Thom shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNeither do I.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get on with having a look.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure those two are conspiring against us already.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron snorted humorlessly, though he couldn\u2019t help but agree.\u00a0 Neve and Marin probably were<\/i> coming up with something, and he suspected either he or Thom\u2014or both of them\u2014wouldn\u2019t like it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou left them alone together?\u201d\u00a0 Rory asked as Thom lit a lantern.\u00a0 \u201cBad idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, well,\u201d Cameron said as they started to walk away, \u201cI didn\u2019t get a vote.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rory\u2019s laughter followed him until it was lost under the sound of the wind.\u00a0 Cameron shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his coat, fingers questing for his gloves.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully it\u2019s not as bad as it sounds,\u201d Cameron said, not sure if he was talking about the weather, whatever was causing Rory\u2019s headache and Neve\u2019s unrest\u2014assuming they were connected\u2014or whatever Neve and Marin were coming up within their absence.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully,\u201d Thom agreed, holding the lantern high enough aloft that they could see more than a few feet in front of them.\u00a0 Shadows danced in the flickering flames and Cameron watched them idly for a moment, recalling long ago camping trips and bonfires.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne bloody big adventure,\u201d he muttered under his breath.\u00a0 When I was a kid, I would have thought all of this was the most epic experience ever.\u00a0 The adult in me knows better.<\/i><\/p>\n
Thom snorted softly.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s how you have to look at all of it sometimes,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cEven when it\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n
The walls of the tent undulated against the harsh wind, suddenly reflecting the lantern\u2019s light and then disappearing into the shadows again.\u00a0 Cameron shivered as tendrils of wind snaked their way between the layers of plasticized canvas between them and the weather beyond.\u00a0 Thom made a beeline for the exit, where they left a corner of a wall open to let the smoke from the fires escape and keep clean air flowing in and out.\u00a0 The wind whistled through that gap, gusting snow and ice into the tent in an arc.\u00a0 Cameron rocked back a step as a gust sent tiny shards of ice billowing into his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cSounds like some kind of frozen hell out there,\u201d he said to Thom, taking the lantern so the other man could tug on his gloves and unfasten the catches holding the rest of the flap of wall in place.\u00a0 An uncomfortable shiver arced up Cameron\u2019s spine and back down again and he set his jaw.<\/p>\n
Stop letting your goddamned imagination get the better of you.\u00a0 It\u2019s just a storm.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing more to it than that.\u00a0 Settle the hell down.<\/i><\/p>\n
The wind kept right on screaming past the tent as Thom peeled the wall back, snow gusting toward he and Cameron in stinging clouds.\u00a0 Cameron flinched away with a curse.<\/p>\n
A curse dropped from Thom\u2019s lips and he gripped Cameron\u2019s arm.\u00a0 \u201cCameron, look<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing\u2014\u201d\u00a0 The words died on Cameron\u2019s lips as he stared out into the blowing snow.\u00a0 There was a figure out there, slender and beautiful, seemingly unaffected by the snow an ice that swirled around her.\u00a0 His throat tightened as her eyes met his, a wordless pain welling up from somewhere deep inside\u2014a pain he couldn\u2019t identify, one that could have been his or hers.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy god,\u201d he breathed.\u00a0 \u201cWho is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
In a voice like the musical, terrible sound of breaking icicles, the strangely pale woman with the coal-black hair and silver-gray eyes spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne who has watched you from afar and waited for this moment for far too long, young dragon.\u00a0 Far, far too long.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thom shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNeither do I.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get on with having a look.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure those two are conspiring against us already.\u201d Cameron snorted humorlessly, though he couldn\u2019t help but agree.\u00a0 Neve and Marin probably were coming up with … Continue reading