Chapter 264: Ice Sculpture
"Is it time for the arrival of winter?" Annalise asked as she watched Valerius activate the ice core. The immediate shift in the atmosphere also didn’t go unnoticed by her. At this point, it was more than clear that she could sense the energy shift around her and the presence of various elements.
"Come here," Valerius said instead of directly answering her question as he turned toward her with his hand stretched out for her to accept.
Annalise switched her attention between her husband and the tree before she finally took a step forward, eventually making her way to Valerius and accepting his waiting hand.
The Crown Prince of the Midnight Realm and the heir of Ice, meaning the soon-to-be Winter King, made her step closer to the tree before he pointed at the ice core and made her notice the blue and silvery patterns that had started forming around it.
"It takes around a week for these patterns to cover this entire tree from the very top to the very bottom of its roots. Once this period of one week will pass, winter will finally arrive in the Midnight Realm before slowly spreading across the rest of the realms and empires two weeks after that. We still have around a month back at the castle to enjoy the ending of autumn."
Annalise nodded her head in understanding, making plans in her head to spend more time outside in the sun once she would return to the castle, a place she had come to love as her home over the past couple of months.
The two of them sat there under the tree for a while as they enjoyed the beautiful morning view and the slight chilliness in the atmosphere before it was finally time for them to return to the palace.
"Let’s go on a short ride before we return to the palace," Valerius told her after both of them were settled on Eirwen’s back who was already spreading its wings to launch into the air.
Annalise wanted to ask what he meant by a short ride but her words turned into a bone-chilling scream when the dragon jumped down the cliff instead of taking off into the sky. It was nothing less than a miracle that she was still alive after that horrifying experience.