Light snow fell from the sky, blurring past the van, as night fell on their way to see Dr. Henrick’s contacts. Small towns and rest stops disappeared into a blur of endless forest, looming ominously around them, a mass of leafless, tangled brown branches stretching on forever.

“Can’t you just see it? Me, the keynote speaker at every conference. Everyone will know my name,” Dr. Henrick said, muttering to himself, the van’s headlights peering into the increasingly colder darkness before them.

But Talia couldn’t shake the incredible uneasiness in her stomach that had been there since she’d walked into the lab. Slowly, her entire chest had become a knot of pain and uncertainty.

Nothing about this whole situation made sense. Why had Alek chosen to make this decision without her?

What was Dr. Henrick not telling her?

She knew she couldn’t fully trust her mentor, even early on during her work. But with Alek asleep, frozen, in the back, she had no way of dispelling her suspicions.

The van hit a bump, making the whole thing jolt for a minute as they sped toward Henrick’s promises of fame and fortune. At least for himself.

But Talia didn’t care about any of it. Not the money. Not the acclaim. Not the notoriety. Especially not the notoriety.

Everything she’d wanted was behind her now, literally.

But even if there was academic value in the secret of what Alek was, even if somehow science or society could harness whatever special powers he had for use by the greater good, this wasn’t ethical. It flew in the face of her values to sacrifice someone’s future, their livelihood, their wants and needs and hopes just so others could selfishly benefit.

The last glow of purplish red slowly faded over the horizon, washing them in total blue darkness. Around them, the tendrils of aged oaks and spruces passing by reached out to catch them, the silent road before a looming maw of black.

Talia rubbed her arms, feeling cold inside and out.

No. She wasn’t going to stand by and do nothing.

Even if Alek wanted this. Even if all the horrible things Dr. Henrick had said were true—about her, about Alek, about them—she couldn’t stand idly by and just let things happen anymore.

Not until she made sure Alek understood exactly what he was signing up for.

Alek deserved a second shot at life. Not to be rudely awoken from his past to be poked and prodded and experimented on.

“You’re being awful silent over there, Talia. Granted, you were never much good at conversation, but this is downright dull,” Dr. Henrick muttered, peering at her from behind his glasses.

Then something just snapped in Talia.

Without warning, she reached over and grabbed the steering wheel, trying to force them to pull over.

“What are you doing? Stop it!” Dr. Henrick yelled, trying to push her off. But her grip was iron, and as she yanked the wheel, Henrick slammed the brake pedal. The brakes squealed in agony from the effort, causing the van to skid back then forth.

Talia held on, fighting the vehicle’s urge to flip. Then, with a jerk, the van careened left, off the road.

It leapt over the edge where asphalt met dirt and snow, thumping as the uneven ground rattled the entire vehicle. Then, before she could do anything else, they plowed into a heavy snow embankment ten or so meters off the side, forcing them to an abrupt stop that jolted her body from the inside out.

There was an eerie silence for a moment as everything seemed to spin around her. Next to her, Dr. Henrick just stared blankly forward, heaving great breaths in sheer shock.

But she had no time to lose. Gradually, as her vision cleared, Talia regained the strength to undo her buckle and push the heavy passenger door open, making her way to the back of the truck.

Alek, I’m coming to get you. The thick snow made walking difficult, and she trudged as fast as she could, avoiding branches from the forest around her. With no other traffic on the quiet roads, only the residual light from the van’s headlamps gave her the ability to make her way.

When she reached the double doors at the back, she tugged at the handle. It wouldn’t give, and she heaved with all her might, begging for it to open.

“Talia? Talia!” Henrick’s voice called out from the other side of the van.

Trying one last time, the door flew open, followed by the other. Inside, the pod that held Alek appeared unharmed, secured safely to the bed of the van with a number of mechanisms.

She had to free him immediately.

Talia leaned forward to undo one of the heavy canvas straps on the side, when suddenly a hand grasped hers, yanking her away from her goal.

“Stop that. What are you doing?” Henrick’s face was grim, appraising her with disbelief.

“I’m letting him out.” She tried to pull her hand away, but his grip, for even an average-size man, was surprisingly strong, keeping her from escaping.

“No. No, no, no!” At that, Henrick’s arm wrenched her back, throwing her down to the ground away from the van and into the freezing snow. But she couldn’t feel the sting of the ice, just rage and determination focused on a singular purpose.

“I’m going to check on the specimen. After that, I’m going to call someone to get us out of this mess you’ve put us into,” he said, brushing his hands off as if she’d been trash in need of taking out.

Talia looked around her for options. In front of her, half covered in snow, a large branch poked out from the ground. Praying it wasn’t a root or too big to handle, she grasped it and yanked it up, breaking through days-old ice as she did. The branch, probably three of four feet long, would just have to do.

She whirled on Dr. Henrick and hefted it above her head.

“Get away from the van,” she ordered, adrenaline making her insides tight, her muscles strain.

“What’s come over you, Talia?” Henrick turned to face her, eyebrow raised, looking as annoyed as he was unamused.

“What’s come over you, doctor? This isn’t right, and you know it! That’s a person in there. Not some lab experiment you can sell off to the highest bidder.” A single tear bit at the corner of her eye. Frustration coursed through her—for not having done something sooner, for not having anticipated this, for not having been able to prevent it from happening.

But she sure as hell was going to do something about it now.

“You’re acting awfully strange about this. Were you really stupid enough to fall in love with a science project? You think he actually wants you back?”

The thought hurt. But denying her feelings, hiding them now, was pointless.

“Yes, I do love him. But that’s not the point. Alek is a good man. And whether he wants me or not, I’m going to do the right thing and free him before you have a chance to ruin his life.” Talia’s teeth clenched, chattering as the unforgiving cold around her seeped past her unfit clothes and into her bones.

Henrick, his expression colder than the ice crunching beneath their feet, stepped forward, advancing on her. Fear surged through her veins, and she shrank back, holding the stick before her. But he didn’t stop, advancing gradually until he stood only a few feet from her.

“You’re not going to hit me, are you?” he exclaimed with a frown, eyes unblinking.

“Yes, I will.”

Then, before she could react, he reached forward and grabbed the end of the stick. Using both hands, she tried to pull it away, but he wrenched it free, tossing it aside. Just as she looked back, pain lashed through her as Henrick struck her with the back of his hand with such force it knocked her to the ground.

The pain in her face radiated, warm and red. But she could barely feel it against the hurt of Henrick’s betrayal. Against not being able to stop him.

Tears in her eyes, she looked up at the man that had once been her mentor and teacher.

“Defy me again, and a bruised cheek will be the least of your worries, Talia,” he said with sociopathic coolness, his silhouette illuminated by the faint taillights behind him.

Suddenly, the sound of metal being forcefully wrenched asunder resonated through the forest, followed by a blast that was unlike anything Talia had ever heard. Instantly, both she and Dr. Henrick turned toward the noise.

The back of the normal white van looked as if it had exploded from the inside out, the thick aluminum siding curled in on itself like a burst tin can. But instead of fire or smoke, long, razor-sharp icicles formed a halo of blue and white, emanating outward from the center. Through the translucent ice, Talia could make out the pod where Alek had been contained, now torn into several chunks, frozen in place by whatever anomaly had caused this.

Alek. No!

But before she could collect her thoughts, a thunderous roar several times louder than the explosion resounded through the forest, shaking snow loose from hanging branches and rumbling the ground. With it, Talia could hear the whoosh of air like heavy wings beating, followed by the crash of something incredibly heavy landing on the ground.

When Talia finally looked up, she didn’t believe her eyes.

A humongous dragon, longer than a trailer and as tall as a house, stood before her. It appeared entirely frozen, glowing in a fluorescent blue and frosted at the ends of its scales in white. Huge wings fanned out then tucked into its side, making small crystals of ice scatter like diamonds around it.

Could it possibly be?

The gigantic beast took a step forward and then looked down at her. Bright eyes with glowing white irises appraised her. Eyes that seemed to soften slightly at the sight of her.

“Are you unharmed?” Its deep voice rumbled the forest. And despite the unnatural sound, it was too familiar to ignore.

“Alek?” Talia reached her hand up as if expecting the giant creature to disappear like a dream. But it didn’t, instead lowering its head to meet her hand.

“Yes, it’s me. I’m sorry, Talia.” The dragon’s head was so much larger than she was. Yet she felt no threat, no danger from the creature that her mind was quickly accepting was somehow Alek.

“No, I’m sorry, I—”

“What the devil is going on?” Henrick’s shrill voice interrupted from the other side of the clearing. The doctor emerged from behind a stump, brushing off bits of mud and snow. But when his gaze fell upon the gigantic dragon next to Talia, he froze.

Suddenly, the air around her felt cold as a freezing blast of wind shot through the forest. Yet somehow Talia didn’t feel chilled from it, as if she was aware of the drop in temperature but unaffected by it.

Alek turned on Henrick, leaning forward and looming over the incredibly small man while keeping himself close to her.

Out of nowhere, thick sleet appeared, carried on the wind that blew in heavy circles around them.

“You pathetic worm. How dare you harm my mate? How dare you deceive us into believing your lies? That this was for me or for her when it was all for you. When you would hurt her.” Alek’s voice was furious, the bellowing growl from his throat rattling the air around her.

“I… I…” Henrick was speechless, arms tucked close in surrender as he stood agape.

Talia ducked herself into Alek’s side, somehow untouched by a single snowflake even as it thickened into a blizzard so dense she could barely see from one end of the dragon to the other.

The boom of something hitting the ground next to her made Talia jump, and Alek extended a wing protectively around her, not blocking her vision. When she looked to her side to see what it had been, she saw a gigantic icicle that had appeared from seemingly nowhere protruding from the earth. Another boom near Henrick, followed by another, signaled more falling to the earth.

The lord of winter. Talia had heard him say it so many times. Only now did it somehow make a supernatural sort of sense.

“I should end you for your calumny. Rid the world of your filth,” Alek threatened.

“Please… Mercy…” Henrick’s whole body was shivering from head to toe, his words barely intelligible as torrential snow swirled in an angry vortex with him at the center of it.

Alek’s jaw opened, and white breath emanated from it. For a moment, Talia really thought he was going to breathe some horrific icy dragon fire on her former mentor. Then suddenly, everything went still. Snow fell from its place in the sky, the wind stopped, and the sky cleared once again.

Henrick, covered in ice and half buried in snow, stood stock still, eyes closed, waiting for the end.

“Begone before I change my mind.” Alek grimaced, showing rows of long, icy white teeth. “And if you have the audacity to even think about coming near Talia or telling anyone about this, I’ll make you wish you had been frozen on this very spot.”

“No one would believe you anyway,” Talia said coldly. “You’d never be trusted again if you went raving about a dragon.”

Henrick looked like he was inclined to agree. “I won’t. I promise. I’ll disappear. You’ll never see me again.”

“Good,” Alek said, raising another wave of icicles behind him. “Now run.”

With a hysterical scream, Henrick broke free of the pile of snow and ran away as fast as his feet could carry him, disappearing into the forest where he would probably call for help.

Talia was confident that would be the last they would see of him.

High above, stars twinkled in the night sky and a half-moon cast a blue glow over the almost regal shape of Alek’s dragon.

She pulled away from its side, still amazed how she’d been completely untouched by the whiteout blizzard, wanting to get a better view of him, and he turned back to face her.

“So you really are the lord of winter,” she remarked, still feeling slightly in shock.

From nowhere, a bright white flash surrounded the dragon. And in an instant, where it had once been, Alek stood next to her, a halo of twinkling ice crystals drifting slowly to the earth around them.

He reached for her, and she leapt into his embrace, surrounded with his arms. “No, I’m just Alek who’s in love with you, if that can be enough.”

“It’s perfect,” she said, just happy to hold him close.