The War for Eventyr

24 | Melted Ice

The moon hung over the ice as Skadi entered her home. Each step down the rocky cliffside had been slick and perilous, the skies crying down around her. She'd long since wiped away her own tears, replacing her sadness with a frozen determination.

Kleng's den quickly came into sight. The Shadow Skulk would have to act fast to set up an ambush for the naive Leafborn leaders. Finally, they would conquer them, and they would gain the edge they needed to win the war. There was no going back.

Before she reached the tunnel, two blue-furred pelts peeked out. The queen faced her son with a scowl, her tail sweeping the air in impatience. "When will I see results, Kleng?" she snapped. "I want proof that your harebrained plan is working, that Skadi hasn't just abandoned us. I want the Leafborn conquered, begging for our mercy. I want it now."

Kleng started to speak, his muzzle twisted and searching for an excuse. Skadi made up the space between them with a couple bounds, landing in the snow before their paws with a flurry of ice. The queen whipped her muzzle around, nearly jumping from her fur.

"Skadi. There you are." Her gaze narrowed. "Why are you here? Do you have something to report?" Then she eyed her up and down, a familiar judging gaze scrunching her muzzle. "Did you mess up the plan? Surely you didn't fail us. Not again."

Skadi resisted the urge to glare at her brother. He hadn't told her that their mother was coming; it was likely that she'd made the visit unannounced. Kleng met her eyes with a silent apology, but she simply lowered her shoulders in a bow. She swallowed before she faced the queen.

"Yes, your majesty." The words slipped through her muzzle on instinct, before she realized her mistake––and the glinting fangs of the queen. "I–I mean, no. I didn't mess up," she stuttered. "Yes, I have something to report. The Leafborn have fallen perfectly into our trap."

"Trap?" she repeated. Kleng apparently hadn't yet had time to fill her in on everything.

"Yes." She dipped her muzzle. "I gained their leaders' trust, and then I gave them a plan of attack to use against us. Only, it will end with them defeated," Skadi explained, pausing to take an anxious breath. "With all their forces condensed into a single spot, they'll be an easy target, and it'll be even easier for us to sneak in the other way and round up any stragglers."

The queen furrowed her brows. "What other way?"

Skadi thought back to the conversation she'd had with the clay-furred elder. When she was trying to tell him the plan, he kept interjecting with something about a land bridge across the fjord. The entrance was hidden in a mountain valley, hard for either skulk to find without knowing exactly where it was. She'd shot the idea down, but only after gaining enough information to piece together her own plan. She assured him––Thridi––that it wasn't a good idea, and she kept the skulk on track to attack from the rocky ridgeline. A dangerous place to fight, but not as much for the small and spry Shadowborn warriors.

"We'll use it to slip in after their strongest forces have left for battle. The weak ones will be left scattered in their territory. The foxes on guard are hardly a concern." Skadi found the queen's glare softening. A hint of joy even curled her lip. "I even know where some of their kits are kept," she told her, though the words churned in her belly. She hated to say it, but this was war after all. They had to take advantage of everything. "They'll be alone and helpless. We can use them as leverage if anything goes wrong."

"Did my sister actually do something right?" A sneering voice appeared behind her, and she turned to face Karina. She was surprised the vixen was out in the rain, always convinced that it would wash the sheen from her fur.

Skadi ignored her. Karina joined the queen's side, and their gazes met with a small nod of approval. "Well done, Skadi," her mother said. But the approval only sank in her stomach. She hadn't done anything well, anything but lying. She wasn't even proud of herself.