Page 15 of Dragonbound

Sereh hooked the animal from Arrow’s sharp teeth and set to skinning the creature. It was far from the largest hare Sereh had ever seen, but it would stave off her ferocious hunger.

Later, feeling unusually full for such a small meal, Sereh lay down to sleep wrapped in her fur and with her wolf-dog at her feet, once more on hard, black rock. The outlook for tomorrow, she decided, was certainly an improvement on that of today. Or any other day recently, for that matter.

10

SEREH

Sereh woke early the next day, feeling more hopeful than she had since finding her friend and family dead. She’d slept deeply, without waking from the cold or from lying awkwardly. Or from the fear of a wolf attack.

Once again, the floor of the cave had felt warm against her body when she’d settled down for the night – and it still did when she woke. She shook her head in disbelief. She felt sure she wasn’t imagining it. Maybe that’s why these caves were free of ice, whereas everywhere else remained buried in snow and frost. What caused the heat was another matter entirely… But she couldn’t think about that now. It was best to thank the Gods for her good luck and not question it too closely.

She’d dreamt of the warmth and good food they’d surely find at Erann’s. Arrow seemed to be just as keen to be off, not bothering to eat the few remains from last night’s meal before they left. Sereh did, however, drink the tepid water she’d left to melt in one of the beakers, close to the ashes of the fire. For all the snow around her, she felt almost constantly thirsty from all the walking.

There’d been no storm last night for the first time since she’d escaped from Rankil’s. Although it had been blisteringly cold, the wind had been almost calm compared to her first night outside. Perhaps, she mused, the freak storms had finally passed, surely another sign the thaw was underway and heat would soon return to the land.

Now as Sereh reached down to ensure her snowshoes were tightly laced to her sealskin boots, the snow sparkled with frost in the growing light. Arrow watched on from outside the mouth of the cave, eager to get moving.

Sereh moved slowly across the slippery surface of the frozen snow. She didn’t want to slip and injure herself now she was so close to her fresh destination.

‘I don’t have claws like you, my girl,’ Sereh called, aware she sounded different, her voice light and airy. She grinned. Despite the emotional few days, she’d noticed a change in herself. She was free – free from Rankil, free from servitude. Even if she was without a warm steading to call home. There had to be a way to safeguard her newfound freedom. Erann would surely know. He might have been a boy when his father was sent into exile, but he must have absorbed the vital knowledge his father knew, before that happened. It was impossible that he’d force her to return to Rankil. Not now. Not once he knew what the jarl did to his unwanted children.

Striding out more confidently with her snowshoes in place, Sereh continued down the gentle slope. The way ahead consisted of many slopes, but none of them were as high as the one she’d laboured so hard to climb yesterday evening. Half a day passed quickly and the sun was high in the sky when she crested the last rise and looked down on the snug valley where Erann’s steading lay.

A broad smile split her face. The steading was whole. There was no sign of any wolf attack here. Finally, she’d have a firm roof over her head, and sleep on something other than rock for a bed.

From her position, the steading of the former jarl of the Eastern Quarter looked to be almost part of the overhanging hill that protected it to the landward side. His family had always lived alone, the nearest neighbour separated from them by hill or river, with the sea a constant presence, about half a day’s travel away.

‘At last,’ she exhaled gratefully. ‘There’ll be something other than peat cakes to eat here.’ She ran her gloved hand over Arrow’s back. The wolf-dog seemed to share a doggy grin with her. Then she straightened, her eyes caught by a figure trudging towards the entrance of the steading. Was it Erann? It had to be. Had he reached his home before she had? She’d lost track of the days and nights she’d been outside. Had it been eight days and nights, or less?

‘Come on,’ she called to Arrow, forcing herself to almost a run. Arrow streaked ahead of her. With a yelp, Sereh slipped, her feet flew from beneath her, landing on her back to slide all the way to the bottom of the steep, snow-covered slope. She came to a slow stop, chest heaving, snowshoes finally digging into the drift, spitting snow from her mouth, forcing herself to stand upright on shaky legs.

Ahead, the figure had stopped at the sound of her cry and was watching her wild descent.

She tottered forward, arm raised in greeting. She didn’t have the breath to call out.

The figure’s hood slipped as they drew closer. Sereh felt her heart leap at the sight of the familiar green eyes frowning at her, although she couldn’t deny he looked tired and haggard. He must still be feeling the effects of his night on Vatna Jokull.

‘What are you doing here, Sereh?’ Erann’s tone was wary.

‘I came to give you this.’ She slipped his backpack free, removed her gloves and worked at the toggles to pull the journal from it. She held it out to him.

Relief spread across his face.

His fingers brushed hers as he took it, and a shock ran through her cold fingers, a pleasant ache humming in its wake. His face brightened as he ran his hands over the journal, almost hungrily.

‘Where did you find this?’ he asked in his more characteristic soft voice.

‘It was in your backpack when you left me on the glacier.’ As hard as she tried, she knew she sounded bitter about their last meeting.

His face clouded. Something dark flashed in his eyes. She hoped it wasn’t directed at her.

‘Yes, about that. I’m very sorry, you know, but I… I didn’t know why I was there, or rather how I got there. In fact, I still don’t. I was convinced you’d run back to Rankil to tell him about our meeting. It’s the last thing I wanted. My relationship with that man is complicated enough as it is, without tales of my aimless wanderings on Vatna Jokull reaching his ears.’

Sereh nodded. She could well understand those feelings.

‘Look, I didn’t know how bad it was for you, and you didn’t say you were running away from him. I know now. Anya told me about what happened, what he made you do. I’m sorry. Sorrier than you can ever know. At the time… At that moment.’ He stumbled and took a calming breath. ‘When I woke up in the morning and realised I had no idea how I’d arrived at the glacier, I panicked. I wanted to get as far away from you as I could. But I promise I did do the right thing in leaving you and Arrow behind – but I’m sorry for not staying to tell you I was going. I’m glad you picked up the backpack; you wouldn’t have survived otherwise, would you? I was foolish to forget it, but I made it to Rankil’s, so I was fine without it.’

Sereh struggled to keep up with Erann’s explanation.