Melting the Ice Witch by Mell Eight Page A

to a stop next to Jerney. Soon after, the clopping of horses could be heard as six men on horseback rounded the hill. They dismounted and the one with the fewest patches on his uniform took the reins of all the horses and guided the animals to the side.
    Nyle and Leon walked around the hill a few moments later. No doubt Nyle and Leon had flown and had landed far enough away that they didn't spook anyone. With all of the members of the negotiation party present, the three groups converged in the middle. The man leading the soldiers from the city spoke first. He had cropped black hair and brilliant blue eyes, but his face and body were military straight. Kam decided to stay behind Lor while the soldier spoke.
    "I am Prince Bast, Captain of the Guard and the Royal Forces, and have been given full authority by his majesty, King Felix, to conduct these negotiations and make binding signatures on behalf of the humans. These men are all versed in this issue and may have information to share as well." He introduced the four men standing behind him, excluding the cadet unsaddling horses near where the sleds had been left. Kam couldn't read anything from the five men in front of him—none of them had animal characteristics—but one of the men standing directly behind Bast, whose name was Evan, gave off some sort of other characteristic that Kam couldn't place.
    Lor stepped forward next and introduced his own party, comprised of himself, Kam, Mae, Hern, and Tomm.
    The house was too small to hold all of them comfortably and the caretaker too old to be able to accommodate them, but after a few moments' scramble there were enough furs spread on the ground that no one had to get their bottoms wet.
    Bast began speaking first, outlining the travesty that had nearly occurred in the city thanks to one witch with a vendetta and a total lack of safeguards against illegal magic usage—something that had apparently been an issue the King had been searching for a solution to since before his coronation. Kam was too young to remember the battle caused by the magi, but he knew enough that he could clarify any of Lor's questions about it later.
    "So we need a school built that can gather all the witches together in one place for proper training and oversight protocols put in place for when they are in the city," he finished his explanation. "We chose this location based on the fact that while it is near and easily accessible to the city, it is also far enough away than any spell work that goes awry, as Jerney explained does tend to happen with young apprentices, will not impact the city negatively, either."
    "Plus," Tori cut in, "the hill is big enough for a proper dragon hoard. I want to move out of the basement of the castle!"
    "Yes, that too," Bast said with a touch too much agreement in his voice. Kam could guess that Tori was just as exuberant in the castle as he had been with the ice. From Bast's stiff demeanor it was easy enough to tell that Tori's personality grated on Bast's nerves a good bit. "With those aims in mind, we chose to head north into the grass hills instead of south into the plains."
    Lor nodded thoughtfully, but it was Mae who spoke. "We can see many benefits to both our peoples from such an arrangement. Our chief concern is that our trade route to the human city remains unblocked."
    Bast nodded as well. "Dragon Lord An'nanyle and Prince Leon have brought up your concerns to our council and King. I believe we have a solution that would work well for us all. There is a large market for exotic furs, one you are already aware of. If we opened up an official trading route we could expand that market. Additionally, there is a need for ice blocks from the north to be shipped regularly into the city. As you can see we have some trade agreements to work out, but I believe there is enough need from us both to make a mutually beneficial trade."
    Mae sat back in her seat and nodded, but she glanced up at Lor and didn't speak again.
    "We