As Vladim moved to turn the locks, I heard Genya whisper. "You definitely owe me a kiss after all this, Don't think I won't hold you to it."
I laughed lightly. "We'll see."
"There is no seeing, you will, if I have to be the one to do it then so be...
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ALINA'S LIGHT KEPT US WARM THROUGH THE night in the lee of the rock. Sometime in the night, Alina had dozed off and I had to summon up light to keep us warm.
When we emerged the next morning, the sun shone brightly over a world blanketed in white. This far north, snow was common well into spring, but it was hard not to feel that the weather was just another part of our bad luck.
Mal took one look at the pristine expanse of the meadow and gave a disgusted shake of his head. We didn't have to ask what he was thinking. If the herd had been close by, any sign they had left would have been covered by the snow. But we would leave plenty of tracks for anyone else to follow.
Without a word, we shook out our furs and stowed them away. Mal tied his bow to his pack, and we began the trek across the plateau. It was slow going. Mal did what he could to disguise our tracks, but it was clear that we were in serious trouble.
I and Alina knew Mal blamed himself for not being able to find the stag, but we didn't know how to fix it. Tsibeya felt somehow bigger than it had the previous day. Or maybe I just felt smaller.
Eventually, the meadow gave way to groves of thin silver birches and dense clusters of pines, their branches laden with snow. Mal's pace slowed. He looked exhausted, dark shadows lingering beneath his blue eyes. On an impulse, Alina shoved her hand into his.
We walked on that way through the afternoon, Alina and Mal hand in hand, the pines boughs clustered in a canopy high above us as we moved deeper into the dark heart of the woods.
Around sunset, we emerged from the trees into a little glade where the snow lay in heavy, perfect drifts that glittered in the fading light. We slipped into the stillness, our footfalls muffled by the snow. It was late. I knew we should be making camp, finding shelter. Instead, we stood there in silence, watching the day disappear.
"Alina?" Mal said quietly, "I'm sorry. For what I said that night, at the Little Palace."
Alina glanced up at him, surprised. "I'm sorry, too."
"And for everything else," Mal added. "I knew we didn't have much chance of finding the stag," Alina said.
"No," he said, looking away from her. "No, not for that. I... when I came after you, I thought I was doing it because you saved my life. After all, I owed you something."
"And now?" Alina breathed, "now I don't know what to think. I just know everything is different."
"I know," she whispered. "Do you? That night at the palace when I saw you on the stage with him, you looked so happy. Both of you."
