"I do not think I understand." Darren uttered, his face creased with incredulity.
Sage tightened her hold on the book in her grasp. "Leave my chamber." She tightened her teeth.
Danil was perched on her bed, looking like he had seen a ghost. "I can't! Not while you are planning to wed an ice dragon! This is not a wise decision!" He was in a state of panic.
Katherine stood beside Sage in front of the small bookcase, seemingly lost in thought.
"It is a wise decision. I intend to kill him in order to free us from these threats." Sage closed the book, returning it to its place on the shelf. "I am going to kill him."
"He did not really do anything," Katherine patted Sage's shoulder. "The eternal winter is said to have fallen on the world at the moment of his birth.
Sage glared and pushed her hand off her shoulder. "What is your point? That he is an angel? Have you not heard a great deal about him? I will kill him because he is evil."
Katherine shook her head in disapproval. "Yes, I have heard about his dangerous nature, but that is the reality—he is dangerous." She uttered those words in an attempt to make sense to Sage.
"Reality?" Sage locked her gaze on Katherine.
Because of their inability to withstand the cold, fire breathing dragons were gradually going extinct, making the ice dragon their enemy. Given that Lord Esteban was unaware that the ice dragon had presented her with a marriage proposal, Sage surmised that something strange was happening.
"There is a problem. You know it too. It is a trap." Katherine's coffee-bean-brown eyes narrowed.
Sage let out a sigh, curling her fists. "Be it a trap or not, I am going to marry him. Then murder him. If we follow this, the winter will end and fire breathing dragons will leave us in peace."
Darren cast a worried glance at his friends. He didn't like the determination emanating from Sage.
Katherine shook her head at those words, concern more evident on her face. "How can he make such a sudden proposal?! The two of you have never met! Nobody in Credia has ever seen him!" She pulled Sage into an embrace, comforting herself.
Sage returned the embrace. Katherine was her closest friend. Her growing anxiety was understood. After all, she was found unexpectedly in the forest instead of dead in the frozen lake, the letter was sent by beings who were clearly at odds....
The fire dragons desired that she wed the ice dragon so that she could assassinate him simultaneously and without even having met her, the ice dragon desired to wed her promptly.
Was he aware of the fire dragon's plans?
She was the only fire mage known to exist, which was why all of these things were happening!! It was frustrating! It was a curse!
"All that matters is that I am getting married tomorrow night. Everything else is irrelevant." Whispering, Sage pulled away from the hug and gave Katherine a subdued scowl.
"I will accompany you!" Katherine suddenly snatched Sage by the shoulders, startling her. "To ensure that I am always with you, you can simply claim that I am your maid."
Sage blinked quickly, her mind processing her friend's abrupt statement. "It is dangerous, I..."
"Yes, it is dangerous, which is why I am accompanying you." Katherine interrupted, scowling sharply.
Sage realized her words would have no impact on Katherine.
So, with a dejected sigh, she said, "Okay," making Katherine smile broadly.
"Now that this has been resolved, I am curious." Darren locked his gaze on Sage, rising to his feet. "Are you truly getting married?" He just wanted to be sure.
"Yes," Sage answered hesitantly, trying not to show any emotion on her face and voice.
"Yes." She added with a stern nod.
Darren took a deep breath, rubbing his brow with an exasperated sigh. "I.." his heart tightened.
Katherine saw his lips quiver.
"I need some alone time." Sage muttered, approaching her bed solemnly.
Darren watched Sage until she laid down on her bed and covered herself with a blanket. His lips were still trembling when Katherine took hold of his arm.
"She wants some alone time. We should leave." Whispering to him, Katherine drew him from the room and shut the door.
Sage closed her eyes, gasping for breath, and her mind instantly returned to the white-haired man from the frozen lake.
Her eyes snapped open. "He...!"
Letting out a breath, she sat down and placed her hand on her chest, feeling it rise and fall.
"He could speak!" She was stunned. "Did he really save me?" She questioned, snagging her fingers through her hair. "But he vanished!"
Sage was still recovering from her near-drowning experience. And thinking of the wedding that was scheduled for tomorrow... she could barely blink.
Every time the dragons attempted to take Credia, she had always met them head-on. She had seen mages like herself and helpless humans being killed while defending their homes and loved ones.
Occasionally, the dragons would carry out vicious abductions...
Sage had always wondered if she was to blame for their troubles; since she was the last fire mage remaining. Maybe the dragons were using the invasion of Credia as an excuse to find and kill her.
She curled herself, clutching her duvet, hoping to fall asleep.
Before long, snow started to fall, the night got colder, and a chilly whistling wind drizzled into her chamber with dim serenity.
"Hmm?" Sage pushed herself out of her bed, to the window grasping the drapes when she noticed a tall silhouette in the garden.
"Huh?!" She narrowed her eyes to catch a clear view of the person. Her jaw dropped as she saw him. He emerged from the darkness.
"Who... who are you?" Her face paled.
His long white hair billowed majestically in the wind, his icy blue eyes fixed intently on her. There was not a single emotion on his face. What was happening? He was staring at her just like... the lake.
Her spine went numb with cold.
"Fa..." She turned away and started to run for her door, intending to hurry outside and call her father. But she stopped when her palm touched the knob.
"No!" Reluctantly, she hurried back to the window to catch a glimpse of him, but... he was. Gone.