Instead, Ahnna swallowed it. “Alexandra drove him to this,” she whispered. “Yet another death on her hands, but more will come if you do not stop her, so hold on to your rage. Let it fuel every step you take until you can put a knife in her evil heart.”
Dippy snuffed the top of her head, then caught hold of her cap with his lips and tossed it on the ground with a snort as though to say,Enough.She looked up at him through her tears. “You’re right. We have to keep going.”
Clinging to her fury, Ahnna climbed to her feet and led her horse down the trail. There was every chance that the soldiers who’d been on James’s heels would pursue for a time on foot, which meant that she needed to put distance between her and them.
Darkness fell, and Ahnna lit her lantern. The small amount of oil left in it wasn’t enough to last through the night, so she kept it low. Which meant that she caught sight of a distant spark of light at the base of the valley.
A campfire.
She stared at it for a long time, wondering if they’d found James. Wondering if they’d bring his body back to Harendell to his awful family, or whether he’d remain buried forever in a tomb of her making.
It felt so hard to breathe.
He’d betrayed her. Hunted her. Would have killed her if he’d caught up to her, but Ahnna had not wanted this. Tears pricked in her eyes, because a deluded hope had burned in her heart that she’d escape and live to prove Alexandra’s duplicity. That James would learn the truth and…
“And what?” she whispered. “Andwhat,you lovesick idiot? Did you really think that if James learned you were innocent, something would be possible between you? Why would you even want that when he took you with lies on his tongue? What is wrong with you?”
I love him.The truth whispered up from the depths of her heart, and Ahnna sucked in a mouthful of air that didn’t feel like it reached herlungs. “He’s dead. Move on. Move forward. Focus on the lives of those who deserve your loyalty.”
The snow grew deeper as she continued, up past her knees now, and exhaustion pressed down upon her as she walked through the darkness. Following the trail as it wove higher into the Blackreaches toward the relative safety of Amarid’s border.
The air was frigid, her toes numb inside her boots and her teeth chattering. She covered Dippy with her only blanket, fixing it to his bridle and tucking it under the saddle so it wouldn’t blow away, and then pulled her arms inside her sleeves, tucking her hands into her armpits. Yet nothing she did held back the growing chill.
She and Dippy walked through the night, mostly because she was certain that if they stopped, she’d freeze in her sleep. As dawn lit the night sky, each step was a force of will. She had to find shelter before death found them first.
The trail descended into a valley between the mountains, revealing a lake. The water was frozen, the sharp wind having blown away the snow so that the ice looked like glass. Nestled on the banks amid the trees was a shadowed structure.
Ahnna tripped in the snow and fell. Got to her feet, then tripped again.
“Come on,” she whispered, her lips cracked and bleeding. “You can make it.”
Catching hold of a stirrup, she dragged herself to her feet and then into the saddle. With his head low, Dippy staggered through the snow in the direction of the cabin.
No smoke rose from its chimney, and there was no disturbance in the snow around the building to suggest anyone lived there permanently. Dismounting, she drew her knife and walked toward the door. “Hello?” she called. “Is anyone here?”
There was no response, so she carefully lifted the latch holding the door closed. It was dim inside, but the watery sunlight filtering through the heavy clouds allowed her to see that it was empty. Thecabin was small with only a rough table and chairs, a cot, and a fireplace; the second room was not a room but a horse stall with a separate door. A place for travelers to rest that protected them from weather and predators, and Ahnna thanked God, fate, and the stars for leading her to it tonight.
She led Dippy into the stall at the rear, then removed his tack before draping her blanket across his back. There were scraps of grass and hay from prior occupants, and she left him to forage while she returned to the living quarters.
Cold to the bone, Ahnna knelt before the hearth, which the prior occupant had left set with kindling and wood. It took what felt like an eternity to get it lit, but soon she was warming her hands over the flames, the small space heating up swiftly. She melted water in her pot and drank deeply, then melted more for her horse.
Taking up her bow, Ahnna ventured outdoors again and shot a fat squirrel, which she skinned and then cooked over the fire before eating every last morsel and licking the grease from her fingers.
She added more wood to the fire.
Melted more snow for water.
Shot another squirrel for her next meal.
Her body screamed for sleep, but without tasks to keep her hands busy, the hollowness in her chest threatened to consume her.
James is dead.
You killed him.
She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, fighting for control. Fighting to keep food in her stomach, because her thoughts made her feel sick.
Murderer.
