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I stood there, surrounded by fire and isolation, having no plan to rescue one of the people I loved most. I felt worthless for the first time in my life, completely inadequate, feeling like I’d failed my family and my people.
Ian came to me, his hand moving to my shoulder, and the sheen in my eyes was now in his. “They didn’t take Harlow to kill her—so that means we have time. We’ll find her, Huntley. And she’s strong enough to endure until we arrive.”
I breathed harder, doing my best to fight the weakness I would never show in front of my wife, in front of anyone except my brother. I blinked several times, but it wasn’t enough to stop the moisture that flooded my eyes and streaked down my cheeks.
“We’ll find her,” he repeated, his eyes mirroring mine. “We will.”
18
AURELIAS
We traveled through the mountains, heading west toward the sea, and I had no idea what to expect as we came closer. I hardly knew this world, and the map Rancor had given me wouldn’t help with this trek through the mountains. We would have to make our way down at some point, but with so much snow, that would be a dangerous descent.
Despite the inhospitable conditions, Harlow kept up with me, but I suspected pride was her primary motivation. It was the first time her emotions were nonexistent, like she was numb down to the bone, so accustomed to the cold, the famine, the misery.
I was hungry, had been hungry for a few days now, but I couldn’t risk her knowing the truth about me. The less she knew, the better.
“I need to rest.”
I turned around to see her sit on a rock, still wearing my cloak for warmth, utterly exhausted. “I’m surprised you lasted as long as you did.”
“I’m stronger than I look.”
“Your story matches the cover.”
She turned her head slightly to look at me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What you see is what you get.”
“Again, what does that mean?”
We still had a few hours of daylight, and now that the wind had stopped, the world was clear. It was white as far as the eye could see, so quiet it was eerie. There were no signs of life around us, but I wasn’t fooled into a false sense of security.
“I’m starving. We need to hunt.”
“What do you want?”
“I’m sorry, is this a restaurant with a menu?” she asked like a smartass.
I walked off and abandoned the conversation, her attitude hostile even when she was subdued. “Stay here. Don’t move.”
“Whatever.”
I unsheathed my blade and set it beside her.
She eyed it before she looked at me. “What are you doing?”
“In case you need it.” I walked off, heading into the woods with my bow in my hands. I moved into the distance, close enough to hear her if she called for help, and then I squatted down in the bushes and waited. It took thirty minutes, but finally, a rabbit hopped across the ground to get some sun, and I killed it with one shot. My brothers and I used to hunt when we were human. We were responsible for putting dinner on the table. Whenever we failed, we went to bed hungry, a lesson my father wanted to teach. As men, we were responsible for providing for our families, and failure had real consequences.
I returned, and when she saw the rabbit in my hand, she said, “I can clean and dress it since you hunted.”
“Just make a fire—a small one.”
My sword was against the rock where I’d left it, and she got to work making a small fire with a makeshift spit made out of dead branches. We got the meat on, and after cooking it to remove the pink from the flesh, I told her to eat.
“What about you?”
“I don’t need it.” There wasn’t much meat to eat, and since I didn’t eat anyway, I didn’t want to waste it to keep up appearances.
