Chapter 30
When Kellan woke, Lettie was curled next to him. Her sleeping face was pressed into his rib cage, her bandaged hand clutching his shirt like she needed him to anchor her.
He stared at the tent above him for a long while. Wind and ice battered the heavy canvas. His arm was asleep from its awkward position above Lettie. His stomach and jaw were bruised from the beatings he had taken but that wasn't what was hurting.
He looked down at her, clinging to him like he was her lifeline, fiery hair spilling over furs, freckles dotting still pink cheeks.
He didn't deserve it.
Her face was scrunched in pain, probably caught in the nightmare that was yesterday—every bit of it his fault.
His Lettie, who was pure as sunshine, bright and warm, marred by his own selfishness.
He would send her back to Drumhaven if it was safe. Back to her family and visiting markets, stringing mushrooms and listening to Kay and Gerald arguing about casks and barrels. Back to a life without him, to a life where people didn't get attacked, where she didn't have blood on her hands.
But they were already closer to Rosthein.
So all he could do was sit there in the dim cold while the girl he had failed slept against his chest, trusting him to keep her safe.
*
The next day was clear. Reis looked up at Malvek's peak looming large above them. Black stones protruded through drifts like frozen teeth. Wind chased ribbons of powder across its face. The summit vanished into a sky so colorless it was impossible to tell where earth ended and heaven began.
Snow stretched in every direction. Deep and endless. It swallowed sound until the world felt reduced to little more than white emptiness and the dark body of the mountain above.
Hank carved a path beneath heavy hooves, drawing lines through the blank cold parchment. The next week would be slow. They would only travel at the safest times, the warmest times.
The sun hung above them like a pale coin hammered into the white sky. Its light was somehow diminished by the cold in the air.
Reis had been all over this mountain, half frozen and angry. He had seen men twice his own size disappear beneath its drifts. Malvek did not kill quickly. It waited for those who dared cross it to make a mistake, never once caring whether travelers made it to the other side.
He looked down at Mirielle, bundled with him under his cloak. Dark hair spilled across silver fox fur. Her small frame dwarfed by the vastness surrounding them, tiny compared to the frosted giant.
"You need to tell me if you get cold."
Mirielle glanced up at him from where she was tucked against his chest. "I know."
"You don't."
A small crease formed between her brows.
Reis adjusted the cloak around her shoulders, pulling it tighter. His arm settled firmly on her waist.
"You get cold and tired. Then you stop thinking clearly." He paused. "The mountain convinces you that sitting down sounds reasonable."
Mirielle stared at the snow around her.
"If your hands or feet start to get numb, I need to know immediately."
Ahead of them, Hank's breath rolled into the air in thick plumes. Snow crunched beneath his hooves. Behind them, the others followed in a winding line through the drifts.
For a while there was only the sound of wind ramming against horses. Then Mirielle spoke quietly. "Did you ever almost die here?"
Reis barked a short laugh.
"Several times."
She twisted slightly to look at him, horrified. "Several?"
"Dane's age," Reis started. Kellan let out a small disbelieving laugh. "I was crossing Malvek during a storm, thought I knew better than everyone else, left camp late thinking I could beat it." His mouth twitched. "I was very intelligent."
"You were an idiot," Dane chimed in.
"That as well."
Kellan looked absolutely delighted to be witness to this particular story.
Reis continued. "I lost the trail. Couldn't see my hands in front of my face. Spent half a night walking in circles." He looked down at Mirielle with poorly masked concern. "I fell into a ravine."
For a moment there was silence. Worry clouded Mirielle's face and Reis softened. He didn't want to scare her. He needed to.
Kellan, however, was stifling laughter. "You fell into a ravine?"
"It was covered by snow."
"You fell into a ravine."
Reis shot him a look. "I climbed out."
Kellan looked entirely too pleased to be the new owner of this information. "Remarkable. The Blood King defeated by a hole."
Lettie stifled a laugh from beneath Kellan's cloak.
For a brief moment the tension eased.
Then the wind rose, howling across them.
It came screaming down the slopes, tearing plumes of snow from the ridges and hurling them into the sky.
The sound rolled across Malvek's face. The mountainside exhaled, groaning like something ancient stirring in its sleep, reminding them whose land they were crossing.
Reis felt a small tremble through Mirielle as she nestled tighter against his chest. He tightened his grip around her waist, hard as forged iron.
He looked at Malvek's peak rising above them like a looming giant.
The mountain could have its freezing wind and its deep drifts. It could have every frozen mile ahead of them.
It would not have her.
*
Lettie stood at the edge of camp. Worry covered her features. She scanned the sparse treeline again and again, begging the forest for movement. Her hands fidgeted with her gloves.
Kellan had gone scouting in the morning and he hadn't returned.
She looked to the sky. The pale sun was burning low, readying to disappear. The temperature was already plummeting.
Reis had left hours ago to look for him. Dane had stayed behind, spending most of the afternoon explaining to her that Kellan was too stubborn and too annoying to die that easily. But in the last hour he had gone silent.
Mirielle sat nearby, her breath fogging the air. She was looking too. Waiting for Reis.
A shadow moved between trees.
Lettie let out a cry. Reis was there between two trees, carrying Kellan on his back.
Lettie ran. Her boots sank in snow as she trudged through the snowy field towards a very angry-looking Reis. Kellan was on his back, his head lolling through the fur of Reis's cloak.
When he saw Lettie, a lazy smile painted his face. "Your hair is on fire," he announced with perfect certainty.
Lettie ignored it.
"What happened?" she demanded.
"The mountain and I had a slight disagreement."
"Kellan—"
"It was being unreasonable."
"Kellan—"
"I won though, so it's fine."
Kellan's lips were nearly blue.
"Ye clearly lost."
Kellan waved his hand limply. "Details."
Reis adjusted his grip and kept walking. His expression was thunderous. "I should have left you up there."
"You would never," Kellan mumbled, fighting a sleepy fog.
"If you try to fall asleep again, I'll make those bruises on your face symmetrical," Reis growled.
Then he dumped him on the ground near the fire and stalked towards Mirielle.
Dane shoved hot broth stored in a leather flask at Kellan. Lettie had hot stones in sacks ready. She put one in his hood and handed him another. Only then did she notice that his hands were violently shaking. She pierced Kellan with a scathing glare as her anger flared.
"You idiot!" Lettie screeched as she threw an empty linen sack at his chest.
"Oh good." Kellan nodded weakly, clutching his rock. "Everyone's using that word today."
"Ye could've died!"
"But I didn't."
"But ye could have."
"But I didn't."
Lettie looked at him furiously. "Kellan—"
Kellan dropped his head in defeat and sighed. "I know..."
Lettie opened her mouth but then her eyes caught something and she stopped. A tiny splash of color against the dark of his clothes. She reached for it. Kellan immediately tried to block her.
"No."
Lettie froze.
"What?"
"No."
Lettie blinked at him. He sighed.
Reis barked a laugh from beside Mirielle. "And now he's worried."
Lettie pulled the parcel free. It was a tiny bundle of blue flowers, crushed and half frozen, carefully wrapped in a light linen cloth. For a moment she just stared at them.
Dane ran a hand down his face. Reis looked like he had been ready to commit murder for hours. Lettie stared at the flowers, then at Kellan.
"Kellan—"
Kellan covered his face. "Please don't."
"Ye went out there fer flowers?"
"In my defense—"
"Fer flowers?"
"They are very nice flowers."
She looked at Kellan, absolutely stunned. "Ye nearly froze to death, you ridiculous man!"
"They are rare flowers."
"I do not care if they're the last flowers in Kaldyr."
Kellan winced. "That's a stronger reaction than I'd hoped for."
Reis folded his arms. "If she kills you, I'm not stopping her."
"I thought we were friends."
Lettie's eyes were pooling. Kellan looked sleepily horrified. "No."
"What?"
Kellan looked at Lettie, lying on the ground, too frozen to move and half dead. "Please stop doing that."
Lettie sniffed. "What?"
"The eye thing."
"What eye thing?"
"The wet one."
Lettie huffed a laugh despite herself. A tear tracked down her cheek and she promptly wiped it away.
Kellan's face gentled. His voice quieted into something somber. Something careful. "I just thought you really needed flowers today."