The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 263: Tree of Ice

Chapter 263: Tree of Ice

The dragon answered her touch with a warm welcome as it tilted its head toward her palm to show its acceptance of her touch and it made Annalise feel a warmth deep inside her heart despite just how cold everything around her was.

Valerius was standing right behind her and she could feel just how proud and happy he was to see her and Eirwen getting acquainted and accepting each other’s presence and importance in his life.

She patted the dragon as if it was a baby and found it responding with a little shake of its huge head. As she was now a lot calmer and more focused, she finally felt the immense ice power that the dragon in front of her was holding inside it.

"Let’s get going." Valerius stated from behind her which made her turn to look at him with arched eyebrows as she questioned - "Where?"

"The place I wanted to show you..." Valerius answered as a matter of fact but it only made Annalise more puzzled. "I thought this is the place you wanted to show me." She said while looking at Eirwen for help but the ice dragon just shook its head as if to tell her that she guessed it wrong.

A chuckle escaped Valerius’ lips as he too shook his head before suddenly placing his hands on either side of her waist as he moved to stand right behind her. His breath fanned her ear as he whispered, "Don’t scream."

Annalise didn’t get the chance to either process the meaning of his words or even ask for more clarification before she found herself being lifted. A little cry of surprise was out of her mouth before she could help it and this made her slap both her hands over her mouth as if to stop herself from making another sound.

Her hands didn’t stay covering her mouth for too long as just in a couple of seconds, she was placing them against the dragon’s spine to find a balance and keep herself from falling.

Valerius was settling behind her in no time and his arms were immediately around her, surrounding her with his protection and air that took away the cold and made her feel warm.

"You could have given me a warning." Annalise couldn’t refrain from complaining as she tried not to cry out again when the ice dragon suddenly started moving.

"I did," Valerius responded in his defense and Annalise had to shut her half-opened mouth when she realized that he was not lying, he did warn her but not in the way she would have appreciated.

"Eirwen, let’s go, or we will be late," Valerius commanded the dragon who immediately spread out its huge wings and took off without any warning.

Annalise almost felt her heart bursting out of her chest but soon felt calm and safe when Valerius tightened his arms around her and placed his face in the crook of her neck. Their bond was filled with his assurance and promise to keep her safe and it made her relax.

"Neither I nor Eirwen will ever let you fall, Love," Valerius stated the words like a lifetime promise as he placed the softest kiss possible against her temple.

Annalise let out a small sigh as she completely relaxed her body against her husband’s chest and turned her attention to the scenery in front. They weren’t flying too high which allowed her to have a proper look at the beauty of the Midnight Realm.

"I know." She finally spoke loud enough for both Valerius and Eirwen to hear, though she knew that the two of them would have heard her clearly even if she started whispering. "I just can’t help it..."

"You will get used to it," Valerius told her and she almost refused to ever ride a dragon again in her life but stopped at the very last moment. Her gaze shifted at Eirwen and as if it sensed her attention, it turned to look at her with a warm and hopeful look in its icy blue eyes.

A smile spilled on her lips as she nodded her head while letting out a small sigh at the very same moment. "Alright. I will wait for that day to come."

The instant happiness and relief that filled Valerius reached her too through their newly completed bond and she even felt a similar feeling coming from Eirwen which made her realize that she made the right choice despite her fear of heights.

They flew past the fields, forests, and even a lake, making Annalise soon realize that they were heading in the opposite direction from the Capital City of the Midnight Realm.

It took only a couple of minutes before the dragon was landing on a really high cliff that was completely barren other than a huge tree standing at its very edge. Valerius was the first one to jump down before he helped Annalise.

The ground was either covered in grass or gravel and there was no wind present there despite the height. The entire Capital City could be seen from the top of the cliff and at a distance, there was an outline of two more cities nearby along with long meadows, fields, forests, lakes, and even mountains.

The royal palace was standing high on the peak and the other three palaces that belonged to the Princes were also clearly visible. But instead of all these, the thing that had all of Annalise’s attention was the huge tree that looked very old but also very powerful just at a mere glance.

She took a couple of steps closer to the tree but made sure not to get too close to it. Her eyes took in every little detail from the very top to the very bottom of the tree. Its huge trunk was pure white and tangled up in such an intricate way that it looked both beautiful and painful at the very same time. Its branches were spread around but most of the tree’s upper part was bending toward the other side of the cliff. Its leaves were so white that they almost looked as if made of ice.

The tree was undoubtedly very old and the aura around it screamed power that was even greater than what Eirwen and Valerius carried in them. The last thing that made this particular tree different from every other tree present in the four realms was the crystal that was buried in the very center of the most intricate pattern of the trunk, almost hidden from prying eyes.

"It’s the Ice core."

Annalise stated as she turned around to look at Valerius who had been silently standing next to Eirwen while both of them watched her taking her time to study the tree.

She returned to his side and the man immediately wrapped his hand around her waist as he pulled her closer to him. "You are right. It’s the very core of the ice element and has been here ever since the four realms were created and the elements came into existence. This is the place where my ice core was born and also the source of Eirwen and his ancestors’ birthplace."

Listening to Valerius’ explanation about the tree, she could tell why it was his favorite place in the entire world. "Thank you for bringing me here." She whispered as she turned her face to look at him and show him just how grateful she was for his trust in her.

Valerius patted the back of her head softly as he admitted, "You are the only person other than the ice element bearers’ lineage who has seen the tree of Ice for real."

It took Annalise quite a couple of long moments to find any word to say in response and it turned out to be a question - "Not even your family?" The question was kind of stupid considering he just made it clear that only those who carry ice element as their core has been fortunate enough to witness the Tree of Ice, she still found it quite hard to believe that she was the only exception.

She watched Valerius shaking his head in response to her question before he spoke, "My father was the previous Winter King, so other than him, no one from my family has ever been here... until today."

The warm look that he gave her made Annalise feel just as loved as the meaning behind his last two words did... she was his family too.

Taking in a deep breath, she turned her attention toward the tree only for her gaze to land on the beautiful scenery on the horizon as the sky changed its color at the rise of the sun. Golden mixed with orange, and red filled the view as the first rays of daylight graced the Midnight Realm.

Valerius moved to place a kiss on the crown of her head before he whispered, "Welcome to my world, My Queen."

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.