Alvina and Quinn have never been further apart, but their connection to the spirits might be what reconnects them again.
***
Quinn av Stál is slowly losing his mind. He's sure of that, and the only thing keeping him together is his fiancé Islo Charr...
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Getting through the mountain pass was a lot easier than what I thought it would be. And then we were finally in Paamut. There wasn't as much snow here and it was like it was much warmer too, despite it being full-blown winter here.
"We're getting a car," Dy said as we made it to the first border village. "And uh... Yeah, we're going to steal it."
"Dy!" I growled and frowned up at her. "We're not stealing someone's car!" "Do you wanna walk all the way to Aatskina?"
"No but-"
"We don't have any money, Al. We'll just send the car back once we make it to Aatskina. Okay?"
I rolled my eyes and kept walking. The village was one of those small cute ones on the side of the mountain. Black little houses with grass roofs. I loved those. If I could live anywhere and not choose the stronghold, a little village like this would be ideal. It was so quiet too.
Eerily quiet.
"Where is everyone?" Barr asked and scratched the back of his head.
"I have no idea," Dy murmured and frowned. She walked up to a house and knocked on the door. It popped open and creaked loudly. She looked inside before shrugging back at us. She closed the door again and buried her hands in her pockets.
"There's something off about this," I said. "Why would a whole village just leave?"
"If there was a risk. Like if the weather threatened to keep them blocked from the bigger cities and supplies. Or, in case of war."
I felt blood drain from my face. "War?"
Dy held up a finger and went back to the house. She was inside for a moment before she returned with a radio in tow. "If there's a war, there would be something on the radio about it. Or if there was a natural disaster." She turned the knob and the radio slowly tuned itself in on the station.
"... Announcement. Vacate your homes and make your way towards the big cities. Paasmut and Naasmut will take in any refugees from Aatskina and the villages of Paamut."
We all widened our eyes, staring at the radio.
"This is a national emergency announcement..."
Dy turned on the knob on the radio, changing the station. Three others had the same message playing on a loop.
The fourth had Quinn.
"I have declared war on the Aatskina tribe and the Paamut tribe for conspiring to assassinate me, and for succeeding in assassinating my sister, Queen Alvina av Stál. It is with a heavy heart we as a nation will have to fight our brothers and sisters in the mountain tribes, but with the help of our good friends from Bursaaq and Skyen, we will succeed. We will quash the rebellion and bring the rebels to justice. My sister's murderers will be brought to justice. Thank you. May the spirits bless us all."
