It was probably before ten in the morning when we got outside and prepared the horses for the ride ahead. The sun was hidden behind a thick layer of snowy clouds, and the birds chirped gleefully from pine trees nearby.

Dion and Alles rummaged through the cabin’s kitchen and storage room, looking for last-minute supplies we might use later, while the Imen covered the campfire with snow and replenished some of the wood we’d burned throughout the night. They’d spent the morning scouring the upper woods for nuts and mushrooms to leave for the next travelers who were bound to come upon this cabin. It was everybody’s home for the night on the northern slope of a frozen mountain. We took care of each other, even if we didn’t know each other.

Avril and Heron joined us, both looking bright and spry, as if ready to take on an entire army of daemons, if necessary. Remembering Heron’s early-morning dismissal when I knocked on their door, it didn’t seem like a stretch to assume that those two had taken their relationship to the next level. Given the danger we were in and the risk of never getting off Neraka again, I couldn’t exactly blame them. On the contrary, they both looked happy and in love, even though they did their best to keep their cool as they prepared their indigo stallions.

By comparison, Patrik and I had slept like an elderly couple, with Hundurr snoring like a thunderstorm at the foot of our bed. My dreams were sweet and tranquil, as the Druid’s warmth had made my night blissful. I felt loved and I felt cherished. I ignored the little pang of jealousy I felt when I caught that subtle exchange of glances between Avril and Heron, that look that said, “I love you more now than I did last night, and I can’t wait to be with you again!” It made me yearn for the same from Patrik, and now really wasn’t the time for that.

We’d missed that window of opportunity, though I had no regrets. I knew, deep down, that when Patrik and I would take our union to a deeper level, it would be extraordinary. I could feel it in my bones. My heart fluttered when I felt his hand settle on the small of my back.

“Are you ready?” Patrik asked, giving me a soft half smile.

I peeled my eyes from Heron and Avril and dropped a short, sweet kiss on Patrik’s lips. It took him by surprise, but he didn’t seem to mind. His steely blue gaze clouded momentarily.

“Let’s go,” I murmured.

We got on our horses just as Arrah closed the cabin door behind her and jumped onto her indigo mare. She whistled and motioned for the Imen to lead the way. They descended the mountain in pairs, working their way down through the thick layer of snow.

Avril and Heron followed, then Patrik and me, with Hundurr and Arrah closing the line behind us. We covered our heads with hoods and put on our masks and goggles, too, just in case the sun unexpectedly broke through the clouds at any point.

The closer we got to the base of the mountains, the warmer it got. It was still winter on and around the Athelathan Mountains, but it was much more bearable to most creatures down here, unlike the cabin area, where daemons wouldn’t have lasted through the night.

We rushed past the giant pine trees, their dark green crowns towering over us. As we approached the bottom, they grew scarce and skinny, leaving room for the jagged white rocks of the ridge poking out from the snow. There was no sign of daemons anywhere near us, nor ahead. It looked like a clear path from here to Lagerith Plains.

I could see the fields of tall grass stretching in the distance as we reached the mountain base. The gray clouds began to scatter, leaving room for a blue sky and flickering rays of sunshine. Our horses darted across the hard ground, their hooves thundering as we made for the plains.

“Head southwest,” Arrah said from behind. “Ragnar Peak will be two hundred miles that way.”

“If we keep up at this speed, we’ll be there in four, maybe five hours,” I replied, beckoning my horse to follow the others at the front, as we entered the green fields and made a smooth turn toward the southwest.

“Most likely, yes,” Arrah said. “The horses are well fed and rested. Provided we don’t run into any daemon trouble, we’ll get there in the early hours of the afternoon.”

Avril gasped, then hissed as she looked down.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, then nudged my stallion and sped up, reaching her side. I found her struggling to keep her back straight in the saddle, while her horse galloped steadily, and she pulled the snowflake medallion out from under her leather suit. The furs on her back fluttered in the wind as she held the pendant up to look at it.

Both Heron and I frowned, staring at the snowflake, which glimmered a peculiar white.

“It felt so cold, it almost burned through my skin,” Avril gasped. “Like liquid nitrogen.”

“What’s up with that shimmer, though?” Heron replied, unable to take his eyes off the pendant.

Patrik moved forward and flanked Heron on the left side, leaning in to take a look at the curious development. “Is it supposed to do that?” he asked.

Avril shrugged. “I have no idea,” she said, then pointed it in another direction, farther to the west. The glimmer died down but came back when she moved it to her left. “It didn’t come with an instruction manual.”

“Ten o’clock,” one of the Imen ahead announced. “Daemons, by that patch of woods.”

We all froze, following the direction in which he was pointing, to the southwest. Less than a mile away, I could see shadows flickering between the trees of a small forest. There were about twenty daemons.

“Steer farther to the right,” Arrah replied.

She didn’t have to say that twice. We pulled the reins on our horses and increased the distance between us and the daemons. It dawned on me then that the snowflake had more than one use.

“Avril, point that snowflake to your nine o’clock, where the daemons are,” I said.

The pendant shimmered white again, then faded when she pointed it toward me, her three o’clock. “Hah,” she gasped. “I’m guessing this nifty little thing is more than just a messenger for Nevis.”

We increased our speed, gliding over the tall grass and frequently looking over our shoulders. I put on a red lens, just to make sure the daemons we’d spotted earlier hadn’t gone invisible. But they were gone, probably deeper into the woods we’d steered away from.

“This is so weird,” Avril muttered, holding the pendant in the palm of her gloved hand. “The closer it gets to daemons, the hotter it burns, but it doesn’t melt. I think it’s a compass of some kind.”

“Clearly, a keep-away-from-daemons compass.” Heron scoffed, then shook his head slowly. “Man, Nevis sure knows how to impress a girl, I’ll give him that.”

“Ugh, please tell me we’re not doing this whole Nevis thing again,” Avril replied, and I could almost hear her eyes rolling in her head.

Heron shrugged. “Nope, I was being appreciative just now, I swear.”

“That’s what you sound like when you’re appreciative?” I shot back, chuckling. “I wonder what you sound like when you give an actual compliment,” I added, then lowered my voice to mimic his. “Hey, you, you look totally un-killable, would you like to go out for drinks? We’ll split the bill and I won’t make you feel stingy about it!”

Avril, Arrah, and Patrik burst into laughter, and I could even hear Dion, Alles, and the other Imen chuckling ahead. I couldn’t see Heron’s expression, given his mask and goggles, but I was willing to bet he was struggling not to chortle, like the goofball that he really was. Given his sense of humor, that had to have been funny, especially since he was an expert at pulling his own leg.

“I’ve never used the term ‘un-killable’ before, though,” he replied, his tone flat. “Thanks, Scarlett, I’ll definitely try it when I get a chance!”

“You tell me I’m un-killable and I will make you experience pain like never before,” Avril retorted, her voice low and deadly serious, before she caved in and giggled. Heron’s shoulders shuddered, the only sign I had that confirmed he was laughing, too.

“Scarlett, I’ll tell you one thing,” Heron said as we continued our race toward Ragnar Peak. “I can’t wait to get you back into the training hall on Mount Zur. You’ve gathered enough material for me to take you up on a rematch.”

“Hah, bring it on, squirt!” I cackled. “I’ll be running circles around you before you even draw your first breath!”

“Provided we all make it out of this alive,” Arrah interjected, prompting both Heron and I to look back at her, “I’d love to visit that GASP base you all keep talking about.”

“Anytime, Arrah!” I replied with a nod. “I think our senior officers will be thrilled to meet you. Besides, we’re always looking to expand GASP. You’d be welcome to join.”

“I wouldn’t leave Neraka. It’s my home,” Arrah said, frowning. She gazed around, taking deep breaths as she admired the landscape.

The fields of green seemed to go on forever, blades of grass undulating under the southern winds. Up ahead, though barely visible on the horizon, stood Ragnar Peak, a tiny black stick. Behind us, the Athelathan Mountains rose proudly, their peaks concealed by the eternal blizzard clouds and their snowy slopes gracefully unraveling in all directions with occasional sharp white marble ridges.

It was a breathtakingly beautiful world, and she had every reason to fight this hard to live freely in it. I couldn’t blame her for not wanting to leave.

“I was thinking we’d propose opening a GASP base here, actually,” I suggested, carefully analyzing her reaction. “Have locals get involved. I mean, if we succeed in this mission and bring down the daemons’ rule, we’ll have to set up a peace mission here and make sure that what’s happened up until now does not happen again. We could help you guys rebuild and everything.”

Arrah nodded slowly, her gaze softening as she looked at me. She seemed touched.

“I think we’ll need all the help we can get,” she muttered, putting on a bitter smile.

They most certainly did, but I was ready to pitch in if they needed me. And so were the others. As much as we looked forward to getting off Neraka, we were also eager to help the Imen, the Adlets, and any other species still standing to get back on their feet. Our desire to get out burned hot because of the fact that we knew we couldn’t, at least for the time being, because of the swamp witch’s shield.

It seemed reasonable to assume that, had the circumstances been different, we would’ve been more than eager to spend more time here. Either way, we had our work cut out for us, but, with Arrah now back in the fold and Nevis’s Dhaxanians on our side, I felt like victory was easier to reach than it had been two days ago.

We had a clear shot at this. And we were going to take it.