Read The Frozen Beginning (Elemental Diamond Book 1) for Free Online

before placing his hand on the small of her back, ushering her outside faster.
    “Come along, Miss Wardgrave. Your ride is waiting.”
     
     

THREE
    THE PERSIA HOTEL
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    The only way of travelling to Alluvium is by the underground shuttle tram.
    There are few tunnels around Hydren that can take someone from the centre of the region to the lake skirtings in a couple of minutes.
    Glacier had never ridden the tram before. She had always been afraid of trapping herself in a small space, with people whom openly loath her existence.
    The decrepit tram is out-dated. The region has not won the tournament for the last twenty-four years, leaving no possibility to fund its renewal.
    Stepping off the empty tram carriage, she takes note of the sterile platform she has arrived at. The tidy station tiles sparkle a pearly white, the steal shining brilliantly. The Hydren Tram Station had been dirty, unkempt and rusted.
    Glacier spots a man with dark skin, dressed in a uniform similar to the Chancellor’s Guard. His dark sunglasses shield his eyes from the bright sun behind her. His arms hang at his sides, his fists clenched. He looks to be in his twenties.
    “Good evening, Miss Wardgrave. My name is Lien. I will be your driver over the period of the Tournament.” His voice is friendly, his posture taut. He grants her a kind smile.
    She raises an eyebrow at her driver, “Just Lien?”
    “Do you need more than that?” he asks, followed by a short laugh.
    Shaking her head in response, a strange smile pulls at her lips. The movement aches her cheeks.
    Lien’s eyes are trained to hers, noticeably flickering to the stitches across her forehead. The black stitch thread is barely hidden behind her curtain of reckless curls. Her smile fades at the reminder.
    He gestures to the dark grey Hover that sits behind him, “Shall we?”
    The vehicle is large, with deep round disks below the engine and the trunk to help it endure a half-metre distance above the ground. The body is completely enclosed, with dark black windows. A sixth-generation model Hover would be Glacier’s guess.
    “Where are you going to be taking me, Mr Lien?” His lips quirk at the title, but he doesn’t comment on it. “I will be taking you to the Persia Hotel, where all the other participants are staying for this year’s Tournament.”
    The Persia Hotel? Sounds fancy…
    Glacier nods silently. Following Lien to the vehicle, she climbs into the passenger seat. Glacier looks over to find him staring at her oddly.
    “What?”
    “You are supposed to sit in the back…” he says. His voice sounds amused.
    “Do I have to?” Lien shakes his head, chuckling as he starts the vehicle. The leather squeaks beneath her body as she moves, the sun heating her jeans uncomfortably.
    She notices small spots of her father’s blood staining the denim, causing her stomach to roll.
    Glacier turns to Lien, asking him various questions, anything to get her mind off the fact that her father is dead. But when they leave the station runway, entering the city a few minutes later, Glacier speechlessly gazes out at the city.
    The skyscrapers wow her. She presses her face to the glass window to get a view of the entire height of each building. Glacier immediately flinches back when her nose aches painfully.
    She lowers the window and unclips her seat harness to stick her head out into the open air. The fast breeze whips her hair back behind her ears, her eyes squinting at the rush of air.
    “Miss Wardgrave, I need you to sit back down in your seat and fasten your belt.”
    Glacier gazes up at the skyscrapers gleaming in the sunlight, shining in her narrowed eyes.
    “I will in a minute, just… Hold on a second…” She calls back, unsure whether he heard her.
    The sense of freedom that blows against her cheeks lifts something heavy from her shoulders. The air around her is harsh against her ears, clearing her mind.
    She turns to stare down the roads as they pass