Though, she couldn’t help but wonder if it was the man who had grabbed her. If so, that would mean he had not waited around to make another attempt to grab her. Why then had he tried in the first place? Had she misunderstood his actions? Had he been trying to help her? She’d never know if it was him, since she couldn’t identify the man.

“Give me a moment to leave a marker so he can be found when I return for him,” Tarass said and with a command in his voice, shouted, “Thaw, stay by Snow.”

The pup hurried to her side to sit and lean against her leg.

After a bit of a search, Tarass uncovered a substantial rock. It took some effort to lift and place in front of the dead man’s exposed arm, then he covered the arm with a good amount of snow. He had noticed that Snow tried to follow his movements, not always successfully.

He couldn’t imagine living with such a debilitating affliction. He couldn’t live constantly dependent on someone for the simplest need. It would make him insane. How she managed to remain strong was remarkable.

“All done,” he said as he approached her.

“How far are we from your home?” she asked.

“Not far. There’s a small rise up ahead—”

“And your home sits just beyond,” Snow said excited to discover they were close.

“You remember from your only visit there?”

“I accompanied Sorrell when she visited with Twilla, the old woman who occupied your keep in your absence. Sorrell made sure to stir my memory of different places so I wouldn’t forget what the surrounding area looked like. Though, she did mention that your keep had fallen into disrepair after being abandoned for several years.”

“It has seen much improvement since my return. You’ll see for yourself—” He caught his words to late.

“Hopefully, one day I will,” she said. “We should go. I look forward to food and a warm bed tonight.”

“I will make certain you get both. Stay close,” he said as he walked around her.

Snow turned around and settled what sight she had on the gray shadow in front of her.

“Ready?” Tarass asked.

“Ready and eager,” she said with a light laugh.

“We go,” he said and started walking, marveling at her light humor in a difficult situation.

It wasn’t long before they reached the rise. The slog up it wasn’t easy and Tarass made sure to keep hold of Snow’s arm. He stopped at the top, giving her time for her labored breathing to calm.

“Not far now and it’s a good thing since it’s starting to snow again,” he said. “It’s a light snow but it was a light snow that started this all.”

“We should go,” she said, her breath still labored, and Thaw agreed with a bark.