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I grabbed her hand and pulled her forward.
She twisted from my grasp. “What did I say about touching me?”
“You’re going to fall.”
“I don’t need your help, asshole.” She stomped past me to make a point, moving down the mountain on her own.
I came to her side, making sure she was close in case she lost her footing. Our surroundings were blurred by snow, so it was impossible to see the bottom. We would only know if we were there once the ground flattened.
We kept at it all day, still going even when there was barely any sunlight left in the sky, but I pushed on because I felt like we were close. It would be safer to stop and wait until morning, but I knew Harlow felt a million times worse than she looked…and she already looked half dead.
“This is the bottom.” I looked out in the darkness, seeing the flat terrain of snow. It stretched for fifty feet before the darkness swallowed the view. “If we stay tighter against the wall, it’ll protect us from the wind.”
“I know a cave not far from here.” She could barely speak with the chattering of her teeth. Her breathing was different too, like her lungs weren’t working the way they should. “It’s close to the original path of the cliffs.”
“What does it look like?”
“The slit is sideways, so when you look at it head on…it looks like a crack. But—i-it’s so dark now that I-I don’t think we’ll b-be able to see it.”
“I can find it. Come on.” I moved ahead through the snow, but when I looked behind me, she’d barely made any progress. Her body was finally giving out on her, after days and nights in the freezing temperatures.
I moved back and lifted her into my arms.
When she didn’t issue a single protest, I knew how bad off she really was. I cradled her against my chest as I carried her forward, in the howling wind and swirling snow, searching for the cave she described in minimal detail. I could see in the dark, but without the assistance of sunlight, it was hard to understand my location, especially in a foreign land. Back at home, I’d be able to figure out my location based on vegetation alone, but this was a whole new place.
Thirty minutes later, I got lucky and found the crack in the stone. The entry was small, and I had to step in sideways to enter. I sidestepped several feet before I entered a small cave which held storage containers and bedrolls, like it was a pit stop used by travelers. “Harlow, I found it.” When I looked down at her face, she was asleep in my arms, her skin pale like the snow I’d just marched through.
I placed her in a bedroll, covered her with all the blankets I could find, and then started a fire. The wind howled outside as the flames crackled, and because of the limited space inside, it warmed up quickly, feeling like a cabin in the woods.
I looked through the storage containers and found dried meat and fruit, along with assorted nuts and water. I didn’t realize how tired I was until I was able to stop. Didn’t realize that the cold had seeped into my bones until I thawed out. I lay on the stone beside her and fell asleep instantly, the flames like a lullaby my mother used to sing to me.
* * *
She slept through the morning and into the afternoon.
The storm had passed, and it was the perfect opportunity to head to the path and make it to the top of the cliffs to get to the ship she’d promised, but I feared if she didn’t rest, her body would succumb to the ordeal she’d just endured. Most other humans would have perished on that journey, but by sheer will and stubbornness, she’d survived what would have killed most men. She was small and delicate in appearance, but her substance was as powerful as the steel of my blade.
When she woke up, color had returned to her cheeks. Her lips were pink once again, and her eyes weren’t so dry and empty. The first thing she did was look at the fire, then she touched the pile of blankets stacked on top of her. She touched her own hand and then her cheek, probably feeling the warmth of her body temperature. Then she sat up and looked for me, finding me sitting against the wall across the small cave. “You found it.”
“You would have died if I hadn’t.” I nodded to the container of food and water I’d put beside her. “Eat and drink. Once we get to the top, we won’t have to worry about the cold anymore.” I was used to the cold in Crescent Falls, used to the snow every day of the year. Perhaps that was why I was able to handle the elements exceptionally well, in addition to my cold blood.
She scarfed everything down, eating what I provided then digging for more.
“How did you know about this place?”
“My father showed it to me. He used it before I was born.”
“When he was trying to take Delacroix back…makes sense.”
She sat down with her snacks and ate as she looked at me. “So, you are from around here.”
Just because I knew their history didn’t mean I was a resident. “I’ve heard the story.”
“Then you know my mother and father are people you don’t fuck with.”
“I told Rancor that his idea to overthrow your father was a stupid one.”
“Does he still intend to do that now that you’re returning me?”
