Maevus shivered, pulling Kinai's borrowed coat more snug around her in an attempt to capture escaping body heat. Volt's breath came in plumes of smoke from beneath his hood. Seava frolicked through the snow ahead of them, the ice-dragon playing more than forging a path through the pristine drifts.

Pretty from a distance, the Yanger Mountains' famous white peaks were a hinderance now.

Three days had passed without so much as a sign of the Encant. Not a whisper or shred of evidence. Idly, Maevus wondered if the Queen would think them lost to the wild, frozen north if they simply didn't return. She could get used to the cold.

A wind whipped the trees and Maevus yelped as snow was dumped on her from an overhead branch.

Or...maybe she couldn't.

She shook the snow from her hair, shooting a nasty glare at Volt and his silently shaking shoulders. Her mouth twisted and she tugged on Seava's power. Discreetly, she funneled a stream of fine, powdered snow into her hands until she had enough to form a decent-sized snowball.

Keeping an eye on Volt, she packed the snow together. When he looked down at the map, she took careful aim. She barely had time to actually see the snowball explode into a puff of white against the side of his head, she was already collapsing into laughter.

Seava barked in excitement, her arctic blue wings flapping as she bounded back toward Maevus. She tossed her head, antlers snagging on branches and sending snow raining down around her.

"Oh, no!" Maevus squealed as Seava leapt toward her, large paws hitting square on her chest. They flew backward into a drift, snow closing over Maevus' head like a chilly blanket. She flailed, trying to swim back to the surface, Seava crushing her chest and the snow flying up her nose and into her mouth.

Seava barked in concern and fangs scraped her chest as the dragon bit the front of her shirt and pulled her free of the snow's embrace. Maevus pawed at her face, heaving in gasps of air. She sat for a moment, shivering in the snow. She stayed that way until Seava's cold snout touched the side of her face, making her start. 

Managing a smile, she cradled the dragon's head, stroking the stiff mane of white hair that crested down her neck, spreading into short fur over the joint of her wings. "It's okay," she crooned as Seava's thread pulled tight with worry and remorse. "It was an accident. We were just playing."

Once her heart stopped pounding a mile a minute, she hooked her arm around Seava's neck. The dragon hauled her to her feet, nuzzling under her chin one more time before turning back to the path. Tail dragging and ears drooping, the ice-dragon carved a much more sedate paths through the drifts.

Maevus brushed snow from her coat, glancing at Volt from the corner of her eye. He stood like a blot of ink against the pristine landscape, perfectly still, watching her. Heat rushed into her cheeks, embarrassment over a weakness she couldn't shake no matter how hard she tried. 

She waited for him to ask, or at least to mock.

Instead, he looked down at the map. Then, he pointed a little more to the north. "The first village should be coming up in the next mile or so. Assuming this map is accurate."

Maevus stared for a moment, then whistled at Seava. The dragon glanced over her shoulder, ears cocked. "Can we just fly the rest of the way?" She kicked at a drift, swearing when her toes slammed into something hard hidden by the snow.

Volt looked up, peering between the thick branches. A frown pulled at his mouth. "Storms blow up fast in these mountains."

Maevus tilted her head back, finding nothing but an expanse of pale blue sky above. She frowned, trudging toward him. "You'll be able to sense it before one comes. And control it."

He fell curiously still, the parchment of the map rattling in a breeze that whipped around them, scuffling the snow and stinging Maevus' eyes. His shoulders went down, like he was forcing himself to appear relaxed. 

"Right," he murmured, folding the map back up. "I'll be able to sense it." Gnawing at his lower lip, his head tilted down to look at the snow that came up above his ankles. Then he looked at Seava, who waited patiently a few yards away.

Maevus held her breath. They'd been hiking because Volt had been afraid they'd miss the first small village if they flew. Maevus had told him he was being ridiculous, but the Storm-Charmed Encant had remained stubborn. But now, perhaps she could manage to get her way.

He looked as cold and miserable as she felt.

"We'll coast low, just over the treetops," she wheedled. "If it's as close as that map says, there's no way we'll miss it."

"No, we'll just scare half the villagers to death, two Encants sweeping in on a bloody dragon." 

Seava hissed at his tone, but he ignored her, simply stuffing the map back into his coat pocket. Volt took a few steps forward, just to trip and nearly land himself in a drift. Maevus bit back her laugh, instead crossing her arms and giving him her best Really? look.

The other Encant cocked his head in exasperation and let out a sigh. "Fine," he said, gloved hand rubbing down his face. He jabbed a finger toward Maevus. "But we stay just above the trees. And if there's so much as a hint of storm, we come back down. I don't fancy fighting a blizzard today."

Several taunts crowded on Maevus' tongue, but she swallowed them. Getting her way was worth bypassing a few jibes about how he wasn't quite so powerful as everyone made him out. She skipped toward Seava, the dragon wagging her tail in response as Maevus began feeding her magic. The dragon grew, her pale blue wings pressing against nearby trees.

When she was big enough to carry the two Encants, Maevus sealed off her magic and vaulted onto the ice-dragon's back. Volt silently climbed up behind her, hands resting on her waist.

"No dramatics, please," he said, grip tightening as Seava began to beat her wings. "The people out here don't take kindly to strangers. Especially dangerous ones."

Pleased by that assessment, Maevus relayed the message. Seava shook her head, powerful legs coiling before she jumped, scaling a large pine before she hurled herself into the sky. Cold air stung her face. Maevus wrapped a scarf around her head, swearing when the tail was ripped out of her hand by the bitter wind.

It startled her when Volt finished wrapping the material over her face, tucking the tail into the collar of her coat. She raked her hand through Seava's mane, eyes scanning the landscape beneath them.

It didn't take long to find what she was searching for.

"Smoke," she shouted over the wind, pointing toward the north. The same direction Volt's map had wanted to take them. "It's there."

A sharp gust slammed into them, sending Seava careening to the south. Maevus scrambled to hold on, Volt's arms slipping around her to keep himself aboard the dragon. Seava steadied herself, coasting along for a moment. Maevus nudged her back toward the north.

Wind slammed into them again. Maevus' breath caught. Again. Seava screeched as they nearly went into a stately old evergreen rising above its brothers. Needles caught at Volt's cloak before the dragon flapped away.

His breath shuddered in her ear. "Land, Maevus."

In that same breath, clouds gathered overhead and lightning cracked, racing toward them. Volt thrust a hand out, a bolt of blue energy shooting from his fingertips, stopping the lightning in its path.

The fingers of his other hand dug hard into her hip. "Land now."

Maevus turned her thoughts to Seava, but not fast enough. A curtain of snow descended, a blizzard catching them in its claws. The wind tore at Seava's wings, threatening to break fragile bones. It ripped the air from her lungs.

Blinded and battered by the snow and wind, Maevus didn't see the tree until it was too late. A scream—she wasn't sure if it was hers or her dragon's—rang in her ears. There was a sickening impact, pain blooming through her side.

She was falling. Then, she was nothing.