The last time she had given in to her desires, it had been monumentally catastrophic. She was of two worlds, and yet she didn’t fit into either. Most of the time, it didn’t bother her. Then there were times, like this, when she found someone she wanted to spend time with.
Not that it mattered. She would never see Brom again. He had been going in a different direction. Knowing he was gone forever made her sad, which irritated her. She didn’t even know him. How could she be forlorn that he was gone?
“Get ahold of yourself,” Runa stated.
She blinked and looked around, belatedly realizing that she had been walking for some time lost in her thoughts—again. She never did that, and yet, that was twice in one day. If she didn’t want to get killed, she couldn’t let herself do that again.
It wasn’t just the distance she hadn’t noticed. She also hadn’t felt the drop in temperature, or the fact that it had begun to snow once more. The flakes came down fast and thick, making it difficult to see. She needed to find shelter quickly.
Runa turned in a slow circle. Her tracks were nearly covered by the newly fallen powder. She had been climbing upward, following the gradual rise of the land. Seeing nothing near, she hurried as fast as she could in the thick snow to the top of the hill. When she reached it, she looked out at the mountains before her, now merely dark shadows against an even darker sky.
She might have Gira blood running through her veins, but Runa could still die in the cold. Shivering, she started to the left and the edge of the forest. She paused and looked around when she thought she heard something, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t see anyone. Runa kept walking. She had to keep her head down to stop the flakes from hitting her face. The hood of her cloak was up, and she had to hold onto the sides to keep it in place. Her hands hurt from the bite of the wind, but she kept her feet moving because once she found shelter, she could get a fire going and warm up.
When she finally made it to the forest, she breathed a sigh of relief. The trees blocked some of the wind while their sturdy branches gathered more snow atop them. The trees creaked as her feet crunched in the snow. In her haste, she wasn’t careful where she put her feet and slipped, sliding down the mountain’s slope. As she twisted to try and stop her fall, her knee slammed against a rock hidden in the snow.
Runa cried out and grasped her knee as she fell to the side. Her cheek stung from the impact against the ground. She gritted her teeth and pushed herself into a sitting position to look at her leg. Pain radiated through her, and the last thing she wanted to do was move her limb. But she didn’t have a choice. She had to in order to see how injured she was. All she could hope for was that her kneecap wasn’t busted.
She bent forward and used her hands to feel around her knee. Nothing felt broken, but that didn’t mean anything. She slowly shifted her leg. At first, everything was going fine, then a sharp, stabbing pain shot through her. She bit back the startled yelp that rose, but not before a sound made it past her lips.
“Bloody hell,” she murmured.
This was the last thing she needed. She had no other choice but to get to her feet and find shelter. She couldn’t stay outdoors or on the ground. No matter how much it hurt, she had to get moving.
“It appears as if you could use some aid.”
Her head jerked around at the sound of the deep voice. Even before her gaze landed on his face, she knew it was Brom. Runa wasn’t sure how she felt about the joy that leapt inside her at the sight of him. He didn’t wait for her to reply as he made his way to her and squatted down beside her.
He inspected her knee, then lifted his hazel eyes to hers. “Can you walk?”
Runa nodded, unable to find words.
“Come, then. Let me help,” Brom stated as he wrapped an arm around her.
She was so stunned by his touch that she wasn’t prepared when he straightened, taking her with him. One moment, she was in the snow. The next, she stood next to a tall Scot who held her as if nothing could make him loosen his grip.
“All right?” he asked.
Runa nodded once more as the heat of him wrapped around her, melting away the cold. She liked the feeling of his strong arm around her and how his hand cupped her waist. His hold was firm without crushing. Unable to help herself, she turned her head toward his and found him looking at her. His expression was unreadable, and she hoped hers was, as well. Though she had a feeling it wasn’t.
“Can you put any weight on it?” he asked, shouting over the wind that had suddenly grown louder.
Runa looked around as unease filled her. Her eyes snapped back to Brom to find his eyes narrowed as he too scanned the area. She didn’t feel any Gira near, but there could be witches about. Then she spotted something ahead that looked like a cave. She tapped Brom’s arm and pointed to show him. He nodded to let her know that he had seen it, as well.
She tentatively put her weight on her leg and hissed in pain. In response, Brom pulled more of her weight against him. Runa was able to lean on him and walk with him. It wasn’t dignified or easy, but at least she was on her feet. She kept looking around because she wasn’t going to let an enemy blindside them.
Brom didn’t stop or slow, even when the snow became so deep they had difficulty wading through it. Their pace was steady, but even with that, they made little progress through the storm. If it was this bad within the forest, Runa couldn’t imagine what it was like outside of it.
The wind howled, sounding ghostly as it rushed through the trees. She fisted her hand in Brom’s cloak to keep her grip. Her fingers were numb, which made it difficult to know if she was holding onto him or not. Despite the frigid temperature, sweat ran down her face. She glanced at Brom to find him sweating, as well. The beads froze to their faces almost instantly.
Runa hated that she had injured herself. If she hadn’t, neither of them would have gotten caught in this weather. But she couldn’t change what had happened. She put a little more weight on the leg without any pain. Then she made the mistake of thinking she could do it again. She bit her lip to keep from crying out, but Brom must have felt her jerk against him.
“What is it?” he asked close to her ear.
She kept her face turned away from him so he wouldn’t see how much pain she was in. With the wind at its deafening roar, she didn’t even attempt to speak. Instead, she shook her head.
Brom mumbled something beneath his breath. The next thing Runa knew, he lifted her into his arms. She was so surprised that she couldn’t find the words. No one had ever carried her in such a manner. And she wasn’t sure if she liked being handled in such a way or not.
But it wouldn’t have mattered if it did bother her. She needed Brom’s help.
She might not like being manhandled, but she had to admit—at least, to herself—that she liked being in his arms.
6
Brom had managed to catch up to Runa quicker than he thought. Just as he did, the storm descended upon them. He shouted to her, but she hadn’t heard him. Then, she had slipped. Seeing her roll down the slope had left him shocked. He started running toward her even before she came to a halt. When she did stop, he winced at her startled cry of pain that she quickly cut off.
He was even more surprised when she didn’t rebuke him for offering aid. The fact that she had accepted his help told him how bad the injury was. He would’ve preferred to take a look at it there, but a sense of dread ran down his spine. Something was near. He didn’t know if it was an animal or a person, but he knew it meant danger for them. Runa must have sensed it, as well, because they were soon off.