Chapter 48
SEREH
All night, Sereh experienced strange dreams. Faces floated in front of her. Her father. Her mother. Erann. Dalla. Emma. Rankil. She tried to catch her dreams, but they slipped through her mind.
She felt warm and loved. Occasionally her dream left her feeling unsettled enough to force her to the surface before she sank back down again. Finally, a dream of Rankil calling her name pushed her back to the surface, enough to wake her. Her eyes opened, slowly, unsure where she was.
She felt surrounded by warm bodies and gradually became aware of Arrow’s gentle panting to her left and Erann’s heat to her right.
She looked up and recognised the intricate black and grey pattern of the cave where she’d nursed Erann back to health.
How had she come to be here, surrounded by the two beings she loved most?
The last thing she recalled clearly was falling down a hole that had opened up before her in the thick white snow, and then endless dark cold.
Her mind wandered. Why did it matter how she came to be here?
Surely all that mattered was that she was, and that she was, somehow, magically, safe.
Yet something tugged at her memory. Something was strange.
How had she come to be here? Erann couldn’t have carried her, but something had.
What was it? The sensation was fleeting, too thin to grip hold of.
Her thoughts tumbled and the view of Erann beside her distracted her.
He slept, his face towards her. She reached out to touch him.
Her other hand was entwined in his. Something warm and aching swept through her, so fierce it almost hurt.
He’d rescued her, somehow. There was no other explanation.
Yet, again, her thoughts scattered. The sensation.
She’d felt it before, when rescuing Erann.
A presence she couldn’t explain. She thought it was an inner reserve of strength before, but now she wasn’t so sure.
How had he carried her, with his broken leg? It didn’t make sense.
With her free hand, she touched under his eyes, unaccountably saddened by the signs of exhaustion there, the bruising still evident although much faded with the passage of days since the avalanche.
She’d caused the exhaustion. She knew it without having to be told.
He’d told her he loved her, and she’d left, without saying goodbye.
She traced the line of his stubbly jaw and the outline of his nose.
He didn’t stir. She could see the beauty that was his face.
Her heart swelled. Tears fell down her face.
She’d been such a fool. Whatever was happening, whatever she’d thought, nothing else truly mattered except this feeling of peace that she had here with Erann and Arrow.
The sun was beginning to light the inside of the cave.
It felt cosy and inviting. She relished the thought of such heat.
She’d endured so long deprived of it, just like during the Long Night.
Hazy memories of her days alone slowly filled her mind.
She shivered and a thousand pinpricks of pain made themselves known.
She forced herself to lie still and the pain disappeared. She never wanted to move from here.
Beside her, she felt the comforting rumble of Arrow’s snoring.
Her hand was entangled in the wolf-dog’s fur.
It felt matted and dirty. It reminded her of the one thing she’d been able to cling to when trapped down the crevasse.
Arrow had been there. Arrow had been there with her all the time. Or had she?
Sereh gasped and Arrow’s head popped up, her snores stilling. The wolf-dog’s belly rumbled, and Sereh laughed softly, and then winced, as the pain once more shot through her body.
‘I know, girl. I’m hungry too.’ Her voice sounded too loud in the small space, but Erann didn’t wake. Arrow licked her face in riotous welcome and dashed from the cave. Sereh grinned. She knew how the wolf-dog felt. Her bladder was also crying out to be relieved.
Grimacing, but aware she needed to get upright, she gently extracted herself from Erann’s grasp, wishing she could stay where she was. She tested her feet and toes by wiggling them experimentally. She could feel them all. That was promising. She’d try standing.
Preparing herself for a fresh stab of pain, she pulled the furs aside from her body on the side away from Erann.
Cold air rushed over her body and sweat beaded her forehead, but she needed to stand.
She pulled her feet up beneath her, and then twisted onto her knees.
The pain was more controllable now. She pushed up from the ground, stretching her legs, reaching for the cave wall to keep her steady.
She felt dizzy, but it was manageable. Her body tingled now, rather than feeling like it was being stabbed with a thousand shards of ice.
With an effort and not too much noise, she found she could balance.
Only when she was upright did she realise her feet were bare and her boots missing.
She looked around and found them, and two sticks, beside Erann.
The sticks gave her pause for thought, even as she concentrated on reaching over and getting her boots.
However, her need was greater, and she quickly slipped on her boots, pulled one of the furs around her shoulders, and only a little wobbly, followed Arrow out of the cave.
Outside, the sun was making Vatna Jokull sparkle like a field of jewels.
After Sereh had relieved herself, she spent a few moments enjoying the warmth of the sun on her exposed face.
Her face felt raw and delicate. She reached up to touch it, suddenly aware the skin on her face was rough and bumpy.
The effects of her exposure, she supposed, to the terrible freezing conditions.
Arrow scampered over the churned rocks and ice to join her.
The pair stood side by side, enjoying the mild heat and being together.
Erann found them there some time later.
‘Sereh,’ he called. He wore a broad grin on his pale face, as he manoeuvred his way towards her. Her eyes picked out the sticks he used to get about.
‘Erann,’ she responded, feeling silly as her grin matched his.
Here, in the bright daylight, she could clearly see the ravages of his encounter with the avalanche. His eyes remained bright. His face was covered in pale green bruises, his wounded eye almost back to its normal size, and yet, his sticks and broken leg were a constant reminder.
For all that, she leapt up to see him, and had to force herself not to rush into his arms. It would be too easy to embrace him and forget about everything else.
‘You look well,’ he offered, his keen eyes appraising her.
She considered what he saw. She was dressed, and had a fur over her shoulders, but her face felt raw.
Undoubtedly, it was still red from the cold she’d endured.
He, by contrast, had only his upper body wrapped in one of the furs, and his damaged sealskin-lined trousers shone inky in the sun, but only fully covered one leg.
She winced to see the green and black bruising, the heavy bandaging where the bone had broken through the skin.
His foot appeared to drag. Her eyes returned to his face, and then dropped to his chest. There were bruises there as well, and his skin shone as redly as she imagined her face did.
He’d been exposed as well. When had that happened?
When he’d rescued her? But how? He could barely walk from the cave and he couldn’t do it without the crutches.
How could he have even made his way onto the disturbed surface of the glacier?
‘It’s good to see you up and about.’ He drew closer and closer. She could hear his heavy breathing. See the effort it took him.
‘It’s good to see you too, Erann,’ she replied, but her forehead furrowed as she watched his laboured movements. None of this made sense. She turned to Arrow, but her wolf-dog darted away, chasing something she couldn’t see.
Her smile slowly slipped. Erann’s delighted expression turned to one of confusion as he drew close enough to truly look at her.
‘Sereh?’ he sounded uncertain of his reception now. She was desperate to embrace him, to feel him solid beneath her arms. She hungered to kiss his lips. And yet…
Now was not the time, she knew it. She needed answers.
Erann couldn’t possibly have rescued her alone.
She’d walked away from him for a full day and night before becoming trapped.
How could he have covered that distance both ways and managed to bring her here?
He couldn’t have carried her. And where was Emma?
But those questions could wait, couldn’t they?
She pushed the thoughts away. She wanted to see the smile back on his face, she wanted to see how it lit up his entire being and brought an almost luminous sheen to his eyes.
She forced the smile to return to her face and stepped towards him.
‘Erann Ramonsson. Thank you,’ she whispered. ‘Thank you.’ No matter what, she was exuberantly pleased to see him.
‘Why, you’re welcome, Sereh Hagonsdottir.
’ He grinned, his green eyes twinkling, and reached out his hand to take hers.
She gently slipped her fingers between his and squeezed.
Whatever had happened before, she was certain he felt the spark between them too.
Her heart pounded in her chest. No one had ever looked at her like that, or been so pleased to see her.
‘Come within,’ he beckoned, ‘you need to eat. So do I.’ With Arrow in front, they walked inside.
It was awkward with Erann’s crutches. Arrow slinked ahead of them into the cave.
Erann leaned heavily on his sticks, and Sereh slipped an arm around him without thinking.
He pulled her close and Sereh felt herself grin for real this time.
They lurched together over the uneven surface, clumsy and off balance. She stumbled and nearly fell entirely as they entered the cave, laughing under her breath as he caught her against his shoulder.
By the time they reached the cook pot, both of them breathless and tangled together, heat was already rolling through the room. Sereh closed her eyes for a moment and let it sink into her bones.
Her questions could wait. Erann deserved the opportunity to offer his own explanations, and she would give him the time to do so.