Sovereign - The Dark Sorcerers: Book 2

Chapter 12: In a Land Far, Far Away

Kenna

The portal closed behind us with a loud snap, signaling the official start of our mission. I inhaled a deep breath, only to shiver and grasp my head when the cold air turned my brain to ice. "By the Darkness, it's summer and my toes are freezing off."

Dominic scoffed, readjusting the bag slung over his shoulder as he trudged forward in the thick layer of snow around our feet. "This is the North. What did you expect?"

I made a face at his back, but shrugged off his discouraging attitude and directed my gaze to the high peaks in the distance. The mountains glistened like sharp diamonds erected from the ground, growing higher and higher, but never actually reaching the afternoon sun they bathed in so often. The rock's gray, ragged surface popped up from the blanket of snow in several places. We should be close to the Dragons' former residence, yet after eight thousand years, not a single remnant of their presence was visible anymore, of course.

My breathing came in short, ragged gasps as I attempted to jog through the snow to keep up with Dominic. My quads already burned after two steps. "Hey!" I called out to him, grinning when the sound of my voice echoed across the vast plains. Dominic winced. "Do you even know where you're going?"

"The ancient Dragon's Nest lies between those two mountains over there," he explained, pointing at two high peaks, both sharper than a blade from this perspective. One of them was Mount Aslín. I shot Dominic an annoyed glare because of his impatient tone. I was not an ignorant child; he needn't treat me like one either. He ignored me and looked up at Jaeger, whose ever-growing shadow flew not so high above our heads, unbothered by the cold. "Don't you feel it, buddy? All that old magic?"

The Dragon squealed in response, a wisp of smoke curling from his mouth. His yellow eyes met mine, glittering with a kind of intelligence that no creature so young should possess. I wondered what secrets lay behind those eyes, and how much he knew about his ancestors' fate.

A loud snort ruffled the loose strands of hair that had escaped from my braid. Inna's nose bumped against my cheek, searching company. Out of habit, I raised a gloved hand to stroke her neck, chuckling at the silent accusation in her gaze, as though she couldn't believe that I had dragged her all the way to this horrible, freezing hell. "Don't you dare complain, young lady," I reprimanded her. "That pile of wool blankets on your back should keep you more than warm enough."

"Are you talking to your horse again?" Dominic sneered, sending me a mocking glance over his shoulder.

I gave him the most disparaging look I could crease my face into. "Animals are deeply misunderstood creatures. They have a greater intelligence than they let on. Take Jaeger, for example," I said, waving my hand at the Dragon. He roared and dove toward the ground, his tail dragging across the snow so that he cleared a path for us. "He always knows exactly what I need without me having to tell him in explicit wordings."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, princess."

I balled my hands into fists. The eternal quarreling was entertaining at most, but Dominic's lack of respect for me was a sore spot. Confused, I wondered whether I just wanted to tame his strong, dominant personality, or his uncanny ability to provoke me originated from a deeper desire to make the best of our situation. Neither of us had asked to be bound to each other in such an irrevocable way, yet we were, so why did he insist on treating me with that patronizing attitude that made me want to tear my hair out? I was his boss, damn it.

Why did his behavior even bother me so much? It hadn't before; I had never been the kind of person that desperately needed to be liked by everyone she met. Was it a form of guilt for having murdered his girlfriend, tucked away deep into the darkest corners of my mind? I thought I'd gotten over that the moment I allowed my Darkness to take away those ridiculous feelings.