Children of Night and Snow

70. Welcome Home

"Freya!" I heard my name from all sides and before I knew it, I was surrounded by seven people checking on me. I was exhausted and all I could think of was that I just wanted to fall asleep right there and then. I didn't care that the ground beneath me was frozen solid. In fact, the cold provided a great relief for my back which I could only assume were torn to shreds right now. But that was a reality I wasn't ready to face and deal with yet.

"Did I do it? Did I make it through in time?" I asked, my voice hoarse from pain and exhaustion. I tried to focus on familiar faces, praying that they were real and not just another illusion of that cruel, cruel maze. Because I couldn't handle facing another one of those. It was hard enough to watch Olivia and Sheyla hold my hand only to turn into those living skeletons. Or to witness Connor and Lucia turn to dust when I reached to hug them with relief that I found at least some of my friends in that hell. I couldn't bear the thought this would happen again.

"Yes, you did. We're safe now, Freya! We made it into Midnight City," Lucia was practically squealing. Her face showed signs of heavy bruising. Clearly, I wasn't the only one who had to fight to get out.

"Good, good. Just... be here when I wake up, please," I whispered in response. I could feel myself tear up as a wave of relief hit me like an oncoming freight train. In the maze, the illusions never spoke. Hearing Lucia speak meant that this must have been real. And even if this was an illusion, I probably wouldn't wake up anyway.

"No, no, no, don't fall asleep now. You gotta see this," Nolan was the one to speak now. He was by my side in a second, gently lending me support so I could get up.

"Hey. I found you," I said, my voice laced with happiness and exhaustion as I took his hand and let him pull me up. My legs shook as I tried to steady myself. How long has it been since I slept? How long since I last stopped moving? Adrenaline was leaving my body fast, taking the last remnants of energy I may have had.

"Yeah, you did," he returned my smile.

"Careful Nolan, her back," Connor warned him before he could grab my waist and touch my torn skin. Though I doubted I'd feel it in my state, I was still grateful for his concern.

"Look Freya, this is our new home," Nolan whispered to me, when he finally managed to find a way to hold me up and give me enough support for me to walk a few steps forward. I looked up to his face, once again checking that he was real, that I really was back in his arms. And then I turned to see what he was showing me, what he himself was now staring at.

Midnight City has always been a mythical place, the capital of the werewolf World, home to the Ice King and Queen. It was a place we would learn about at school, hidden away under the tallest mountain of Winterlands, a long frozen volcano. There was a beautiful palace made of ice for the royalty and the streets looked like winter wonderland. At least that's how the drawings back in Moonvalley would portray it. But last time anyone from the Southern continent had seen the city was thousands of years ago. Not only were the actual records of what it looked like long lost, but the World was far more advanced now. And the city I remembered from the history books had nothing on what I was seeing now.

The giant modern city lay nested between three obsidian mountain giants, one of which had a whole palace carved into it, a beautiful yet terrifying showcase of the power of royalty. The palace overlooked a seemingly endless amount of various modern buildings, from shopping malls, high rise offices and apartments to fancy townhouses. There was no snow in the streets which were busy with life. And above it all, high up on the sky, northern lights shone with many colors. It was so beyond anything I've ever seen. As if this place didn't even belong to this World. How many wolves lived here exactly? How many different packs coexisted at this place? It must have been impossible to count.

"Wow," I managed to say. We were now standing on a broken down road on one of the mountains above the city, looking through an archway which was likely created millenia ago as our surroundings seemed to be from a very different time compared to the modern buildings below.

"I know. It's amazing," Demi spoke next to us.

"We have to go, they are waiting on us," Devan broke our little moment before I could respond.

"Who is?" I asked.

"The general and rest of the recruits. Let me carry you," replied Nolan. I wanted to protest and tell him I could walk on my own, but my body was of a different opinion and so I just leaned into him and let him carry me bridal style to wherever we were supposed to go while I wondered what would happen now. And most importantly, where and when would I be allowed to rest.

"Recruits, congratulations! You have now officially passed your initiation into Midnight Army. This means you will spend the next four decades amongst the elite of our nation. If you live that long, that is. In front of you is your contract and your citizenship in one. Once you sign, you are free to go. You can request military housing if you don't have resources to buy or rent your own place just yet. Or you are free to find your own place to stay elsewhere. Your official start day will be on the twenty-second, the day after Summer Solstice. Until then you have time to recover and get settled. Any questions?" The general said and the room was silent in response.

"Good. I will see you in ten days," he added, when nobody asked anything and then left the room. I scanned through the contract on the table in front of me. It said what I already knew, forty years of my life in exchange for a home. It wasn't what I imagined my life would be someday. Not even close. But it offered stability and security I pretty much gave up on, when I was exiled nearly a year ago. The pay was much higher than I anticipated as well. I supposed a life of constant violence did require a solid compensation. Lastly it mentioned that I would be assigned to one of the units before my first official day. I made a mental note to ask about that later as I finally finished reading and scribbled my signature on the bottom. There was no way out now.

"Where do we go now?" I asked Nolan while I handed my contract to the secretary, who in return sealed my copy in an envelope and handed it back.

"Home," he winked at me mischievously, but before I could question him further he picked me up again and walked out of the room to where Aaron and Az were waiting outside. Then we all walked down the road and took multiple sets of steps until we reached the street level, where two cars were waiting for us. Demi, Lucia, Connor and Aaron took the first car, while Nolan, Devan, Az and I took the other.

"We took all the money we managed to save from our last heist in Duskfall and bought a house. It's nothing fancy, but it's ours," explained Az once we all got in and the driver got on the road.

"As long as it has a shower and a place to rest, it's luxurious enough for me," I replied leaning on Nolan's shoulder. I didn't even know if he was okay with it, but since he didn't push me away, I didn't tempt my luck by asking. My head was way too heavy to stay upright. Still, I did my best to stay awake because I knew that once I fell asleep, there would be no waking me up for at least a day.

As we were passing the busy streets, I admired the beauty and modernity of my new home. While I've heard of cities like this in the Summerlands, I've never gotten to see one for myself before. Moonvalley was but a small village compared to this. Though unlike in Winterlands, we had all the modern things in the South despite not living in a large city. This didn't seem to be the case here, considering how very different life was in Duskfall. It made me realize that there was still so much I didn't know about this land. So much I had to learn.

The car came to a stop after what seemed like forever, but in reality was probably about a forty minute drive. We were now on a calm residential street. The air was cold, but there was heat coming from the ground below, which caused all the snow to melt before it even landed. I made a mental note to ask about the mechanics of that later.

"Here we are. Welcome home everyone!" Aaron exclaimed and we all looked at him in shock. Well, all of us but Az. Was this what they called "nothing fancy"?