Chapter 49
SEREH
Sereh woke the next sunrise, nestled once more in between Arrow’s warm flank and Erann’s solid form. Once more, she was warm, perhaps warmer than she’d ever been before. Between Arrow’s long body and the heat from Erann, nestled against her other side, she doubted waking had ever been so pleasant.
By the Gods, she was lucky to be alive, to feel like this.
The feeling didn’t last long. Pain lanced through her body.
Her head throbbed. Her face stung. Every limb ached with a heaviness that made her want to curl back under the furs and sleep until the next Long Night.
But worse than the pain was the memory of all the things Erann hadn’t said yesterday, when she’d given him the time to be honest with her.
It gripped her heart with an agony she hadn’t thought possible.
The day before, Erann had done what he could to care for her, but the effort had only further revealed the extent of his own injuries.
It was an effort for him to get about in the small cave.
Even with his crutches, he couldn’t lift or carry much, and like her, he was obviously in pain from whatever he’d done when rescuing her.
If he had rescued her.
She kept looking at Arrow as though the wolf-dog would give her the answers she craved. Predictably, Arrow gave nothing away.
Eventually exhaustion overcame her. Sitting by the fire, her body against Erann’s, her eyes wouldn’t stay open, and her body wouldn’t do as it was told. It felt heavy. She’d felt Erann try to lift her, but he’d stumbled with a hiss of pain.
‘I can do it,’ she’d said sleepily, Arrow slipping beneath her hands, as Erann pushed her to her feet. Still, she’d struggled to put one foot in front of the other.
She hadn’t wanted to leave the warmth of the fire and steadiness of Erann’s support behind her, but once she’d sunk down into the furs, sleep had been only moments away.
And she’d not even watched Erann’s attempts to join her, although she’d heard the tap of his walking sticks over the hard stone floor.
She’d felt him settle beside her but hadn’t opened her eyes.
As she’d drifted into sleep, she’d felt Erann brush her hair from her painful face and run his hand along her forehead and under her eyes, tracing her face in much the same way she’d done to him when she’d first woken.
His touch had left a hot trail along her face, banishing the ache of her exposure.
She lay there, aware of a dangerous longing that would have erupted if she’d not been so utterly exhausted.
If she’d been more awake, she would have done exactly what she did in the dreams that followed.
She’d have kissed him.
Now she felt well rested and more prepared to demand answers from him. She needed to know how he’d rescued her. She needed to know how he’d even known where to find her.
Beside her, Arrow yawned widely, gave her a small lick and stole off out of the cave.
Sereh lay there for a bit longer, staring up at the black-grey ceiling of the cave. It shimmered, luminescent in a shaft of light, then dimmed again, as the sun went behind a cloud.
With a sigh for what must be done, she disentangled herself from Erann’s arms. She’d slept with his arm under her head.
His other hand gently held hers. She struggled to name what it felt like.
Safety toyed on the tip of her tongue. She wanted to be loved by him and wanted to let herself love him, as she now knew she did.
She wanted it more than anything – well, except for some explanations.
She pushed herself to her feet. Her head felt light.
She needed to drink and eat. There was a delicious smell coming from the cooking pot, and she staggered towards it.
Every part of her body ached, and she leaned into the pain.
By the Gods, she was lucky to be alive. She breathed in deeply, her ribs protesting.
By rights, she should still be crumpled at the bottom of a crevasse, cold, dead and alone.
Her mind might forget. Her body wouldn’t.
She groaned as she perched herself on a rock seat and reached for the cooking pot. Immediately, Arrow appeared at her side, pressing her head against Sereh’s ribs in support.
‘Where have you come from then, girl?’ She stroked the wolf-dog’s head. ‘Off exploring, no doubt. Did you find anything interesting?’
The wolf-dog stared pointedly at the cooking pot, and Sereh grinned.
‘All right, I’m hungry too.’ Sereh grinned and ladled them both huge bowls full of a delightful-smelling stew Erann had prepared with the ingredients Emma had brought with her.
She had her appetite back today instead of the day before when she’d wanted to eat but had been too tired to do more than sample Erann’s cooking.
Her eyes alighted on the disturbed contents of Emma’s basket.
She hadn’t noticed it before, when Emma had been with them.
Was that honey? Where had she managed to find that at this time of the rotation?
She scurried forwards and pored through the other contents of the basket.
Erann had travelled with some shrivelled turnips and not much else, while she’d left Rankil’s steading with little more than peat cakes.
But Emma? Emma had salted fish, alongside the honey, and nowhere was there any sign of coagulated animal blood.
And, she’d said Arrow had found the hares they’d been eating, but there was the meat of another one, there, waiting to be added to the cookpot.
Arrow hadn’t found such a meaty-looking animal. Not at this time of the rotation.
Where had Emma come from and where was she now? Her absence rang loudly in Sereh’s mind. No one would abandon so much good food, especially not with strangers.
In the corner, Erann slept as Sereh mused. So many questions. So few answers. Sereh glanced towards the cave entrance. She’d run once before, angry with him. Now, she considered the possibility again. If she took all this bounty with her, surely she could survive this time.
Yet, the day seemed duller than yesterday, and the sky was overcast. It might rain. That would certainly aid with the thaw. Determined to think about something other than the food, she took herself towards the cave entrance, following where Arrow had gone.
‘Arrow?’ she called, unsure why her wolf-dog had abandoned her half-empty bowl and dashed outside.
Near the cavern entrance, she blinked. She’d thought it might be about to rain, but now the dark blueness of the vast sky revealed itself, without a cloud in sight. The sun was bright, the landscape sparkling.
She blinked in confusion.
There was a clatter of falling stones. She turned, expecting to see Arrow, but the wolf-dog wasn’t there.
She furrowed her brow, held her hand above her head, and stepped outside, pulling her fur tighter.
‘Hello,’ she called. ‘Hello?’
But there was no reply, other than, from quite nearby, the sound of more snow settling over the glacier.