He flings open the carriage door and gives us all a once over, his eyes briefly resting on Torrent. He rolls back his shoulders. “You bear an uncanny resemblance to the creature I saw when I was on lookout. If I hadn’t known you for all these years, I’d shoot you stone dead and return us all home.”

“Well, Speck, if that’s your plan, you’re in luck! I saw an anthill just over there,” Torr says, pointing. “It seems your home is only mere steps away!”

Lin clicks his tongue and disappears into the carriage. Before entering behind him, Lorna turns to Idalia. “You’re sleeping in the middle.”

Idalia scowls but nods. “More warmth for me, I suppose,” she says.

Torrent finally breaks his facade and growls at the wind. “I’m going to run for a while. That way, I’ll get nice and hot for you,” he says to me.

“I’m getting excited just thinking about it,” I quip, taking the last bite of fruit.

Torr winks and then sprints off towards the perimeter of the clearing, his massive strides kicking up loads of dirt. What a sight: a giant in nothing but a flap and boots.

Now, only the half-dressed Sparrow remains with me outside the carriage.

“I’d better get in there,” she says timidly. “Before Lorna kills Lin.”

“He’ll likely die before she gets the chance. I don’t think he’s ever seen a woman in just her undergarments.”

Idalia laughs. I pull my tunic over my head, and my skin immediately rebels at the cold air. I ball it up, preparing to make it my pillow and notice that Idalia isn’t laughing any longer. She’s staring at the point where the trail of hair disappears into my trousers. I smile. “Do I have a poisonous bug on me or something?”

Her eyes jerk back to my face. Quickly, she shakes her head and scoffs. “I wouldn’t tell you if you did.”

She opens the carriage door and lifts herself, but I see her scan me again before she enters, and I smile even wider. In addition to her nose, her cheeks are red, and I know it’s not from the cold.