Chapter Sixty-four: partial confession

                                    

                                          







Krystal's POV






   The wind blew hard against my skin as Flykra raced through the forest. I held on to the reins for my dear life. It's not like I couldn't ride a horse, I could. It was more like horses and I had a mutual hatred. No, I don't hate them, they just gave me the creeps for as long as I knew them but they hated me. Flykra was the first horse that showed interest in me but not the first I rode. Riding a horse was sort of traumatic because every time I sat on one, they always tried to throw me off and end my life. I love being hunted but for some reason, the horses' attempt made me uncomfortable.
   Back to the point, the wind was peculiarly cold today but again, I hadn't been in the world for that long so maybe I was overthinking. As we rode closer to where Lenius had in mind, the air grew colder and I knew it wasn't a mistake, the wind was peculiar. I looked over at Lenius and a smile stretched on my face. His low-cut hair was being messed up by the wind, blowing roughly against his face. His sun eyes glowed brighter every time I looked at him. He was breathtaking.
Too bad I don't fancy him that way.
Or do I?
   I shook my head and stared straight ahead, my mind wandering off to you know who. My heart skipped a beat, causing my breath to seize for two seconds. I inhaled deeply and exhaled through my nostrils. I promised myself I wouldn't think about him, just get a clear mind…
«Or you are just running away,» Wynter snarked. My heart skipped again. «You know, you are getting really good at running away recently. I am so proud of you.» She added sardonically. I continued to ignore her, even going as far as blocking her out. I didn't need her to nag me now, or ever.
   My attention turned to my surroundings as the horses raced towards a path between two mighty mountains. The ground was slowly getting covered with snow and the trees were withered like in autumn. From what I could see, there were four large mountains encircling and encasing something in the middle. I couldn't see it but I deduced from the position of each mountain that there was a large space within. The mountains almost looked like run-down volcanos. The horses slowed down without our command and neighed as if worried they would be overstepping their boundaries.
   I looked over at Lenius with a questioning gaze. "Is this—"
   ”Yes," he cuts in, which was to my distaste, but I didn't voice it out. "As you can see, this place is a war between the other guardians to see who will dominate this zone." And the winter witch was winning. The only signs of autumn were on the trees and dead bushes and spring showed with a lot of flowers that were almost and partly turned to ice flowers. The ice was overtaking the flowers and making them theirs. An interesting use of power I never thought of trying. I smiled as an exciting tingle raced to my fingers. I needed to try it.
   "Come on, move," Lenius urged his horse to move. They both started walking reluctantly. At the entrance of the path, there was a fallen and broken-down rusted gate. The horses walked slowly and nervously, giving me enough time to view the place as we went by. The walls of the mountains hadn't turned to ice but were covered with ice. Some plants were still green and fresh, while some were partly frosted or iced; some were completely iced and a few had withered like autumn leaves. The whole place was dry with not a single life in it.
   I looked at Lenius' back since he was ahead of me and smiled. Now's my chance. I stretched my hand out and concentrated. The key to every usage of power is simple. Just imagine what you want and then pour your energy into it. The amount of energy you pour determines the strength and weight of the outcome. Too much energy can destroy it and not too much won't be good enough. So it's best to start by pouring it bit by bit until you get the right measurement of percentage. That was the first thing Merlin taught and the one thing Liang constantly chanted. The rest of my trainers repeated that too and it has helped me so far.