Chapter 10
STACY
Five days later
“Are we there yet?” I tease from my spot on the sled.
“We are close.” Pashov’s voice floats back to me. He glances over his shoulder, casting a smile in my direction. “Not too much farther.”
I can’t say I’m sorry to hear that. While we haven’t had any issues with traveling, I’m more than ready to be done and settle in to our new home.
It’s been a long week, and my face still feels windburnt and frozen, no matter how much cream I put on it.
I’m cold, tired, hungry, and physically exhausted to my bones.
I feel like I could sleep for a week…except that wouldn’t be fair to Pashov, who is probably just as tired and is doing all the work.
My mate is tireless. Over ridge and valley, through waist-high snow or rocky plateaus, he moves forward with sure feet and endless, bountiful strength.
I’m both incredibly grateful for his stamina and a little worried at how vulnerable Pacy and I are.
If anything should happen to him, we’re screwed.
It’s just another reason why I’m so glad we’re heading back to rejoin the tribe.
There’s safety in numbers, and as much as I enjoyed our time at the little cave, I’m ready to rejoin the tribe.
I just don’t know if Pashov agrees.
He’s been distant while we’ve traveled. Not in an unpleasant way, but it’s clear he’s holding me at arm’s length. At night, we huddle together for warmth, but it never goes beyond him stroking my hair.
Which, okay, I’m a little too tired to get wild with him, but at the same time, I wouldn’t turn it down.
I’m hungry for the closeness we used to have, but it’s pretty apparent to me that I’m the only one.
But I can’t blame him. He pulls the sled all day long, and I’m not sure that he’s sleeping at night.
He’s obsessed with keeping the fire built high, if nothing else to protect us from wandering metlak.
I worry that he’s going to collapse out of exhaustion, but he seems to be handling things well.
Maybe it’s just me who’s tired and my head’s spinny with worry.
Pacy’s fussy, too, but I can’t blame him.
After a week of sitting around, he wants to stretch his legs.
He’s been good so far, but he’s ready to play and get free from my arms.
And after a week of holding him? I’m ready for him to be free from my arms, too.
Maybe when we reunite with the tribe, Kemli can watch Pacy for a night or two, and that will give Pashov and me some time together.
We’d have to work out feeding times, but it’s doable, and I could steal a few hours alone with Pashov after we relax and recover a bit. I like the thought of that.
Of course, we have to get there first. I gaze around the wide open canyon we’re traveling through.
The rocky walls are high but distant. There’s snow on the ground, but it’s not as thick as it has been in other areas.
In the distance, there are copses of the thin pink trees, and overhead I see a few scythe-beaks flying past, cawing at each other.
At the far end of the valley there’s a large dark mass moving along the snow.
Dvisti. This area has a little bit of everything. Too bad we can’t stay here.
“You’re sure that we’re close?” I ask Pashov. I don’t see any signs of the tribe. Surely we’d see signs of them if we were close, wouldn’t we?
“There was a mark on one of the trees at the entrance to the valley,” he tells me. “It was made by a knife. We are close.”
“Mmm.” I’m ready to be done, but I don’t say that out loud. I don’t want to seem like I’m griping when he’s the one doing all the heavy work. I shift on the sled. “How are you holding up, Pashov? Do you need to rest?”
“No resting here,” he tells me. “This is metlak territory. Best to keep moving until we find the tribe. We are close, I promise.”
I’m not sure if he’s trying to convince me or himself.
Still, if this is metlak territory, it’s wise to keep going.
I pull the blankets close around my body and hug Pacy tight.
It’s been days, but I still keep thinking about the metlak mother that invaded the cave.
Did she survive? Did she come back? Or did she and her baby starve to death?
I suppose I won’t ever know, but it makes me hold my own child a little tighter.
I wish I could have done more for her, even though I was terrified of her.
Maybe we should have stayed to try and help her out.
Then again, what if she had come back with her entire tribe? They would have killed us without a flash of remorse, and stolen our food. If I have to choose between feeding them and feeding Pacy and Pashov, I’m going to choose my men, of course.
The sled stops, interrupting my endless worrying thoughts. I immediately tense. “What is it?”
“I see it,” he says in a low voice, and he sounds awed.
I crane my neck, because I don’t see anything at all. Just snow and more snow. No cluster of houses, which is what I was led to expect. “Where?”
Pashov points ahead, and I squint, wondering if I’m missing something.
Then I see it a moment later. It’s a gaping dark line next to one of the cliffs.
I thought it was a shadow, but I realize a moment later that the sun is facing in the wrong direction for there to be a shadow there. It’s a gorge…in the ground.
Maddie had said that, hadn’t she? I guess I’d conveniently forgotten that we’re going to be living in a valley…in another valley. I shiver at the thought, holding Pacy tighter. “In the hole?”
“Is it a hole?” Pashov chuckles. “I guess it is.” The look he casts in my direction is boyish with excitement. “Let us go see it, yes?”
Like we have a choice. I smile, though I’m not sure I’m excited about this. That ‘hole’ looks ominous. And deep. And it’s triggering my fear of heights like crazy. But it’s not like there’s anywhere else to go, is there?
It’ll be fine, Stace. Pashov is here.
I take a deep breath and keep smiling until I relax a little. It can’t be as bad as it looks.
Pashov begins to pull the sled again, his steps quicker, as if the sight of our destination has rejuvenated him.
I settle back in my seat, tucking the blankets back around Pacy.
It’s grown colder every day, even though the weather is clear, and that means we don’t have much longer until the brutal season rains down endless tons of snow on us.
It’s good that we’re arriving now, because I don’t have the same trust in Rokan’s weather-sense that the others do.
I’m worried about getting caught in a blizzard.
If it’s this nasty when the weather’s ‘nice,’ it’s going to be truly awful when it turns.
Before, it wasn’t so bad because we were tucked away in a safe, warm cave with a heated pool and enough room for everyone.
This time…I shudder, looking at that dark shadow ahead.
This time, the brutal season’s going to be very, very different.
“Someone is coming,” Pashov calls out.
I look ahead, trying to see around his big shoulders. It takes me a moment to focus in on the small, dark blue object that seems to emerge from the ground. It’s startling to see, and even more startling when I realize just how tiny that blue blob is compared to the gorge.
It’s…huge.
My stomach gives a queasy little flip.
“Harrec,” my mate says in a curiously flat voice. “Of course.”
We’re still a fair distance away, and I can barely squint to make out features. Maybe it’s Harrec, maybe not. Pashov’s vision is better than mine if he can tell at this distance. “You think he heard us coming?”
“No. It is probably just luck.” He doesn’t sound pleased, either. A moment later, a second figure emerges, and Pashov adds, “Bek, too. They are probably leaving to hunt.” He raises a hand in the air. “Ho!”
I wince as my mate’s loud voice booms over the valley. Pacy gives a startled cry and begins to whine, and I hug him close, tucking him under my tunic in case he wants to comfort-nurse.
“Ho!” One of the distant figures calls back, raising a tiny hand in the air.
A few minutes later, Bek and Harrec both jog up to our sled.
Harrec’s grinning broadly, but Bek is as solemn as ever.
He rarely smiles, and today doesn’t seem like it’s going to be one of those days, even though he gives Pashov a friendly clap on the shoulder.
“It is good to see you again, my friend.”
“And you,” Pashov says. “It has been a long journey. How is the new home?”
“Different,” Harrec chimes in. “But good. It is a strange place, but there is plenty of room and we are sheltered from the winds.” He moves around to my side. “Stay-see. How are you faring?”
“Hi, Harrec. I’m good.”
“And your little one?”
Pacy’s currently latched to my breast, and I don’t pull him out to show Harrec, even though I know he enjoys playing with the babies of the tribe.
“He’s been very patient with all the travel.
” I smile. “It’s good to see more people again.
How is everyone?” It suddenly feels like we’ve been gone forever, not less than two weeks.
“Everyone is settling in,” Harrec says, even as Bek moves to the handles of the sled and begins to pull it, giving my mate a rest. Harrec steps in next to the sled, chatting with me.
“The biggest problem was figuring out who would live where,” the hunter tells me with an amused look.
“Everyone wants to be closest to the big bathing pool in the center of the vee-lage.”
“Vee-lage?” I ask. As I say the word aloud, I realize what it is. “Oh. Village.”
“Yes,” Harrec says. “The humans say we should call it Crow-ah-to-an. It was Leezh’s idea.”