Page 70 of Blood Beneath the Snow

When I woke up, thecold had subsided a bit. I was warm under the blankets and goose bumps weren’t trailing telltale lines over my arms and legs. It was a relief—I’d shivered through the night despite the Hellbringer’s warmth next to me.

That warmth was strikingly absent now, though. I sat up andlooked around, but I was alone. I yawned and stretched. Maybe his soldier had come to get him and take him away for a mission of some kind.

It was probably best he wasn’t there, I thought while I braided my hair. It would save us both from the awkwardness. Besides, he was my enemy.

But…did enemies make comments to each other about sleeping naked together? Did enemies stroke each other’s faces and ask what they were afraid of? Did enemies think about each other while getting themselves off?

My thoughts were abuzz.

Boots sounded on the metal floor, distracting me. Mira gave me a perfunctory glance from where she’d landed. The Hellbringer, dressed in his armor once more, stepped back into the room. He was the picture of power. Looking at him, ready for war, sent the same kind of thrill through me as when he’d been close last night, asking what I felt for him.

“Get ready,” he said, adjusting his gloves. I wondered if he had just put them on. “We’re leaving.”

Ten minutes and a dozen questions later, my boots crunched in white snow as Mira disappeared. Afternoon sun reached down between the pines to brush against my palms.

“Oh.” I stretched out my arms, looking at the green canopy of needles above me and watching my exhaled breath crystallize in the air. It tasted crisp in my lungs, fresher than the air I’d breathed all week. I felt my nose turning pink. “I’ve missed this.”

“Stretch your legs while you can,” the Hellbringer instructed. “We can’t stay here for long.”

I turned in a circle, trying to see if I recognized anything. Considering the entire northern half of Bhorglid looked identical, the place was unfamiliar to me. I pulled my hood over my head to warm my ears. “What are we doing here?” The trees stretched for miles. Icould see no clearing in any direction. Not five minutes before, my captor had instructed me to grab my cloak and my sword. The next thing I knew, Mira whisked both of us aboveground. I was confused but not upset at the turn of events.

“I thought you could use a break from our rigorous training schedule,” he said. “And I wondered if you might be interested in spying on your brothers and father for a moment.”

I blinked at him. A moment of silence passed. “Spying on my family?”

“Yes.”

I shook my head. He couldn’t be serious. “Why? Surely you have more important things to do.”

“Gathering information is what I’ve been ordered to do.”

The thought of seeing my family again was equal parts exciting and repugnant. While I longed to see Frode and Jac and reassure them I was okay, the thought of laying eyes on my father or Björn made me shiver with dread.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Why would you ask me to come with you?”

He sighed. “What did I say about petulant questions? Are you coming, or should I have Mira take you back?”

The threat silenced me. “Let’s go,” I said.

We walked for about an hour while I mulled over the Hellbringer’s proposal. Was this a test? Was he waiting to see if I would run? Neither of us had reason to trust the other.

And yet…here we were.

If the chance came to escape, would I take it?

Part of me wanted to. It was the part of me that hated seeing only prison walls every day and despised losing every time we sparred. The part that missed Frode and Freja like cut-off limbs and longed to change things back to the way they’d been before.

The freezing wetness seeped into my socks through the tops ofmy boots with every step. My toes would be numb soon. The Hellbringer’s pace kept my circulation up, though, and we continued on our march.

The only way forward was through.

I smelled the smoke of a fire and heard the low rumble of an army chattering in the distance. Longing thrummed through my veins with my heartbeat. The war front wasn’t home, the Lurae soldiers weren’t my family, but the colors of Bhorglid and the scent of stew floating to me was like an anchor for my soul. Finally, I was going to get to see my brothers. And they would be none the wiser.I wonder if they’ve missed me.

Then a thought struck me and I froze.

“Wait,” I said, grabbing the Hellbringer’s arm. Nausea seized my stomach.

I must have surprised him, because my touch caused him to stop. He turned to face me. “What?”

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