Chapter 58 The Deepening Cold

Chapter 58 The Deepening Cold

The cold deepened in the third week of winter.

It was not the kind of cold that Kaelen remembered from the year before. That cold had been sharp but bearable, the kind that bit at your cheeks and numbed your fingers but let you work through it if you kept moving. This cold was different. This cold settled into the bones and refused to leave. It seeped through the walls of the farmhouse and the cabin and the barn. It found the cracks in the wood and the gaps in the stone and pushed through like water through a broken dam.

Kaelen woke each morning to find frost on the inside of the windows. The hearth fire burned hotter than before, but the warmth did not spread as far. The hunters huddled around the cabin fire, their blankets pulled tight, their breath clouding in the air.

Sera sat by the hearth in the farmhouse, the book open on her lap, the warmth in her chest pulsing. The book did not seem to notice the cold. The names whispered on, indifferent to the frost on the glass.

"The food is running low," Mira said one evening. She stood by the window, her bow in her hand, her eyes on the dark. "The hunters eat more than we planned. And we can't hunt in this weather. The animals are hiding."

Kaelen looked at the pantry. The shelves were half-empty. The grain was holding, but the meat was almost gone. The vegetables had frozen in the root cellar.

"How long?" he asked.

"Two weeks. Maybe three." Mira turned from the window. "Then we start rationing."

Sera closed the book. "The Wardens would have sent supplies. If the bridge were still there."

"The bridge is gone. The river is frozen. We could cross on foot."

"The river is frozen, but the ice is thin. We could fall through." Sera stood up and walked to the window. "We need another way."

Veyra spoke from the corner. She had been sitting in the shadows, quiet, watching. "There's a road to the south. Through the forest. It's longer, but it's safer. The Wardens used it before the bridge was built."

Kaelen looked at her. "How do you know?"

"I used it. When I left the farm. When I went to the barrow." She did not look away. "I can show you."

Sera studied her for a long moment. "Why should we trust you?"

Veyra was quiet. "You shouldn't. Not yet. But I'm the only one who knows the way."

\-

The next morning, Kaelen and Mira set out to find the southern road.

Veyra went with them. Sera stayed behind to watch the farm and the hunters and the book. She did not like it. Kaelen could see it in her eyes, the way her hand went to her knife, the way her jaw tightened.

"Be careful," she said.

"Always."

"You're not always careful."

"No. But I'll try."

The snow was deep, the walking hard. Veyra led the way, her hood pulled up against the wind, her boots sinking into the drifts. Mira walked behind her, her bow strung, her eyes scanning the trees. Kaelen brought up the rear, breaking the trail for the return.

The forest was silent. The animals were hiding, just as Mira had said. No birds sang. No squirrels chattered. The only sound was the crunch of snow beneath their boots and the occasional creak of a branch heavy with ice.

"How much farther?" Kaelen asked.

"An hour. Maybe two." Veyra did not look back. "The road is near the old mine. The one where Mira found the coal."

Mira's hand tightened on her bow. "Stay away from the mine."

"I'm not going to the mine. I'm going to the road." Veyra stopped and turned. "I'm not your enemy, Mira. I know you think I am. I know you have every reason to hate me. But I'm trying to help."

Mira stared at her. Her face was cold, unreadable.

"Help us find the road," she said. "Then we'll see."

\-

They found the road at midday.

It was narrow and overgrown, the trees pressing close on either side, but it was there. Kaelen could see the ruts of old wagon wheels beneath the snow.

"This leads to the south," Veyra said. "To the villages. To the Tower, if you go far enough. The Wardens still use it, even in winter."

Kaelen looked at the road. It was a long walk to the Tower. Days, maybe a week. But it was a path. A way to get supplies. A way to get help.

"Can we clear it?" he asked. "Make it passable?"

Mira knelt and brushed the snow from the ruts. "With enough people. Enough time."

"We don't have enough people."

"Then we use the people we have." She stood up. "The hunters can help. The ones who are strong enough. The ones who want to earn their keep."

Veyra nodded. "I'll help."

Mira looked at her. "I know you will."

\-

They walked back to the farm as the sun began to set.

The cold was worse now, the wind picking up, the snow beginning to fall again. Kaelen's legs ached. His hands were numb. But the road was there. They had found it.

Sera was waiting on the porch when they arrived.

"The road?" she asked.

"We found it." Kaelen stepped inside and shook the snow from his coat. "It's overgrown, but it's there. We can clear it. It will take time, but we can do it."

Sera looked at Veyra. "Thank you."

Veyra bowed her head. "Don't thank me. Just feed my people."

She walked to the cabin.

Sera watched her go. "Do you trust her?"

Kaelen thought about it. About the way Veyra had helped Garret. About the way she had led them to the road. About the way she had looked at Mira, unflinching, when the girl had questioned her.

"I trust that she wants to change," he said. "Whether she can, that's a different question."

Sera nodded. "That's the same question I ask myself every morning. About me. About the book. About whether I'm becoming something I don't want to be."

Kaelen put his hand on her shoulder. "You're not becoming anything. You're choosing. Every day. That's the difference between you and the Cabal. You choose."

Sera leaned into him. The warmth in her chest pulsed softly.

"Let's clear the road," she said. "Let's get supplies. Let's survive the winter."

"Then let's start tomorrow."

They stood in the doorway, watching the snow fall, and the farm was quiet behind them.

The long dark was not over.

But they were still standing.