The Garden

It’s supposed to be spring. The trees in bloom, flowers sprouting up from the ground to show their colors off to the world and those that inhabited it. Green grasses, leaves and even babies to bring in the new season.
Aurora should have known that nothing was ever what you expected here.
Leaving behind one of her best men, she was worried for his brother. Trianam was short, sad and she felt sorry for him. But there was no time to coddle him. There was a monster, an ice monster about and he was claiming the land as his own.
“My name is Maevi. I am the king of winter and all that you see. I have taken this land as my own and I rule it. I have not given you permission to be here so explain yeself and I may let you yet live.”
He had indeed taken all of the land. There was such a cold in the air that nothing could live. The snow was piled so high in places that it look like a mountain. And the lake was frozen solid. A block of ice so thick and so wide that Aurora felt that nothing would swim in its depths again.
And it was poison.
“Nay my lady, that ran out of water a few days ago. I’ve put snow in the barrel and we’ve been drinking it. Keeps it mightily cold, which I have enjoyed but there was no reason for us to go with a powerful thirst so I have been keeping it filled. Do you have a problem with the way I am working around things, my lady?” She looked around shaking her head. It would explain a great deal. They’re tempers were sharper today and even Pavel was short too. And the more snow that replaced the waters that they brought in the barrel, the shorter their tempers were and their need to murder higher.
Aurora and her band of merry men have their work cut out for them this time. A self-proclaimed frozen king. Supplies running low and she can’t contact the one person who can help her. Envir, the dragon king is cut off from her more so than before. There seems to be no hope this time... or is there?
The Garden, the fifth book in the Kingdom of Enneahedral series.