Page 8 of The Brightest Night

“Velos? No.”

“I’ll find shelter,” he called out, retreating into the swirling snow. “I’ll find it and come back for you.”

“Velos!”

He ran off, vanishing into the whiteout.

“You ungrateful bastard!”

I’d saved his ass from pirates, literally, and he was abandoning me now? In my time of need?

I wanted to scream, but that would be a waste of energy. Best to channel my rage into pulling the damn cab.

Alone.

My thighs burned. My chest ached with each icy breath.

The wind howled, snow swirling to create a white veil around me, making it impossible to know if I was even walking in a straight line. I could be going in circles for all I knew. My hands were no longer mine. My face might as well not exist; all I felt was the press of my boots into the snow and the pressure around my waist as I pulled. And pulled.

Shit, shit, shit.

Fuck. This was nearly impossible alone.

Alone…

I was no stranger to working solo, but Kai and Destiny had always been in my ear. And now, for the first time in a long time, surrounded by the nothingness of a frozen wasteland, I was truly alone.

I scanned the night, painted white, the chill so deep I could no longer feel it. I doubted I’d be able to peel my fingers free of the rope that I was clutching, even if I wanted to. Had Velos found shelter? Maybe he would be back.

Who the fuck was I kidding? Even if he wanted to come back for me, there was no way he’d find me in this shitstorm. I just hoped he’d made it to safety, even though he was a traitorous asshole. He was just a kid. A scared kid with no real allegiance to me. I couldn’t blame him for running.

Wait…what was that dark spot ahead?

Like a mouth gaping.

Hope flared in my chest.

A cave?

It was swallowed by the blizzard a moment later.

I had to get to it. Stay on track. One foot in front of the other.

Heat flooded me with renewed vigor, propelling me on. Faster. Strength spilled into my limbs as if from nowhere.

Another gap in the white veil.

Another glimpse of the dark maw.

Wider.

Larger.

Closer.

Yes!

The wind dropped for a heartbeat, and my pulse surged. Haven was within reach. The whiteout followed, but I ducked my head and kept moving, thighs straining, chest so tight I could barely breathe until I was at the lip of the cave, stepping out of the white and onto icy rock.