“Thaw,” she said and bent to scoop up the pup. Pain struck her in the side and she let out a gasp as she lifted Thaw.

“What’s wrong?” Tarass asked, the swirling wind having carried the distressed sound up to his ears.

“My side,” was all she managed to say.

Tarass grabbed Thaw out of her arms, the pup snapping and growling at him, and dropped him to the ground, then got her moving.

Thaw followed them, and snapped and growled all the way.

Once inside the cottage, Tarass placed Snow in front of the hearth. He was completely taken by surprise when she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. His natural response was to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight.

“I cannot thank you enough for climbing down the ravine and rescuing me,” she said, choking on the tears that threatened her.

“You are a brave soul for hanging on as you did.”

“I didn’t feel brave. I was terrified,” she admitted, the horror of it all rushing over her.

“Whether you were or not, you didn’t let it stop you from doing what you needed to do to survive. You are braver than you think,” he said, and realized the truth of his words. She was a courageous, though stubborn woman.

She let go of him suddenly as if she had just realized she was hugging him and stepped away.

He slipped off her cloak and Thaw hurried to her side, jumping up against her leg.

She stopped the grimace that rushed up before it could slip out. It wasn’t only her side that pained her but her leg as well.

“You did wonderful, Thaw,” she praised the pup, patting his head and rubbing behind his ear. “You helped Tarass save me.”

He gave a bark and parked himself next to her leg, letting her know she wasn’t going anywhere without him.

“You need to let me have a look at your side,” Tarass said, having removed his fur wrappings to be left in his warm, soft wool shirt that fell to the middle of his thigh.

“That would not be proper,” she said without turning, it being pointless to look at him since she couldn’t see him. His hand suddenly on her arm had her instinctively turning.

He winced silently when he saw the red scratches on her face, some swollen, and a bruise forming near the corner of one eye.

“You tensed when Thaw jumped up against your leg, which makes me think you have an injury there as well. You need tending and since I’m the only one here, the task falls to me. And don’t bother to tell me you can see to it, since you can’t even see if you do have an injury.”