Chapter 95: Dining With The Frost Walkers
After touring the elaborate showpieces and preserved trophies, Ashlynn and the others were brought to an elegant spiraling staircase formed of solid ice. The staircase was guarded by four Frostwalkers at the bottom and four more at the top, each of them wearing brightly polished steel breastplates over a coat of shining silvery mail.
Unlike the troublemakers who followed Torsten at the welcoming ceremony outside the gates, these men radiated the calm stability of experienced soldiers and the halberds in their hands radiated an icy menace as wisps of frosty air streamed from the heavy blades.
"Little lord Hauke," one of the men said, touching the tips of his claws to his throat in salute. "Your father and the others await you and our guests upstairs."
"Thank you, Ernst," Hauke said before extending an arm to Ashlynn. "The steps may be slick if you’re not accustomed to walking on ice."
"I’m sure she won’t stumble," Nyrielle said smoothly, sliding in beside Ashlynn and wrapping an arm around her waist. "Shall we, my darling?"
"I’m in your hands," Ashlynn said, her face heating slightly in the chill air. At this point, she’d come to expect Nyrielle to stake her claim whenever they were around someone new. She’d done it when Ashlynn introduced her to Ollie and when she’d met Marcell for the first time. Now it seemed that her introduction to the ruler of the Frost Walkers would also occur in Nyrielle’s embrace.
If Nyrielle was only doing it to claim her as property, Ashlynn might have objected but even though the vampire’s hands could wander inappropriately at times, she never made Ashlynn feel like she was an object. Rather, she felt comforted and treasured, and Nyrielle’s actions felt more cute than controlling.
At the top of the stairs, through an icy arched doorway carved to resemble two Frost Walkers crossing horns, Ashlynn got her first glimpse of Lord Ritchel’s grand hall. Unlike the sad little feast Owain had hosted in the Summer Villa or her more private evenings dining with Nyrielle and a few of her handpicked advisors, the Frost Walkers had filled the vast space with hundreds of guests.
As they entered the grand hall itself, Ashlynn’s eyes widened in awe. The sheer scale of the room dwarfed anything she had seen in human castles, including the great hall of Blackwell Castle. Massive ice pillars stretched towards a vaulted ceiling that at first glance, was completely open to the night sky.