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Freya’s eyes shimmered with admiration.

‘These will do nicely,’ she beamed, hastily taking the hares. She reached for her knife and started to skin one of the animals. Again, her similarity to Elen made her feel as though she knew her, even though they’d only just met.

‘This looks like good meat. Get a bowl for the wolf-dog. By morning it’ll be nice and meaty, but for now, this is all I have.’ Sereh immediately rose from her place and filled a bowl with the runny mixture for Arrow.

Arrow looked disgusted. Bending, she spoke to the wolf-dog. ‘Behave. At least it’s warm.’

With her recent enthusiasm for food missing, Arrow still noisily slurped her way through the soup and returned to toasting herself before the well-stocked fire. They had a good quantity of peat, if not food. In mere moments, Freya skinned and chopped the hare meat and added it to the nearly empty pot, placing some of the animals innards into a bowl for Arrow, who didn’t care whether her food was cooked or not. Only then did Freya hastily add more water to her cook pot, before turning back to Sereh.

‘Come, I’ll show you where you can sleep with your wolf-dog. Bring one of those candles with you. Otherwise, you’ll be in the dark. Candles are also in short supply. The renders are delayed every rotation, and the Eastern Quarter sent nothing before the Long Night.’ Freya shook her head. ‘That Rankil doesn’t deserve the rank, no matter what he might think.’ While Sereh was keen to agree with her, she also held her tongue. She didn’t want to foul her tongue with Rankil’s name. Not here. Where she was safe from his retribution.

Freya led them from the cooking room and along another short passageway, away from the main corridor they’d previously used. The room was small but warm, although with no visible heat source. Sereh considered how old the building was. Certainly, it didn’t have the long entrance tunnel most steadings had. Had the Library been around when the ‘Agreement’ Jon alluded to was struck? Sereh suspected it was ancient, which might mean the Library was even older. The thought of Jon filled her with revulsion once more. She needed to banish the sensation of lying in his arms from her memories.

‘Thank you, Freya, for your warm welcome,’ she offered, happy to turn her thoughts away from Jon, and run-ketill.

‘We’ll see you in the morning,’ Freya trilled, leaving them with another smile. Sereh didn’t undress as she would have done in the cave. The room might be warm, but the sheets weren’t, and they smelled slightly damp. As she closed her eyes, Sereh appreciated that being back amongst her people was a harsh lesson in the reality of the way they lived. In her weeks away she’d forgotten what a constant struggle it was to stay warm and fed.

And still she shivered, even with the good furs and soft blankets.

‘Arrow, come here, girl,’ she called for her wolf-dog to join her on the bed. Arrow was only too happy to oblige, and then, with the heat of Arrow down one side of her body, Sereh finally warmed enough to sleep.

Sereh felt hot when she woke in the morning. For a moment, she forgot she wasn’t in the caverns any more. By her side, Arrow snored loudly, trapping her in the furs, her weight pulling them tight across her body. She squirmed and eventually managed to wake the sleeping wolf-dog. Arrow looked at her questioningly, tongue extended, before leaping from the bed. Sereh scrambled after her.

‘Come on, Arrow. Let’s see if Freya has any of the meat for you.’

In the daylight, the wooden floors she walked on glowed a golden hue. She marvelled at the high windows lining the hallway. Only one set of the wooden blinds was flung back but it was enough to see without the need for a candle. Dust motes swirled slowly in the almost still air, despite the ferocious wind outside.

‘The Library’s nearly as well built as the caves,’ she mumbled to Arrow, following her nose to the cooking area.

Freya was busy, skinning another of the hares, and scraping the skin clean. She smiled at Sereh.

‘Good morning,’ she called, pointing with her bloodied knife to the food laid out on the table. A man already sat, savouring his pottage with hare meat. He crammed the meat into his mouth before smiling and then speaking.

‘My name’s Ralf. It’s good to meet you, Sereh. I live here with Freya. She’s my wife, on the days she consents to remember.’ An angry growl came from Freya. Sereh found herself laughing at the mock outrage on Freya’s face.

Ralf continued unabashed. ‘Freya tells me you seek sanctuary and you’re Hagon’s daughter. That was a terrible business. The whole thing much aggrieved the Librarian. He kept muttering on about how he’d never seen it coming. Daft old man. We rarely see him now, and even then, he spends most of his time talking to himself!’

Again, a cry of dismay issued from Freya’s lips.

‘There’s no need to be offended. I know you think it too, so don’t be so touchy. I’m just talking to the girl. If she’s staying here, she needs to know how the land lies and all that.’

Freya didn’t answer other than to cast him a withering look.

Sereh decided she already liked Ralf. He seemed to speak as he saw. It was a pleasant change. Rankil never said what he meant. Neither did Emma. And Skaldi… Well, he never said anything to her. And then there was Erann. At the thought of him, she instantly sobered. She wasn’t here to make friends. She had a purpose.

‘Will the Librarian see me?’

‘Can’t understand why he wouldn’t. It’s not as if he’s busy.’ Ralf cackled. He received another look of admonishment from Freya which he ignored, with a wink at Sereh. Again, she found herself smiling, despite her sobering thoughts of Erann. She liked the grizzled old man, with his mop of long grey hair, streaked with white. It was at that point he noticed Arrow.

His face glowed with delight. ‘Is this fine beastie with you? I’m not surprised you can catch such huge hares with a creature like her. Come here, my beauty. Let’s look you over.’

Arrow did just that, walking towards him with an expression of superiority on her face which served to make Sereh laugh more.

As Ralf acquainted himself with Arrow, Freya spoke. ‘The Librarian will see you. There’s no problem with that. You can go and introduce yourself later. He keeps strange routines. I doubt he’ll be awake yet. In the meantime, you can help Ralf, if you’d be so good. He does have chores to do, although you wouldn’t think so.’

So Sereh found herself outside in the cold, helping Ralf crack through the heavy ice on top of the stream they gathered drinking water from. It was obvious he’d performed the same task only yesterday because the ice was uneven and lumpy. As they worked, their breath fogging in the chill air, he continually muttered about how unusual it all was.

She let him mutter without interrupting. It was good to hear someone else mirroring her fears. She was too winded from her exertion to speak, anyway. Arrow spent the time happily diving in and out of the powdery snow, hunting imaginary prey. It all felt normal and relaxing. Momentarily, her worries were forgotten. Maybe she could stay with them, as she’d decided when she’d met up with Erann at his steading. The Library was neutral, owing allegiance to everyone on Biklander, and not to a single jarl.