My caribou answered with a shorter, deeper bark that vibrated through its chest and into mine. Its weight shifted back as its hindquarters braced and forelegs stamped against the deep snow as if it were trying to solve a problem. The herd called in staggered echoes, the sounds passing fast and clipped through the dark as the wind whipped harder against us.
“RRAAAAAAOOOHHH!” A roar filled the air, and a massive form rose up, blue light flaring in the darkness.
Shit! Whatwasthat?
My eyes burned, my eyelids slamming shut too late. Pain stabbed behind them, white and blinding, and tears spilled and froze at the corners of my eyes. I tried to crack them open again. Everything blurred, the light far too bright. My head jerked down, and my breath tore out of me.
My caribou lowered its head and spun to the right, charging away from the noises. My arms locked around its neck again on instinct.
The run was relentless—pounding with no lift between strides. Each strike jarred my teeth and sprayed snow against my legs.
The roar came again, closer.
“RRRRAAAOOOHHH—HHRRUUUM!”
The caribou snorted and lengthened its stride, its hooves striking faster and closer together.
Something slammed into the snow behind us. The impact rumbled through the slope and into my spine, and the caribou drove harder. Its shoulders lifted in a shallow bound over broken ground, its stride hitching for a breath before slamming back to earth and into that crushing run. The shift wrenched my balance loose. My palms slid, and my fingers scraped flattened hair slick with melting snow.
Another roar thundered right behind us.
“RRAAOOOHH—KRRUUM!”
The caribou cut sideways, its hooves skidding before regaining traction. The jarring impact tore my grip away. I tried to grasp its neck again and failed.
I hit the snow chest-first, knocking the breath out of me. Cold flooded my face and collar as I rolled, powdery snow packing into my mouth and nose. My shoulder struck hard, and my head bounced, causing it to ring.
Terror strangled me. I had to move because, if I didn’t, I was toast. The really dark, burnt toast that got thrown out to decompose on its own.
I tried to rise, my hands plunging into the snow, but my elbows folded, and my knees slid out from under me. Glaring blue light stabbed through my closed eyelids before they cracked open. I fought once more to get up, then slipped and rolledover and over in the icy snow. The entire world submerged in darkness.
I no longer knew which way was up, and my legs weren’t responding.
Snow burst up around me as something hit the ground close enough to jar my bones. Arms hooked under my shoulders and back, then wrenched me up and crushed me tight against a solid wall. Panic flared through me, and I tried to twist free. But then the darkness claimed me again, and everything faded.
CHAPTER 17
Kai
My heart raced from the strain of lifting Hannah from the snowy ledge she had fallen against and getting us back on my caribou. As we rode, snow lashed sideways into my face and scoured my skin even with my enchanted hood and scarf. I couldn’t imagine how Hannah felt right now.
Her body sagged against my chest, and her head lolled against my shoulder.
Fuck. She was losing coordination.
The pressure in my chest had eased once she was in my arms, but something worse than fear took hold. Ineededto find a way to warm her fast and protect her from the wind. As her head bobbed, I guided her farther down against my chest so that I could better shield her from the wind’s vicious bite.
Her breathing was shallow, and her body trembled. I pulled her closer and locked my arms around her waist. There was no time to waste. She had to get warm, and fast.
Even if I couldn’t be with her, I didn’t want to lose her.
The caribou surged beneath us, its hooves grinding forward through the drifts. I looked at her face, noting her lips were split and the cuts were raw. If those guards survived the avalanche,they would die for what they’d done to her. I didn’t care about the cost.
I removed my scarf and wrapped it gently around her face. The cold was making her injuries worse. “Please keep being a pain in my ass, and don’t die.” I pressed my cheek against her temple, hoping that any kind of heat would help her.
She was fighting for her life, and all I could do was urge this caribou on faster. My body heat had to reach her with her body crumpled against mine.
“Stay with me,” I murmured near her ear. We were close to one of the safe shelters intended for survival during bad storms and hidden through a series of enchantments and wards so that our enemies couldn’t find them. There was one half a mile from here, over Broken Spine Ridge.
