forest was cooler on this side of the mountain, which only got touched by sunlight in the middle of the day. The trees here grew heavy moss and the ground was soggy when Sanna stepped down from her wolf's back, even though she was sure it hadn't rained overnight.

Tai was now leading Yainni through the trees. Beyond, Sanna could hear the sound of growling.

They went through a heavy wooden gate. A Fire Army soldier bowed to both of them as they entered.

And then Sanna gasped in delight to see two tiny fire tigers, small enough that she could pick them up. They were bounding around on the damp leafy forest floor, making small yowling sounds.

Sanna crouched on the ground, her hands out, and the two tiny tiger cubs raced up to her to inspect her palm.

Yainni the tiger was young enough that she wanted to play with the other tigers, while Sigrún the wolf was looking at them dubiously. Sigrún had never been one for frolicking or playing with other kinnlings, but after a while she seemed to loosen up a bit and she allowed a tiger cub to sniff at her.

"They're adorable," Sanna said, patting the tigers in front of her. Their wings were hardly more than a tuft of feathers sprouting from their shoulders. They had vicious teeth, which she discovered when she left her hand out for too long and one of the young tigers took a playful bite.