I began to move backward and now Cross and I had our back against one another.
I stared at the rink and another crack split across it.
The cracks began to spread and the sound echoed beneath our feet until it seemed like the entire frozen battlefield was breaking apart.
Cross’s eyes immediately shifted from my arm to the ice below.
His expression hardened.
“Your blood must have awakened the Gogos beneath the rink.”
My heart dropped.
“What?”
The cracks spread faster and long jagged lines raced beneath the ice like lightning, stretching in every direction.
The frozen battlefield trembled violently.
Beneath the clear ice, I saw movement.
One, two and dozens of frozen bodies twitched.
The soldiers beneath the rink were moving.
Cross grabbed my hand.
“We need to hurry to the Snow Mountain.”
His voice remained calm, but the grip on my hand tightened.
He had barely taken one step when the entire side of the rink exploded.
Ice shot into the air like shattered glass and a powerful blast slammed into us.
I screamed as the force threw me backward.
The world spun around me and my body rolled across the ice before finally coming to a painful stop.
Everything around me rang.
For a second, I couldn’t hear anything except the pounding of my own heartbeat.
I carefully turned towards Cross but he wasn’t beside me.
Unlike me, he hadn’t been thrown far.
He remained standing, his boots digging into the ice as though the explosion hadn’t been strong enough to move him.
The moment he saw me on the ground, his face changed.
“Imogen!”
He sprinted toward me, before he could reach me, another crack was heard and the ice split open between us.
A massive wall of frozen shards erupted into the air and something reached out from beneath the rink.
One frozen hand burst through the ice, then another.
Cracks spread across ancient armor as bodies forced themselves upward.
Frost clung to their empty faces and Ice shattered from their shoulders.
Their joints snapped loudly as though their bodies were remembering how to move after centuries.
One slowly lifted its head and two hollow blue lights opened where eyes should have been.
Soon dozens were climbing from beneath the frozen battlefield.
One turned toward me, then another.
Within seconds, every single one of them was looking at me.
My legs refused to move.
“Cross.” I called out.
Panic tightened around my chest.
The nearest Gogo suddenly rushed towards me before it could reach me, Cross appeared between us and held it’s neck.
The Gogo struggled to get free and in a second, Cross crushed him like a tiny ant and he faded into hundreds of icy fragments.
Two more rushed him at once.
Cross ducked beneath one blade, caught the other by the throat and slammed both into the ice.
They shattered into frozen pieces before they could even touch him.
More hands burst through the ice.
One became five.
Five became twenty.
No matter how many Cross destroyed, more kept climbing out of the rink and they weren’t attacking one at a time anymore, they were surrounding him.
The Gogos didn’t stop, another one charged from behind.
Cross spun, driving his elbow into its chest before swinging his neck across its neck.
A third rushed toward him with a spear.
Cross caught the weapon with one hand, twisted it free and drove the butt of the spear into the creature’s face before kicking it backward into two others.
The impact sent all three crashing across the rink, but more kept coming.
They climbed out of the broken ice endlessly and more hands clawed their way toward the surface.
Cross stepped backward until he stood directly in front of me.
His body became a shield between me and the monsters and without saying a word, he pushed me farther behind him with one hand.
Not one Gogo reached me.
Their claws scraped against his coat and blades clashed against his skin but nothing happened to him.
He never looked back.
He only kept protecting me.
One Gogo swung a frozen axe toward my head.
Cross caught my waist and pulled me behind him just before the weapon struck the ice where I had been standing.
The rink exploded beneath the impact.
The Gogos kept coming and Cross blocked every attack without letting a single one reach me.
“Run toward the mountain.” His voice cut through the chaos.
I stared at him.
“How about you?”
“Just go. I’m right behind you.”
The Gogos kept closing in.
There were too many and If I stayed, I’d only hold him back.
He wasn’t just fighting the Gogos anymore.
He was protecting me too.
The best thing I could do was trust him and run.
“Be safe.” I said.
He gave a little nod.
I turned and ran towards the other side.
My boots slipped across the rink as I sprinted toward the Snow Mountain ahead.
Behind me, the sounds of battle echoed.
Metal crashing, ice shattering, the growls of the Gogos and Cross still fighting alone.
Every clash made my heart jump.
I wanted to look back and check if Cross was fine.
I told myself not to.
Cross had told me to run, so I kept running.
Then, everything suddenly became quiet.
The silence lasted only a heartbeat and a terrifying pressure swept across the entire place.
I froze and turned around.
Cross had stopped moving.
He stood in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by countless Gogos.
Cross’s eyes blazed.
His red eyes slowly began to glow brighter until they looked like burning embers beneath the snow.
Dark energy flowed beneath his skin, racing across his neck and disappearing beneath his clothes.
The air around him trembled violently and even the snow rising from the ground began circling around him
The Gogos charged together.
Cross slowly rose into the air and a loud blast erupted from him.
Dark energy exploded across the place, tearing through every Gogo in his path.
The force shattered the ice beneath them and the entire rink split apart.
“Cross!” I called.
The force reached me a second later and the ground disappeared beneath my feet.
Ice-cold water swallowed me whole.
I had fallen into the water below.
My eyes flew open in panic.
I kicked wildly, but my body only sank deeper.
The freezing water wrapped around me like chains.
I opened my mouth to scream, and water rushed inside instead.
Everything became blurry as I struggled to find my way to the surface.
Then I saw him.
Cross dived into the water without hesitation.
He reached me in seconds, wrapped one arm firmly around my waist and pulled me against his chest.
With powerful strokes, he swam upward until we reached the surface.
He carried me onto solid ground and gently laid me on the snow.
“Imogen.”
I coughed violently, water pouring from my mouth, some of it splashing into his face as I struggled to breathe.
Cross closed the gap between us and I could feel his breathe on my lips.
“Imogen.”
“I’m okay. ” I coughed again before making a weird face.
For a second, Cross simply stared at me.
“Are you hurt?” He examined my body for injuries.
“Cross, I’m fine.”
“I told you to get to the mountain.” His voice was weak but firm.
“What if you got hurt?”
“I’m fine Cross. Why do you get so worried about me?” I blurted out.
He didn’t give a reply, he tried to stand and the moment he did, he let out a loud cough and black blood spilled from his lips.
My eyes widened.
“Cross.”
Fear gripped my heart.
I tightened my hold around him.
He sat down quietly and I carefully helped him sit against a large stone.
He coughed again and more black blood stained the white snow.
Seeing it made my chest ache.
This was my fault.
If I hadn’t hidden that scratch or I had told him immediately, none of this would’ve happened.
I lowered my head.
“I’m sorry, this was all my fault.”
“Why are you apologizing.”
“It was all my fault. The scratch, my blood.” I said.
Cross smiled softly and he slowly closed his eyes.
I began to panic.
“Cross!”
I grabbed his shoulders.
“Cross, don’t you die on me!”
His eyes opened again and a faint smirk appeared on his face.
“I’m not. I just need to regain my energy.”
His voice had become much softer than usual.
He leaned back against the rock and closed his eyes again.
I finally let out the breath I had been holding.
Slowly, I moved closer and sat beside him.
The cold became even harsher now that his coat was no longer around my shoulders.
The freezing wind cut through my clothes.
Cross noticed.
Without saying anything, he removed his own coat and gently placed it around my shoulders.
I looked at him.
“How about you? It’s really cold.”
His hands suddenly began glowing and fire appeared on them.
I immediately grabbed his wrist.
“Cross, don’t use your essence. It’s affecting you.”
He looked at me quietly.
“It’s just to keep you warm.”
I shook my head.
“No. Your body is warm enough so stop using your essence. It’s making you weak.”
Before he could argue, I carefully moved closer and rested my head against his chest.
His heartbeat echoed softly beneath my ear.
Strong and steady.
The warmth from his body immediately chased away the freezing wind.
It was enough and I didn’t want him exhausting himself because of me.
After a few quiet moments, the fire on his hands slowly faded away.
The mountain became quiet.
Only the wind moved between the rocks.
Neither of us spoke.
Slowly, I felt his weight shift.
His head rested lightly against my shouldersvand instantly, my heart skipped.
I didn’t dare move.
After a long silence, his quiet voice finally broke it.
“Can I put my head on your shoulder for the next hour?”