Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Icy winds passed over the ice island of Barafu, swirling the loose powdery snow. Through the dense clouds that brought more snow, the sun tried to fight its way to warm the land at least a little. In fact, it managed to do so, and the shallow light made the snow crystals glisten, making it look as if diamonds were flying across the barren scree.

The mountains and hills were buried under a thick blanket of snow and ice, giving no hint of what the landscape looked like without the white mantle. There was virtually no one who had ever seen it without the white splendor.

Massive glaciers made their way between some mountains that were frozen even in summer, showing their brilliant blue when warmed by the sun's golden rays. Some parts of the island consisted of pure ice, on which one could slip and injure oneself.

Impatiently, a tall man rubbed his hands and rocked back and forth on his feet as he waited for his visitor to arrive. The slender body was wrapped in a thick fur coat, and his feet were in warm, lined boots. To keep his hands from getting too cold, he had buried them in his coat pockets.

Nevertheless, he could not help but catch the few rays of sunlight with his face. Although they were very light, he could feel the warmth they brought. These moments were rare, and he should enjoy them while he could, even if the light from the reflection in the ice burned his eyes a lot.

Rei Zeki had heard what the new woman, who was to arrive in a few minutes, was like. At least, if he could believe the words of the stone dragon. However, Rei wanted to see for himself and couldn't wait to see what the woman looked like.

It was the first time a woman would be on his island. Until now, he had only heard rumors about it and had seen one once as a child. But then he had become a guard and had taken on an honorable task that forbade him from experiencing distractions from women.

This time, however, he had been chosen to subdue this one. As a guard, he could be adamant, and she seemed to need that. The idea of her dancing on the others' noses was kind of fun.

It certainly wouldn't be boring with her. Rei couldn't really complain about not having enough variety with the other men and their idiosyncrasies that sometimes led to problems. Still, such a woman was certainly something else.

I wonder how she would fit in if she understood that he would not be led around by the nose? He couldn't afford to since he would be stripped of his post if he allowed himself to be distracted. He would probably have to read her the riot act to get her to behave, but that would not be a problem either. He already had enough experience in educating.

Lost in thought, the man stared around and let his blue eyes glide over the cloudy sky. The sun had already hidden behind the dark clouds again since it could not fight it.

Where was she?

Slowly, he lost patience and snorted. Immediately, white clouds formed in front of his nose and rose before being swept away by the wind.

Then, finally, the expected and longed-for shadow appeared in the air.

A giant, gray dragon pushed its way through the clouds and headed toward them. From its claws hung a large basket, which the stone dragon simply dropped into the snow in front of Rei. It immediately kicked up dust, and when it settled down again, Rei expected the person in it to get out. However, nothing happened.

When he frowned and moved closer to see what was going on, he found a young woman wrapped in thick clothing. It could also be seen that her arms and legs were bound, and she was wearing a gag. At the same time, her gray, broken hair did not exactly testify to strength. In fact, she looked rather sick.

This was supposed to be the untamable woman? It was ridiculous that they couldn't get along with her. The thought made him snort contemptuously.

With raised eyebrows, wiping the fine snow from his blue hair, he bent down and reached for the woman to pull her out of the basket. He managed to do so with ease.

Rei wanted her to stand and walk herself. Therefore, with nimble fingers, he loosened the shackles and straightened up.

Only then did he take a closer look at the woman. However, not very much could be seen because the thick clothing enveloped her.

Only her grayish face and the brown, but somehow still gray eyes were visible.

Rei eyed her more intently and again noticed that she looked very unhealthy. Was she in the middle of a transformation right now? He had thought that women were relatively weak during the change and usually died in the process. How was it then that she was not even through the transformation yet and was already considered dangerous? Why was she here? He had never put a woman through the change and had no practical experience. They certainly wouldn't be pleased if she didn't make it either.

Slightly he shook his head. Basically, it didn't matter either. He was supposed to finish the transformation apparently and educate her. Good thing he knew what to do in theory. So far, he had not yet transformed a woman, but he would manage. Although her body appeared weak, her gaze was fixed directly on him, showing how stubborn she was.

Not exactly gently, he removed the gag from her mouth, and the woman could feel the icy wind filling her lungs, threatening to freeze them from the inside out. She wouldn't be able to keep this up for long without protection.

"Your name?" he asked harshly and coldly. Her hands he left tied since he could not trust her. There was only one on this island who was free, and that was him.

"Who wants to know?" she asked back, feeling her throat ache with cold. This really wasn't a nice place. Why had they brought her here? Wasn't it enough that she couldn't escape from a flying island anyway?

Rei's eyes narrowed to slits, and scrutinizingly he looked at her. "I. Answer me, or I'll punish you," he spoke in an arrogant voice. At that, white clouds formed between them.

These got blown into her face, and they laid there as a fine layer of ice on her skin.

Although it hurt her, she tried not to let it show. Instead, she continued to stare at him stubbornly. "Quinn," she finally said. It seemed that she had decided for herself that such a conversation would do her no good. Besides, she was cold and hoped to get to the warm.

"There you go," he replied with a satisfied look on his face before his hand grabbed her hard, and he took her towards the castle.

Gray walls that stood out against the white, blinding snow looked like an eyesore on the island. Icy steps led up to the great gate. Nothing here seemed cozy or inviting.

Although the prospect of getting into the warmth should have pleased Quinn, the surroundings worried her. It was so cold that it would be hard to survive out here. How was she supposed to run away like this?

Just the cold was unbearable, and Quinn could see that even the man's blue hair was frozen. Still, he seemed to be alive here. He definitely had better cards than she did with that.

She could feel the strength he was mustering, and because she was still tied up, she decided to use a different tactic. "You're hurting me," she said politely but also played whinily. Basically, the pain wasn't that bad, but together with the cold, it was annoying.

Mercilessly, he pushed her in front of him but made sure that she did not fall up the stairs. He did not want to hurt her unnecessarily. There were other ways to tame disobedient people.

He did not respond to her tactics. Many newcomers tried to get his sympathy.

Rei ignored their words and finally opened the heavy iron door he had to push against. It looked easy, but Quinn could not have guessed how much strength it would take.

Immediately, warmth hit them as the wind simply pushed them into the masonry with all its might.

Quinn stumbled forward in surprise and thus past Rei, as she had not expected it. Then her foot caught on a carpet, and she lost her balance. Knowing she was about to kiss the floor, she closed her eyes.

Thanks to his firm grip, she stopped halfway in the air and didn't fall. "Open your eyes and watch where you're going," he drove at the young woman.

He closed the iron door with his foot, and the heat now enveloped her body, making it really hot under the thick coats.

His blue hair was already thawing, letting drops of water run down his skin.

Quinn's heart was pounding hard, and the sudden heat was almost bothering her more than the cold. "It's so hot," she complained in a panting voice. She could feel herself getting dizzy and sweat running down her forehead.

Calmly, Rei removed her coat, revealing a lean, muscular body. One that clearly indicated he was strong.

His blue uniform, connected at the hip with a white belt, matched his blue hair very well. Glossy and velvety, they glistened in the light of the brightly lit hall.

"I can take you out again," he said with a shrug, giving her a choice. If she thought she could play with him, she was wrong.

However, Quinn had no intention of playing at all. The dizziness wasn't lessening, and she was finding it increasingly difficult to catch her breath. Her heartbeat accelerated more and more, and she only managed to cast a help-seeking glance at Rei before her eyes went black and she slumped down.