A sudden, sharp vibration rockets through my body.
—Theo!— Alexis’s voice is frantic and breathless. —A patrol is in your area. They just hit the repulsion wards…stay calm, but don’t make any noise. They can still hear and smell, even if their eyes keep turning away from the cabin—
I grab Willow’s hand, heart hammering. —Guards are close. Keep quiet—
Then, through the cracked glass window, I see sweeping beams of light, from both flashlights and magic globes.
Willow and I duck instinctively.
—What’s the plan if they find us?—Willow asks.
I think hard for a minute then squeeze her hand even tighter. —We’re just two fools in love, having a romantic weekend in the snow—
Footsteps crunch through the frozen crust of snow, sounding impossibly close.
“I can still smell it,” a gravelly voice mumbles. “A campfire somewhere around here.”
“Forget it, Miller," a second man replies. “We’ve scouted the whole area and there’s nothing.
A beam of light shines through the window once again.Willow’s fingers dig into my palm. —They’re moving away, listen—
She’s right, I can hear the outside footsteps receding. After a minute, the distant rumble of a snowmobile engine turning over signals the guards leaving.
—I think it’s OK now—
Alexis returns to the conversation, his voice sharp—All of us regroup back at the cabin and we can discuss what we’ve learned—
I get up and put a heavy iron kettle on top of the glowing logs. “You said you had instant coffee, and chocolate?” I ask Willow.
She nods, and starts gathering the chipped tin mugs that were at the back of a cupboard. “Good idea.”
By the time the kettle boils, Donovan and Ludo are back.
Placing a mug of coffee in Ludo’s hands, I kiss his cold cheek. “You OK?” I whisper. I can’t imagine how hard it must be, returning to this place.
—I am—
The door bangs open, and Max and Alexis spill inside, bringing a wild air of shifted beast with them.
“Welcome back, coffee? Chocolate?” Willow asks, as they shuck off their wet, cold outwear.
Alexis’s eyes move around inside the room. “No Drakeward yet?”
“No. I’ll contact him.”
—Cosmo?—
—Five minutes out—
“Dude, I saw you on the ridge,” Donovan says, turning to Alexis and grinning widely. “Your flying lion is totally awesome. Who knew those puny little wings could lift such a fat body.”
“I do not have a fat body,” Alexis growls.
I stifle a giggle at the look of outrage on his face.
“Of course you don’t,” Donovan agrees, patting Alexis on the stomach. “It’s just your winter coat, right, big boy?”
Willow passes Lex a mug. “You probably want black coffee if you’re cutting calories?”
