It is impossible. It is agony.
He crams himself in. He is too big. His shoulders grind against the rock with a sickening sound. His wounded leg buckles. He grunts, a sound of pure, tortured effort, and presses in. Deeper.
And I am crushed.
I am smashed between the frozen, unyielding rock behind me, and the hot, solid, living, vibrating wall of his body.
My breath is forced from my lungs. I am trapped.
His face is inches from mine. I can see nothing but him. His red eyes are wide with terror. His tusks graze my forehead. His hot breath puffs against my face, stinking of blood and fear.
He presses a massive, clawed hand over my mouth.
Shhh.
We are one thing. One body. A fused, panicked, trapped creature. His heart is slamming against my chest, a frantic, brutal rhythm that matches mine.
I hear them.
Crunch. The sound of boots on snow.
"It bled here," the musical voice says. "And then... the trail... it vanishes."
They are right outside. Right by the pine tree.
Threk holds his breath. His body is a single, tensed muscle, vibrating with suppressed fury.
I see them. Through the pine boughs.
Elves. Three of them, their black armor gleaming, their long, white hair stark against the snow.
And soldiers. Human soldiers, in Dark Elf livery.
And... one more.
A villager. In Oakhaven furs.
My breath is a stone in my throat. I know that stoop. I know that hat.
Joric.
He is not a prisoner. He is walking with them. He points a mittened hand. Right at our cabin.
"That's it," Joric's voice says, thin and tight with cold and fear. "That's her hovel. The monster... it's there. With her."
A hot, sick bile rises in my throat.
He led them here.
He ran to them. He found them. He doomed us.
He sold us. He sold me. For jealousy. For pride. For what? Exactly like you did your own family. His own words mock me.
A new figure glides into the clearing.
He is not a soldier. He is different. He is tall and arrogant, wearing no helmet. His face is cold and beautiful as the ice itself. His armor is etched with silver.
“Lord Larda,” the dark elves greets him fearfully, bowing their heads. Joric turns even white than snow when the dark elf appears.
