Freya nodded. “All right, but I’m coming with you.”
“Just stay close.”
Feeling along the walls with one hand and holding on to Freya with the other, I ventured deeper into the cave. After walking in the dark for nearly five minutes, the wall began to feel damp through my gloves, and I removed one to confirm that the stone was wet.
“It’s warmer here,” I said, wondering if we’d found a hot spring. Freya blew out a breath. “Good. We could use some luck.” Feeling optimistic, I picked up my pace but was surprised to see light coming from around a bend ahead. I paused, considering.
“Is that natural light?” Freya asked softly. “Otherwise, it will mean people.”
“Let’s be cautious. We don’t want to reveal ourselves if we’re not alone here. But if we can stay warm, I’d welcome it.”
“If someone else is here, we leave—no questions,” Freya pressed.
“Agreed.”
“Okay then,” Freya replied, satisfied, and we started forward again.
Now that there was sufficient light, I dropped Freya’s hand and flattened myself against the wall. I inched closer to the curve and tentatively stuck my head out as I continued along the wall.
There was a crude wooden door blocking the cave ahead, the light we’d noticed bleeding from between planks of wood.
I stepped away from the wall, earning a startled intake of breath from Freya.
I gestured for her to stay put and crept toward the door. I peeked through the gaps in the wood and could only make out more rock and a torch burning from a nearby sconce. If there was a sconce burning, it meant that people had been there recently. But were they still there?
I ran my fingers over the door, noting that it was locked from this side with a deadbolt. With a frown, I unlocked the door and pulled it open with a loud creak that set my teeth on edge. But nobody came barreling down the passage, so I opened the door the rest of the way and stepped through, studying the rock walls suspiciously.
“Is it okay?” Freya whispered, skulking up behind me. She looked at the torch. “Someone’s here.”
I grimaced. “Let’s take a quick look. If there’s no threat, I’d rather not have to venture into the freezing cold again to find another cave.” I gestured to the deadbolt. “Besides, we can always lock this.”
Freya fingered the lock. “Why is it locked from the outside?”
“Maybe there’s livestock ahead,” I reasoned. “If people are living in the area, they have to keep animals somewhere warm.”
“Perhaps,” Freya said, unconvinced. “Fine. Just a look.” But I didn’t fail to notice her unsheathe a dagger. That was probably for the best. I didn’t want to be caught by surprise any more than she did, although that would be a hard thing to do, given how tight the corridor was.
We didn’t have to go much farther before we came to another door, this one sturdier than the previous one, also locked from this side with a deadbolt. There were no gaps in the wood to see beyond this door, but another sconce burned beside the door, providing us with ample light.
“Well?” Freya asked, turning to me expectantly.
“I say we see what’s on the other side,” I said, looking over the door nervously. “But if it goes much deeper, I think we should abandon this cave and find another.”
Freya grunted. “You would say that now that I can actually feel my toes.”
I smirked, then paused, realizing just how warm it was. It was still chilly, but the arctic temperatures had given way to something that could be classified as comfortable. “Well, if there are no surprises here, maybe we can stick around just long enough for you to open another portal.”
Therese pushed her way out of the pocket in my bag, where she’d been wrapped in extra layers. “Yes, please. You wouldn’t believe how cold this body gets.”
Freya nodded. “I’m probably still a day away from a long-distance jump. If we can stay the night here, I don’t see any problems with getting out of here first thing in the morning.”
“Good.” I offered her an encouraging smile before unlocking the door. And before I could think about it, I gave the door a solid pull. Freya tensed beside me, readying her blade.
This door didn’t squeak, to my relief. The room ahead opened up, well-lit by several torches. Black iron bars built into the walls created cells along either side of the room, allowing for a path through the center of the room that led to a stone staircase at the other end. The room was quite large, with eight cells on either side, each the size of a small sitting room, but decorated with stone benches and beds covered with straw. The smell of chamber pots was overwhelming, but at a glance, no prisoners seemed to populate the cells.
“A prison?” Freya whispered, eyes wide.
I nodded, walking into the room slowly. “Probably courtesy of the Ice Queen.”
