“Why don’t you give it a shot?” I suggested, grinning and panting. There really was no reason for me to be breathing so heavily. Warden Hallum was the one who’d dragged the sled back up the hill after each run. He was doing so now. When we reached the top once more, he said, “I have no interest in sliding down a slippery hill.”
It really was slippery. The surface melt was making everything slick.
“Alrighty, then. This can be my last go.”
The sun was dipping lower, stretching out the spiked shadows of the trees.
“I’m gonna give this one a real running start,” I said. “Make it a super good one to end things off!” I gripped the left side rail, starting to push it down the hill, using my own speed and our combined weights to make the sled pick up enormous speed. It started going so fast that I worried I wouldn’t be able to jump into it very well. I ended up sort of falling into it. My tumble sent the sled shifting to the right, picking up speed as it headed straight towards a clump of trees I hadn’t even come close to hitting before now.
“Shit!”
There was no way to steer the sled. I tried leaning to the left side and yanking on the right rail, but that did absolutely nothing. And the sled was so heavy, and so fast, that if I tried to use my feet as brakes at the front, I worried I’d break both my ankles.
The trees raced towards us. Somewhere behind, Warden Hallum bellowed my name.
He would never reach me in time. My spine was about to get snapped in two. Or my skull smashed in.
Goodbye, brain. Nice to know you.
There was nothing for it. I had to abandon ship. Or, abandon sled, in this case. Moments before collision, I said a little prayer, scrunched my eyes shut, and threw myself onto the snow.
Momentum carried me further than I would have liked. I rolled until I was dizzy, coming to a stop flat on my back at the bottom of the hill, to the left of the trees. Dizziness overtook me. Blood rushed in my ears. I lay still, trying to slow my breathing.
“LUALHATI!”
Uh oh. Warden Hallum sounded pissed. After cracking my eyes open, I immediately saw why. His lovely sled was completely smashed, nothing but splintered wood and two sad, disembodied metal skis.
There was the sound of skidding, then his face above mine.
“Lualhati!” His hands cupped my face. His eyes searched mine.
Hiswhiteeyes.
Oh God. I’d never seen them like this.
He really was mad. Like, super duper mad. I hadn’t even seen his eyes go white when Xennet almost nailed his tail to the hospital floorboards the other day.
“I’m sorry!” I choked out.
“Are you hurt?”
“I…Sorry! The sled!”
“Lualhati!” He leaned over me, prodding my jaw, my neck. “Forget the sled! Are you injured? Do you have pain anywhere?”
His white gaze tore from my face now, frantically scanning my body.
That wasn’t rage tightening every feature of his face. It wasn’t anger making his eyes burn bright white.
It was panic.
Fear.
I never wanted him to be afraid.
“I’m alright,” I said. I wiggled my toes and fingers experimentally. My left shoulder, which took most of the impact, was definitely sore. But I could already tell it wasn’t a serious injury. My back and head were fine. “Nothing’s broken or dislocated.”
His breath left him in a hissing rush.
