But as he blinked to clear his gaze, the dim surroundings were not at all what he expected. Not a cave exactly, but something like a cleft in the rock.
His gaze caught on something moving against the rear wall. As he tried to focus, a pair of eyes stared back at him. His heart jolted.
He blinked once more to clear the mirage. She still sat there, pressed against the back wall, knees bent and hands wrapped around them. He’dfoundher.
“Charlotte?” With his face so cold-numbed, her name came out as only a mumble. Pushing to sit fully upright, he let out a long breath. He’d found her, but now he seemed to know far less than he had before. Maybe his mind was as frozen as his feet. He pressed his gloved hands to his face to try to warm his mouth enough to speak clearly.
“Are you hurt?” Her voice sounded wary, and she stilldidn’t move. The space was so small, only two arm lengths separated them. But at least it was protected from the wind.
He checked through each body part in his mind. “Don’t...” He cleared his throat to try to make the words understandable. “Don’t think so. Too frozen to know for sure.” He scanned what he could see of her, but wrapped up in her furs, that wasn’t much. “Are you all right?”
She nodded. “I’m fine.” Then her gaze shifted past him. “Where’s Gulliver?”
His thoughts still moved as slow as a glacier, and he had to blink to remember where he’d last seen the mule. His entire body tensed, and he struggled to move onto his hands and knees so he could stand. “On the mountain. Where I slipped.” Could he get the animal down here? Not the same way Damien had come, but he could find a safer route.
“I’ll get him. See if we can bring him under the shelter.” Charlotte pushed up to her feet before he’d even managed to get fully on his knees.
He couldn’t send her up the mountain alone. Look what had happened to him. “No, I’ll do it. It’s not safe.”
“You’re not in any condition to climb back up the slope. I’ll return with him soon.” She stepped out into the wind before he could manage a response.
15
Charlotte pulled her coat tighter around her as gusts whipped at her face. The mule was easy to spot, standing thirty strides up the slope, his head ducked low against the wind that tossed snowflakes through the air.
As she trudged upward, the impressions in the snow were impossible to miss—like someone had rolled all the way down to the cleft where she’d taken cover. Had Damien really tumbled so far? No wonder he’d looked like a snow creature when he dropped into her refuge.
Her exhausted limbs threatened to mutiny as she forced herself to climb the mountain that grew steeper with each step. By the time she reached the mule, she’d dropped down to all fours to help pull herself the remaining distance.
At Gulliver’s side, she sat to catch her breath and gather strength. He brought his head around to nudge her shoulder, the sweet greeting he always gave her.
“Hey, fella.” She lifted her face to him, and he blew against her cheek. If that wasn’t incentive to stand and lead him down to shelter, she may never find it.
After struggling to her feet, she patted the mule’s neck andtook up his rope, then together they maneuvered the easier trail she’d spotted on her way up. Though she slipped and slid through the steeper stretches, the mule never faltered.
Damien stood at the edge of the rock shelter as she and Gulliver drew near. Perhaps he’d thought she would slip away instead of bringing the animal down. The idea hadn’t occurred to her, and in truth, she had no desire to play a game of chase. He’d found her, and the fact that he’d come so far and expended so much effort meant catching up to her had been important.
Now she wanted to know why. And she wouldn’t rest until she knew the truth.
He stepped back to allow her room to bring Gulliver under the rock overhang, then approached to stroke him.
She allowed herself a glance at the man’s face. Deep shadows bruised the hollows under his eyes, probably similar to how she looked. She’d stopped here to sleep but had barely dozed off before Damien dropped in—quite literally.
How long had he slept under the effects of the potion? Not long, given that he’d managed to catch up with her. She’d hoped speed would be on her side, along with the fact that he’d be delayed by sleeping. Clearly that hadn’t been enough.
He must’ve felt her gaze, for he lifted his focus to her. Tension tightened the space between them, the weight of their questions stripping the air from the small shelter.
Damien’s gaze flicked to the mule. “I suspect we both need to eat. I’ll loosen his saddle and get out some food for us. Then we can talk.”
He stepped into motion without waiting for her agreement, and she stayed at Gulliver’s head while he worked, stroking the thick fur. Damien hadn’t brought his full load,only a few furs and packs. She couldn’t tell for certain what all was missing, only that the usual mound piled high behind the saddle seemed half the size.
At last, he turned to her with a pack of food in one hand and some of his fur bedding in the other. She took the bundle of meat, and he spread out one of the larger pelts, then motioned for her to sit.
Once they were settled and she’d laid the food between them, Damien took up a piece of meat, and a long breath escaped him as he sank back against the rock wall. That sigh seemed to carry with it the weight of whatever emotions he’d felt since discovering she was gone.
Had he worried about her? Or simply been frustrated she’d thwarted his plans?
For several minutes, they sat quietly, eating and staring out over the snow-covered terrain. Should she begin by asking a simple question to gauge his honesty? Or jump straight into what had driven her away?
