Hearts in Zenith (Four Husbands and a Lover)

34. The Torment of Flesh

The light from Yadwiga's cabin flickered between the trees. Ondrey and I rode toward it for a while. It wasn't getting any closer. If this was Ondrey's ploy to get me alone, what would his end-game be?

We rode in silence, slowly, with him reading the way on some beast's trail. The darkness thickened under the boughs of the forest, leaving only a square patch of orange glow from the cabin's window to guide us.

The wolves' howls circled closer and closer, making Breva's ears tweak in alarm.

"We're almost there." Ondrey's hand reached backward, as if searching for me. "The beasts serve Yadwiga, and won't harm us or the horses near her hearth."

"Ah," was all I said, reaching for him in turn. I didn't know if he felt the touch of my fingers through the fur-lined mittens.

A few more minutes of trudging through the snow-bound forest--and the fir-trees stepped aside. Before us was a perfectly round clearing, like a lawn in front of a palace. Snow slanted across this emptiness, dots and flakes, flakes and dots.

The cabin wasn't palatial though. It was a single log wide with one door, one window, and a roof steepled at an angle so sharp that its triangle was taller than the square of the house underneath. The carved eaves topped with horse-heads were a graceful touch. The window, too, was edged in a white-painted frame. It twirled with wooden leaves chiseled from the wood. Every edge and corner on the cabin sprouted long icicles.

In the cold forest, the cabin looked like a nesting hen, so I could forgive Ondrey's tall tale about the chicken legs. Particularly because right in front of the cabin, the snow was scraped away, exposing a dark patch, as if chickens were indeed scratching in the dirt.

I barely noticed that I brought Breva to a halt at the edge of the clearing. My eyes fixated on the frozen dirt rather than on the Forest Witch's abode.

"Is this where we'll... do it?" I hated talking about magic. It made me sound uncertain.

"Yes." Ondrey jumped out of his saddle.

I followed his suit and dismounted. I felt the heavy coating of magic in the air too, despite not having a single magical bone in my body. Crossing the expanse of the virginal snow toward the cabin had to be done on foot.

Just as we had tied the horses and paused again before stepping into the white circle, the moon broke through the clouds. Ondrey's eyes shone with a luster of molten silver. Brighter than silver even. Shinier than anything in the world.

With what he was about to do, even if magic wasn't involved, this might be the last time we spoke. Last time!

I bit my lip, slipped my hand out of its glove, letting the glove drop to the snow. He dove after it, tapped out the snow that miraculously got inside and tacked it into my belt, whispering dire warnings about careless Southerners and frostbite. His breath touched my hair.

"Ondrey!"

He cut himself off on a word I would never remember. I cupped his cheek with my fingers. "This is not a pleasure of flesh, Ondrey. This is a torment."

He had no chance to lift his head back up from the nod before I went up on the tiptoes. I had my doubts about finding Ondrey's lips behind the frozen mass of beard, but luck is always with those who dare. Dry and rough, his mouth broke away from mine for a sharp intake of breath before I could make the comparison.

"Was it a memory or a regret?" I whispered, threading my fingers under the hat and through his hair.

"Torment." He tilted his head again.

This time I caught his lips in a harder lock until I felt a small bite on mine. I loved this insistence that hinted at him being raised by one powerful woman, then married to another. Kozima's kisses were soft and inquiring in comparison.