Page 87 of A Shard of Ice

The snow falls faster and harder, so we find a rocky overhang and decide to stop for a break.

We huddle beneath the outcrop, together with our horses, sitting with our backs against the rock.

Damon hands me a skin, and I drink my fill of the cool water before handing it back to him.

“You probably thought I forgot.” His voice cuts through the sound of the falling snow.

My heart stutters. “Forgot what, exactly?” I ask as it picks up speed, beating beneath my ribs. I’m pretty sure I know what he is referring to.

He chokes out a soft laugh. “Really? You’re going to act like you don’t know.”

I sigh. “My birthing day is hardly important out here and right now.” I’m smiling; I can’t help it.

“It’s important to me, just as you are important to me, Kyrie.” He looks me in the eye.

A flush of pleasure warms me from my toes all the way up to the tips of my ears.

“I have something very small. I’ve had it with me all along.” His cheeks suffuse with a touch of color that isn’t from the cold. “It’s small and silly. It—” He’s shaking his head.

It’s adorable that someone as big and imposing as Damon would be nervous about giving me a gift. Something he told me about at the salt mines. Something he must have carried with him through all of our adventures.

“Whatever it is, I am sure I will love it.” I smile at him.

“I wish it could be gold and jewels. You are worth that and more.” He takes out a small piece of folded-up cloth and hands it to me. “Don’t expect too much,” he warns.

Instead of arguing with him like I want to, I open the gift and gasp when I see it.

“I warned you, it isn’t much.”

“Stop it,” I tell him, a grin on my lips as a rush of affection and love floods me. This man. This sweetheart. I hold the ring up, examining it.

“I will replace it one day…perhaps,” he mutters. “I hope to replace it.”

I pull off my gloves. “I don’t want it replaced. It’s perfect. It must have taken you a long time to make.” I slip it onto my fingerand hold my hand up. “It fits me perfectly. I can’t imagine the work involved.”

“It’s nothing. You shouldn’t even wear it. Please don’t feel like you have to just because I gave it to you.”

“Are you kidding, Damon? I love it. It’s the best thing anyone has ever given me.” My eyes are welling with tears. “It’s beautiful.” I mean it with my whole heart. The ring has been fashioned from one of the iron tokens from the salt mine. It will have taken many hours to painstakingly fashion it into a band. Many hours of hammering. But at the same time, it would have taken a deft touch not to accidentally break it.

“Thank you.” I reach up and gently brush my mouth against his. Then Damon pulls me into a tight hug. “Happy birthing day, love,” he whispers into the top of my hair. We hold on to one another for a while.

“We’d better get going. It looks like this storm isn’t letting up. There is a narrow pass we need to navigate. It won’t be possible if the snow gets too thick.”

I nod, taking one last look at my ring before pulling my gloves back on. Then we mount up and set out. The next few hours go by slowly.

“You okay?” Damon asks me for the hundredth time.

“I’m good. Glad for the saddle horn.” I smile. I’ve had to grab it several times as Ranger scrambles up a particularly rocky patch. Right now, we’re on a narrow lip on the side of the mountain as the snow continues to fall. One slip, and we’re dead. I keep my eyes trained ahead.

I pull my hood tighter and hunch my shoulders against the cold. It feels like we’re riding through a frozen wasteland, the only sounds are of our horses’ hooves on the snow, the wind, and our collective breathing.

I am thankful when we enter a section that seems to be carved out of the mountain. This must be the pass Damon spokeof. It blocks out the wind, with steep sides on either side of us. There isn’t much room, my feet very nearly scraping on the rock.

“The entrance isn’t too much farther,” Damon tells me. “The worst is almost over.”

Just as he says it, a chorus of howls sounds from somewhere behind us. They sound close.

I suck in a breath and look behind us. “Please tell me that’s the wind.”

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