Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75650 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75650 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
I’m also starting to worry. Surely no tent is going to keep us warm enough in this weather. No fire is going to be able to withstand this wind. What are we going to do? The thought of going through the night as cold as I am now fills me with helpless despair. I’ve never been so cold. My only consolation is that Pacy seems unbothered. In this, he’s more sa-khui than human, and I’m grateful.
The sled stops. I frown to myself under the blankets, concerned. Is Pashov all right? I wait for the inevitable jerk of the sled as it starts again, but nothing moves. What if…what if he’s hurt again? Panic clutches at my throat, and I fling myself upright, fighting through the layers of blankets. “Pashov?” I cry out into the blizzard. “Pashov!”
“I am here,” he says, and he touches my face.
Oh gosh, his fingers are so warm, and I’m so damn cold. I want to burrow against him and just bask in his warmth. Thank goodness he’s all right. “Why-why did we stop?”
He hesitates for a moment, then reaches over me to pull Pacy into his arms. “Come. We must get you inside, both of you.”
Inside? I squint into the driving snow, but I can’t see anything. “Are we stopping? But it’s not night—”
“We are done for the day,” he says in a firm, calm voice. He offers me his free hand and helps me down from the sled, then flings his cloak over me, shielding me from the snowstorm. “Come. Hold on to me, and I will lead the way.”
“Pacy—”
“I have him. Come.”
I cling to his side and let him lead me forward. It’s impossible to tell where we’re going, and this feels a bit like those trust exercises they do at summer camp. Only I’m not falling backward into someone’s arms. I’m stepping forward blindly into the snow in the hopes of safety and warmth.
A few steps later, and suddenly the wind seems to die away. I peek out from under Pashov’s fur cloak, and it’s dark, but I can barely make out the glowing blue eyes of my mate and my baby, and the faint outline of rock walls. My breathing sounds different, and the wind seems to be howling behind us. I turn in surprise, gazing back out as I realize where we are. “Is this a cave?”
“A hunter cave,” Pashov confirms, handing Pacy to me. “Hold him, and I will start a fire.”
I take my son, carefully rewrapping him in his blankets so he stays warm and dry. I feel soaked to the bone from all the snow, but the wind isn’t nipping into me, so it’s not so terrible. “Where are the others?” I ask as he moves around the cave. I hear the sound of rummaging and then a spark lights in the fire pit, illuminating Pashov’s face. “Are they staying in caves?”
There is silence for a long moment, and then another spark. “We have been separated from them.”
I suck in a breath. “What happened?”
This time, the spark catches, and Pashov leans over, blowing gently to make the fire grow. I wait impatiently as he feeds it tinder, all the while carefully blowing on the tiny flame. When it is safe to speak and the fire is in no danger of going out, he glances up at me. “The snow grew to be too much. We fell behind.”
And our sled wasn’t even the biggest. “Oh my god. Do you think the others—”
“They will be safe. I promise. Do not worry.”
“How can I not worry? Georgie and Josie and the others are out there in the storm! What about your parents—Kemli? Borran? Or Farli and your brothers—”
“We will catch up to them,” he says, his voice calm and even. “I brought you here because you are cold.”
“But won’t they worry about us—”
“Do not worry,” he assures me. He gets up from the small fire and moves to my side, tugging me gently toward the flame. He pulls one of my sodden layers off of my shoulders and for a moment, I want to protest that I need the furs, but then he sits me in front of the fire. It’s beginning to catch now, and it’s so, so warm. I sigh at the feeling of heat, scooting closer.
“I’m worried, Pashov,” I say as I hold Pacy close. My mind is racing with fear. “We can’t lose the others—”
“We will not,” he says quickly. “I know where they are going. We will meet them there. For now, it is most important that you rest, Stay-see. You and my son both.” He reaches out and chucks Pacy under the chin, and the baby giggles. “Wait here,” Pashov tells me. “I will bring in our gear.”
I want to help, but Pacy must be watched and the fire kept going. So I nod, trembling as I wait by the fire. Pashov dashes out of the front of the cave again and disappears into the blinding white flurries, and the knot in my throat grows huge. The weather is so bad. How can we be separated from the others? What are we going to do?