House of Winter

Chapter 26, Part 2

ARI

As they travelled further Dorth, with the suns at their back, the days grew shorter and shorter, until there was only a few hours of daylight before the suns set again. It was something Ari wasn't used to, but Sanna had lived in Norrlund for most of her life, and the long winter nights were normal to her. She insisted they travel, even when it was dark. Jinni still knew where to go - his keen sense of Lumi led them deeper into the icelands.

They found an abandoned fort high up on a hill and decided to sleep there for the night. Ari was bone tired. She'd found her energy waning, from the constant travel and the limited food they were eating as well as the dark nights, but as they landed in the snowed-in hall of a former castle, Ari almost slipped from Warrah's back.

"Ari," Sanna said, jumping swiftly from Sigrún's back and catching Ari before she had a chance to fall. Sanna led Ari to a covered area free of snow. Before Ari could protest, Sanna had pulled her own cloak off her back and wrapped it around Ari's back.

"I'm fine," Ari murmured.

Sanna shook her head. "You're not fine. You've caught the same fever that the people in that refugee camp had. We won't be able to travel for days."

"We have to keep going," Ari insisted.

Sanna shook her head. "We're staying here until you get better. This might be the only shelter we find for weeks. No one lives up here in the icelands. I have no idea why Jinni is leading us this far Dorth."

"He knows where Lumi is."

"I can't believe that Lumi could have come all this way. Who is she with? Someone with a kinnling?"

Ari shook her head wearily. "Who could it be? Some fire soldier who is loyal to her? Someone she trusts?"

"It must be," Sanna said. "Someone who trusts her to travel all this way without a kinnling."

Sanna felt Ari's forehead, and hissed. "You're hot as a fire starrling," she said. "You need to sleep. I'll build up a fire."

Ari struggled against Sanna's grip, but Sanna insisted. She sent both Sigrún and Jinni to sit either side of Ari, and Ari felt herself encased between the tiger and the wolf.

"I'm too hot," Ari said.

"No you're not," Sanna said. "It's snowing. Your body is deceptive. But if you take off that cloak you'll die."

"You're not even wearing a cloak, Sanna," Ari said.

"I've had worse," Sanna said with a smile. "You know it's the heat that I despise."

Ari stared after Sanna as she disappeared out of the shelter of the fort. Her hair was still glistening black but Sanna had returned to braiding it in an elaborate style. Ari preferred the way it was when Sanna styled her hair - she had always been so amazed at how delicately she could arrange her own hair, even without a mirror. Sanna's clothes were Kaio, but Sanna still looked every bit the Norrlish princess that Ari had always thought she was.

Ari sighed and nestled closer to Sigrún. She remembered when she first met Sanna. She had thought her calculating and cold. There had been moments when her warmth had shone through - when she had invited Ari to read Katja's books, or when she had insisted on teaching Ari winter magic. But even in these warm moments, Sanna had been icy, almost as if it was hard for her to be nice.

Ari imagined it must have been difficult growing up the way Sanna had. She'd had her father, but by Sanna's accounts, he hadn't been particularly interested in Sanna's life. He had spent most of his time aggressively working towards his own goals.