the middle of war. “I’m afraid I’m going to need some more explanation here. How can this world be in the middle of a war? I haven’t heard of anyone fighting or dying.”
“It’s not that kind of war!” Sara snapped. “This war is underground, and subtle!”
“A subtle war? Now that’s new.” Olivia crossed her arms and looked towards Goran. “Start from the beginning. I just came to this world, and all I know is that it’s covered in snow. I know it’s ruled by a Queen who has a million identical castles, and also that she is in possession of some vital gems known as the Hearts Under Ice. I need to understand the stuff in between all of this.”
“Very well. You do deserve an explanation. A long time ago, this world wasn’t as peaceful as it is now. Maybe our Queen was nice before, but she isn’t so much anymore. The Queen feared being overthrown, so she panicked and hid her most precious gems, the Hearts Under Ice, in a place where no one could find them. She knew that if they fell into the wrong hands, our whole world would be destroyed. Unfortunately for us, she became more and more paranoid and suspicious of everything. Her emotions were always on a high, so we ended up with snow and ice all year long. A huge winter storm swept through the land and left several homes destroyed. People died, either of starvation or from the cold. If that wasn’t bad enough, her troops stormed through villages and terrorized everyone. That led to more death and destruction. War broke out in our world, and that’s around the time our group formed,” Goran explained. “We were scared of what was happening.”
“If the Queen is so evil, why haven’t people stopped her? Why hasn’t anyone tried to confront her about the Hearts Under Ice?”
“That is easier said than done. The Queen has always been very rigid with her rules, and getting face to face with her would be difficult. Not to mention, she does have the ability to freeze anything she wishes. She has killed people in this way who have opposed her in the past,” Ze explained. “The Hearts Under Ice hold the power to heal the world, which is why we’ve been after it. However, no one has been able to thaw them out, or even see them with their own eyes. We’ve got an idea of what they look like, but it’s not enough. We need them if we want to get the world back in balance.”
“I see,” she mumbled. It didn’t help that she was getting so many different sides to this story. Neither party had hurt her, but she knew deep down that she really couldn’t trust anyone. All she wanted was to get Donnie out of here. “How much longer will it take to get there?”
“Judging by how clear the roads are, probably another fifteen minutes,” Sara said. “When we get there, you’d better hang back. You have no idea what the Queen has in store.”
“What?” Olivia repeated, shaking her head. “No! No, I can’t hang back! We’re talking about my boy—my friend here! He’s not going to go with you! He definitely doesn’t trust you. It would be better if I was there. At least then you’ll have a chance of convincing him to cooperate.”
The four of them looked at each other, and Mina shrugged. “She does have a point. I think we can bring her along, just for a little bit.”
“Yes, he would probably approach her before he approaches us.” Ze agreed. “All right, Olivia. You can come along, but do not try to do anything funny. The Queen is not a forgiving person. Stick by us, and things will go smoothly.”
“You got it,” Olivia agreed. Her heart was pounding. She didn’t trust them. Still, she could not afford to toy with them. She needed to be on their side, at least for now. The longer she hung around them, the more she found out, and the better prepared she became for whatever lay ahead. The only person she could trust in this world was Donnie, and she needed to find him.
Chapter Twenty-seven
The remainder of the ride to the castles had been quiet and smooth. Olivia stayed on the Brotherhood’s good side and listened to everything they said. Once in a while, if they asked for it, she would throw in her opinion. Bit by bit, she was collecting information on them. She knew