The Forever Blaze [3]

C H A P T E R - 4

The warm, racing light dropped them at the base of the Himalayas, and Keefe pulled his cape tighter around his shoulders.

"Couldn't they have picked a warmer mountain range to build this place?" he grumbled as they trudged up the snow-covered path to the Sanctuary.

"I'm pretty sure they needed as much room as possible," Meredith reminded him.

The Sanctuary housed all of the creatures that the elves had taken into protective custody—everything from dinosaurs to dodo birds, plus any animal that humans foolishly believed was "magical." They even kept endangered species, wanting to make sure they continued to thrive.

The elves believed every creature existed on the planet for a reason, and to allow even one to go extinct would cause irreparable damage to the delicate balance of their world.

An icy blast of wind cut through Sophie's tunic, making her wish she'd worn a cape. She always felt dumb wearing them—but braving the snow without a cloak was definitely dumber.

She also wished she'd taken Dex's offer a few months back, and let him teach her how to regulate her body temperature.

"Here," Keefe said, draping his cape over her shoulders.

"I'm f-f-fine. You d-d-don't h-h-have t-t-to—"

"That would be a lot more convincing without all the shivering," he interrupted. "Besides, it takes more than a little snow to get to me." He flashed a smug smirk, but she could see he was already shivering.

"You don't know how to regulate your body temperature either?" she asked, feeling her voice steady as Keefe fastened the warm cape under her chin.

"Eh, that only works when it's sorta cold, not freezing. But no, I've never learned. That's the kind of random skill you only learn in Exillium."

The name caused a whole different kind of shudder.

Exillium was a school the Council had threatened to send Sophie to if she couldn't hack it at Foxfire. She didn't know anything about it, except that people kept telling her she didn't want to go there.

Meredith unfastened her cloak and draped the cloak over Keefe and her.

"That isn't a solution Mer."

"You think that I'm gonna let you freeze out here," Meredith said, looking at Keefe defiantly.

He kissed her cheek and moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her. Sophie felt a bit left out but it was cute watching them together.

"Why does Dex know how to regulate his temperature, then?" Sophie asked. The only school he'd ever attended was Foxfire.

Meredith laughed. "Are you really surprised his family would teach him something weird?"

"Good point."

Dex's parents were known for playing by their own rules and not following social conventions. His dad had even admitted that he designed their store, Slurps and Burps, to be intentionally bizarre and chaotic, just to make the stuffy nobles—as he liked to call them—squirm while they shopped for their elixirs.

Keefe and Meredith shivered again, their whole body shaking, and Sophie tried to hand Keefe back his cape.

"Nope. You deserve it, Foster," he insisted. "You have saved my life a few times, after all."

"Only once," Sophie corrected.

"Yeah, well you also saved the whole world from the Everblaze, so that counts too. Plus I'll face the wrath of Gigantor if I let you freeze to death, remember?"