Vhalla glanced over her shoulder. She saw the castle ethereally shimmering in gold and white moonlight. She wished she had the ability to enjoy the beautiful scene that stretched before her, sparkling with the first snow of winter. But now was not the time for enjoyment.

Breath from the horses and humans let out small white puffs of steam into the nighttime air. The houses passed in a blur. On occasion, some late night wanderer or drunk would be startled as the couple raced by. But for the most part, potential observers were safely tucked in their beds.

They rode the most direct route down through the city and out the main gate. The dense buildings of the capital faded as they proceeded down the mountain. Aldrik turned north at the fork and, after a short stretch, they veered off for a more western headway.

A thin layer of clouds blotted out the moon, shifting and rolling the shadows of the world into a fluctuating state of darkness. Vhalla blinked her eyes, squinting through the dim twilight. Aldrik continued without fear or hesitation.

The barren trees fractured the sky above them like the lead of a macabre stained glass. Silence was their only company, moonlight their only guide. The world darkened again, and snow began to fall.

“We’re lucky,” he finally spoke.

“We are?” Vhalla asked, slowing her horse alongside his to give the animal a rest.

“With this much snow, our tracks should be covered,” he explained.

“Does anyone know where we are going?” she thought aloud.

Aldrik looked startled a moment. “Yes.”

“Then why would we want our tracks to be—” she began softly musing.

“Because we only want the right people to know,” Aldrik spoke over her. “I can’t just tell anyone we’re headed for the caverns, given their history.”

“Of course.” She glanced over at him. His jaw was clenched tight. “Aldrik, don’t worry.”

“Worry?”

“Well, yes.” Vhalla shifted the reins in her hands. “I know that since it’s the Crystal Caverns, you must be worried. But this isn’t your fault. Last time really wasn’t either. But this truly is not.”

“I know,” he said thoughtfully. “This is Victor’s fault. But then again, I shouldn’t have let such a powerful sorcerer go so unchecked.”

“You couldn’t have known.”

“I should have.” Aldrik frowned. “He was my mentor. We experienced the same thing as boys. I should have known. I should have put a stop to you working with crystals with him.”

“I should’ve done it myself.” Whatever Victor truly intended, she’d enabled it. Vhalla began to question everything the minister had ever told her. “Doesn’t he see? All that’s there is death.”

“No, all that’s there is power,” Aldrik corrected. Vhalla considered the strange comment as the prince continued. “Neither good, nor evil, it’s the hearts of men that turn a weapon into the tool of a knight or a butcher.”

“How far is it?” His manner was making her abnormally uneasy, and Vhalla was eager to change the topic. Something about the night air and the stillness was starting to get to her nerves.

“It can take slow riders two days.” He remained fixated on a distant point of the horizon.

“Two days?” They didn’t have rations or supplies for a journey of that length.

“But these horses were bred for speed and endurance in the mountains. We can push them. I hope to arrive before dawn.”

“How long ago did Victor leave?” She tried to remember how Aldrik said he’d known the minister had ridden off to the caverns.

“Only an hour or two,” he answered confidently.

“Perhaps we could intercept him before he gets there,” she mused hopefully.

“Perhaps.”

Vhalla resisted the parrot comment in the wake of something dawning on her. “Wait, how could you have known when Victor left? Didn’t you only just go to his office before coming to me?”

“Someone else had mentioned seeing him.”

Something still wasn’t settling right. “But if Victor only left an hour or two before us, shouldn’t we see trac—”

The reverberation of a low horn echoed through the mountains, sounding through the still forest. Vhalla turned. The palace and capital city was out of sight, but the sound was unmistakable.

“They know,” he whispered. “Damn it, we should have had more time!”

Aldrik snapped his horse back to a run. Vhalla followed suit, her body tense. If they were trying to save everyone from the caverns, then why did it feel like they were fugitives in the night?

“Can’t we wait for more help?” she called, catching up to him. “We should be close to Victor now!”

“No!” Aldrik barked. “If they catch up to you and me, what do you think will happen?”

“I don’t—”

“Think!” He waited for her to fill in the blank.

“Your father?”

“Who else?” Aldrik frowned and looked forward, pushing his heels into the horse.

“What will he do?” Vhalla wondered if she would ever be able to return to the palace.

“I don’t know, Vhalla.” Aldrik’s voice was high and tense.