Page 55 of Winter's Scorching Kisses
Chapter 14
Adorra shoved the furs off of her, the moment the sun popped up over the horizon. She’d gotten a bit more sleep, but it’d been restless as memories flooded back to haunt her. All she could think about was the night Edmund had been murdered in front of her very eyes.
The snort of a horse sounded outside the tent and relief washed over her. Mathar had returned. At least he hadn’t abandoned her. She’d been a little worried he might leave her to die alone in the cold mountains now that she had a theory about him being the killer.
But it wasn’t like she could really tell anyone up here.
Rising to her feet, Adorra wrapped a fur around herself and walked to the entrance of the tent. She pressed a hand to the fur flap, opening it. Her eyes widened as she took in the scene before her. It must have snowed last night. The snow covering the ground would now reach to her mid-calf.
She saw Mathar standing near his horse but fairly far from her.
“Hello?”
He turned and eyed her.
“I was hoping you could bring the horse over here, so I don’t freeze my feet off. Unfortunately, my slippers and dress don’t provide much protection against snowfall.” He may know something or be a killer, but that still didn’t mean she could do anything with that knowledge. She was stuck here, and she still needed to find her sister.
Mathar grabbed the reins of his horse and headed her way, but he didn’t make eye contact with her. Instead, he looked just over her head. As he pulled up in front of the tent, he offered her a hand in silence.
She accepted it, and he quickly swung her up onto the horse. Then he started breaking down the tent, still no words.
Adorra sat there in silence, as she watched him work. She wasn’t entirely sure where to start, but she did have a lot of questions for him. The real question was whether or not he would answer any questions she asked him.
Once he was done, he tied the tent up to the back of the saddle and mounted up behind her. He kicked the horse into movement, but as they progressed through the forest the snow on the ground only increased, preventing them from moving any faster.
The silence weighed down on her as the questions continued to mount in her mind. She had to ask them, or they were going to drive her crazy.
“Were you there that night?” Adorra blurted out untactfully.
Silence.
“I always suspected a giant but the idea seemed so far-fetched, and then I saw you there, in the moonlight, looking just the same as the intruder who killed my husband.” She would never forget the image that shadow had presented on the night of Edmund’s death.
“Your sister will be able to answer your questions better than I.”
Adorra frowned. That wasn’t an answer she wanted. “Was it a giant?”
“Your sister will be able to answer your questions better than I.”
“You must know something!” She cried out. “You cussed when I mentioned the idea last night.”
“Your sister?”
“Will be able to answer your questions better than I.” She cut him off as she grumped.
They fell back into silence. If he was going to be stubborn and make her wait until they got to the ice giant castle then so be it. She just hoped someone there would be able to answer her questions, and she prayed Mathar wasn’t the killer.
Her stomach rolled as she thought about Mathar being the killer. What if she was traveling with her husband’s killer at this very moment? What if she’d just slept with her husband’s killer? It disturbed her, but there was nothing she could do about her past actions.
Her stomach rolled, so she did her best to redirect her thoughts. Edmund was dead, but she still had the possibility of saving her sister.
Adorra couldn’t believe her eyes as they broke through the trees at the forest’s edge. A castle with an immense village surrounding it soared into view.
She wasn’t sure what she expected to see, but these were no barbarians like she’d been taught. Their buildings appeared to be just as sophisticated as the ones her people created. There was nothing primitive about the giants. The stories her people had started about the giants all appeared to be lies from where she was sitting.
“It’s stunning.” The castle and village stood out starkly against the backdrop of snow covered mountains.
“What had you expected?” Mathar asked shocking her. Here she’d been thinking he would never utter another word to her again since she accused him of being a killer.
