"You were the one who gave the information, right?" asked a man in a military uniform. The insignia near his shoulder said everything—it was Estellia.
"Y-Yes…" the clerk responded, voice trembling now. Maybe he shouldn't have been so greedy for the reward Estellia promised for information about Annabelle's whereabouts.
"Where is she now?" the officer demanded. Behind him, a full platoon was securing the perimeter, rifles at the ready.
"F-Frosten," the man stammered, fear leaking into every syllable.
"FROSTEN?! WHY?! HOW?!" The officer slammed his hand down on the counter. The wood cracked and snapped clean in half.
"She… she came in, requested two tickets. She was with a young man. He had a scarf covering his face… I—I couldn't see who he was," the clerk said, eyes wide.
"AND YOU GAVE HER THE TICKETS KNOWING WHO SHE WAS?!" The officer grabbed him by the collar and yanked him over the broken counter.
"Denying her would've violated company policy!" the man yelped, almost sobbing.
The reward didn't matter anymore. He just didn't want to die.
"Take this fool away. Detain him," the officer ordered, flinging the trembling man toward the soldiers.
"Understood."
"Please! I—I didn't know! I'm begging you, let me go!" he screamed, but the soldiers held him firmly in place.
"Pray we find her in Frosten," the officer growled, cold fury in his eyes. "Or you'll lose your head for this stupidity."
"Sir." Another officer stepped forward, holding something in his gloved hands.
He turned.
"What is it?" he asked.
"A relic," the officer said grimly. "The tracker's frozen. Whoever has her is... clever. Too clever."
The lead officer exhaled a slow, frustrated breath. The situation had just gone from bad to worse.
"She's not alone. That confirms it."
He turned away. "Send word to base. The Shadows are to be dispatched immediately. The Lord is growing impatient."
....
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Anna yanked at her hair like a lunatic, the tenth cave behind her, the tenth complete waste of time.
"THIS IS THE TENTH CAVE! THE TENTH FREAKING CAVE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN LOOKING FOR?!" she screamed at him, steam rising from her ragged breath in the freezing air.
He didn't respond.
Didn't even look at her.
Just floated lazily in midair—completely relaxed—his body buoyed by her flight spell.
She was trudging through snow, half-frozen, ether nearly drained, dragging her half-dead limbs from cave to cave while this bastard floated above it all like a damn prince.
She wanted to strangle him.
He was doing it on purpose.
She knew it.
He made her enter every single cave, search every inch, fight off whatever monster waited inside, and come back out only to be told to go into another one.
She'd brought him things—most of them useless junk—but he didn't care.
He was enjoying himself. That was the worst part.
Letting her suffer while pretending it was for "topographical advantage."
Lazy bastard.
She'd fought giant frost cobras that went on for miles, monstrous Montroses with limbs the size of tree trunks, and spiders bigger than houses. Her legs barely responded anymore. Her vision was blurry. She could feel her ether slipping away with every second.
And still, he floated.
"Go. I see another mountain up ahead," he said casually, voice as indifferent as ever. "It should be the one."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
She roared in frustration, clutching her skull as if she could squeeze the madness out. This wasn't survival—this was torture.
She had to do something.
Fast.
Or she'd go insane.
Now she was inside the next cave. Bigger than the others. Darker. Worse. It reeked of something ancient.
This one was different. She could feel it.
"I'm going to kill him," she whispered, pacing inside. "One way or another…"
But her hand trembled as she touched the wall.
He said I'd die if he dies.
She bit her nail, eyes wide with frustration.
"AHHHH!" she screamed again, pulling her hair. "What if I just… paralyze him? That's not the same as killing, right?!"
But then shook her head.
"He said I can't be too far from him…"
If she paralyzed him, she'd have to carry his heavy, unconscious body everywhere she went. What kind of hell would that be?
"And I can't cast spells on him," she growled, exhausted.
This was it.
She was doomed.
Maybe death was the better option.
She stared blankly into the cave.
Then, suddenly—
A noise.
Her thoughts froze.
Something was crawling.
Down the wall.