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Chapter One

Chapter One

I swung my bow over my shoulder, making sure it was securely in place before I even attempted to climb up the steep hill. My long hair tangled in front of my face and I wished I'd tied it up before attempting this. The cave wasn't the easiest to reach but the risk was worth it. It looked promising and we needed a place to sleep for the night, one that wasn't under the stars.

"And?" a light voice shouted from behind me.

"I think it looks good," I called back. I put my bow and quiver down against a rock and reached down, holding out my hand to the most beautiful woman I'd ever met, trying to ignore how stunning she looked in the falling light of the winter sun.

Konomi smiled at me in a way that creased her eyes slightly. "Thank you, Mayu. You're the best sister-in-law."

The words squeezed my heart like a tight fist and I quickly let go of her hand, feeling guilty for even looking at her like that. The wolf soul in me reacted differently, wanting the closeness, but I couldn't listen to that part of me. Luckily, the cave was dark so she wouldn't be able to see the redness rising to my cheeks.

She pointed down at our packs leaning against a tree. "We can bring those up in a moment, right?"

"Yes, let's look around the cave first," I said. It wouldn't be the first time on our journey that we'd entered a cave that was unsuitable, or worse, occupied.

With Konomi by my side, I ventured further into the hollow structure. There was a limited amount of space where we could stand in before the walls came together to form the ceiling. But it was dry, empty, and most of all, shelter from the elements. While the weather was beautiful now, night came quickly this time of year.

"I think we can stay the night here," I said.

"I agree. I hope there's a bath," Konomi said, as always quick with a joke.

I didn't know what I would do without her lightness. Her company and persisting brightness were one of the few things that was making this long impossible journey bearable. If she hadn't been here, I was sure I would've given up a long time ago. If only I could tell her just how much she meant to me.

I shook the traitorous thoughts away and clambered down to gather the rest of our belongings. We travelled light by necessity, but after a full day of walking, those packs were the heaviest thing in the world. While I brought everything up to the cave, Konomi started a fire. She was always much better at that, at anything that required patience.

It didn't take long for the fire to light up the cave and chase away the chill. I sank down on a cleared bit of ground, relieved to be off my feet. Travelling through dense forest was my least favourite and the Alladwin forest was certainly that. Dense.

Konomi settled next to me and handed me a raw fish skewered on a stick. "Here."

A smile made its way to my tired lips as I held it over the flames. "Thank you. You take good care of me."

"That's my job, isn't it?" She dipped her head lightly, her tone teasing. "Guardian."

"Don't call me that."

"Why? That's what you are. Honoured Guardian of the Winter Stone."

I sarcastically gestured to the empty space in front of me. "Do you see the Winter Stone? No. So until we've actually found it, don't call me the Guardian. I'm a Guardian of nothing."

Konomi's smile slipped away and I instantly felt bad for snapping at her. It wasn't her fault that we were alone together on an impossible quest or that this cave was so small, our knees were touching.

I shot her an apologetic grimace. "Sorry, that was uncalled for. Especially because you didn't have to come on this quest with me. I'm just tired and tense."

"I know. I forgive you." Her genuine smile showed that she meant it too.

We rested in silence with nothing but the crackling of the fire as the darkness swallowed everything outside the cave. Once the skin of my fish was blistered and blackened, I shot a prayer to the Great Wolf before I started eating. It wasn't anywhere close to a full meal but we hadn't had that privilege for a long time.

After a while, Konomi spoke, her voice thin and devoid of all earlier lightness. "How many days more are we going to be stuck in this forest?"

I tossed my empty stick into the fire, watching it catch fire. "I don't know."

"Maybe we should go back."

"To that village with the leery old men? I don't think that would be a good idea." I reached into my pack for the weathered map of the area, although as we quickly discovered, it was rather inaccurate. "If we keep travelling east with the river, we should reach the Red Boar Inn eventually."

Konomi let out a pensive hum. "And what if we're following the wrong river?"

"We're not," I assured her, somehow managing to sound confident.

"But what if we are?"

"I promise you, we're not."

"All right. I trust you." She pulled her knees up to her chin, her gaze locked onto the crackling fire.

A silence fell over us, the kind that only existed in the quiet of winter. Somewhere, a lone owl hooted into the night.

Konomi's sigh sounded like it came from deep within. "Mayu?"

The way she said my name tightened my chest but I didn't let it show. "Yes?"

"This Winter Stone better be worth it."

The faintest of smiles curled my lips up and I could only nod in agreement because it was better if my true feelings on the matter never saw the light of day.

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