And so, on the words of a murderer, we slowly slid into the den, and to my surprise, it was a lot bigger on the inside. Big enough for all of our group to fit, plus one or two bodies. We set our packs down and began to get into a tight formation that would hopefully keep us all warm enough over all our clothing and the furs we’d brought with us. Except, of course, for Lydian, who was sleeping on the other side, away from everyone else. No one dared ask him to come near the huddle and he never demanded it.

I had my head on Soren’s chest, listening to his slow heartbeat and he had an arm wrapped around me, pulling until not just my head but half my body covered him. Behind me was Diaval, whose back was pressed to me and whose head was cradled into Rose’s shoulder, while Rose lay with his back to her, his legs and arms tangling with Seppo’s.

When the sounds of sleep came from everyone but us, I turned to Soren. “I love you, you know.”

He smiled, though winced in pain when the movement affected the muscles around his lost eye. “Do you think I’m beautiful even with one eye?”

“You’re gorgeous,” I said, kissing the tip of his nose. “Now go to sleep.”

NOT LONG LATER, I woke up while everyone else lay in the huddle around me. Unsure, I looked around, but there was nothing other than the snow den and the icy air outside. I put my head back down on Soren’s chest and closed my eyes, but there was something itching in my head and I needed to clear it out. Slowly, I climbed out of the pile and crawled out of the den, making sure not to wake anyone else. I stood with shaking legs as I stared into the distance. The ice particles in the air were swimming, dancing, twirling around and around in a series of colors; bright blues, dark reds, purples from soft lilac to dark indigo and even darker still as they meshed with the grayness of the mist.

I took a step forward; there was something glowing golden in the distance and it sang to me. Want filled me and I took another step, trying to find where the glow was in the mist and hearing it sing out to me in response. The mystical tune got louder and louder as I stumbled in the darkness. Something shimmered in the air around me as I reached out to the golden light, knowing in my gut it was the source of all my questions about the stag’s powers, that if I could find it and hold onto it, I’d finally feel what I’d been missing.