Page 18 of An Avalanche Hero Christmas

But he didn’t like her. She was a fae, and he clearly had something against her kind. So why was he going through so much trouble to help her?

Chapter Eight

A Night in the Grotto

“You need a break,” Mallory declared.

Lance exhaled, sending a plume of condensation from his mouth, and resisted the sudden compulsion to turn and look at her. It wasn’t the first time she was asked that they stop and rest, and although he knew it wasn’t without reason, he refused to listen. They continued through the snow, bypassing several rock formations that jutted above the surface as the sky turned grey above their heads.

His next step sent a jolt of pain shooting from his foot all the way to his hip. Lance suppressed a grunt and looked around. Jumping over the edge of the cliff had seemed like an excellent idea at the time, but now he couldn’t help wondering what on earth had driven him to consider such a foolish course of action.

Boris’ words floated through his consciousness.

Step aside. Leave her for me.

Such a simple request. Lance had survived this long by minding his business and avoiding trouble whenever he reasonably could. He’d had the chance to do as Boris asked, step aside and let the Fae Hunter do as he pleased and return to his home. He’d had the chance, even before then, to leave this fae woman next to him buried in the avalanche.

At every turn, the opportunity to choose himself first, to save his own skin, had presented itself to him, but what had he done? Each time, he’d done the opposite. He’d pulled her out of the snow. He’d given her his coat. He’d guided her through the woods. He’d even fought Boris the Fae Hunter, something no one had done and lived to tell about.

And then what? He’d thrown himself off the edge of a cliff.

If he didn’t know better, he’d say he was already smitten with this woman.

The thought made him scoff. That was impossible. This woman was fae.

So was Julia,he thought.

But this was different, wasn’t it? He couldn’t be smitten with her because he’d learned from his past how risky that could be. He’d learned from his mistake.

So why had he done all that he had?

He stumbled suddenly, taking a moment to regain his balance, and Mallory’s arm shot out as if to steady him. “We need to stop, Lance.”

This time, he scoffed, and then he winced as he took another step. “For all we know, Boris has made it off the cliff and is after us. We should keep moving.”

“It’s been close to an hour since we jumped. We can’t keep moving, not in your condition. You’re injured. If you don’t get some rest soon, you’ll only get worse.”

He sighed again, casting a sideways glance at her. With his coat wrapped around her small body and her pink bag still at her waist, she looked cute, but Lance’s focus soon shifted from those details to her face. Her red hair swept partly across her face; her coal-black eyes gazed back at him. Lance briefly wondered what those eyes would look like in firelight. The thought sent a shiver through his body.

Her lips parted with a slight tremble, and it occurred to him to put his own lips against them. Before the thought could take root inside his mind, Lance tossed it aside. Right now, he had one mission, one duty: get away from Boris, no matter what.

Get Mallory to safety.

He’d already signed his death warrant when he turned down Boris’s offer. The next time the Fae Hunter laid eyes on him, he would not give him another chance. Lance had to be prepared. His heart thumped in his chest. He’d barely survived the last attack. What would happen when they met Boris the next time?

“We’ve already gone off course. We need to focus on finding higher ground. Jumping off that cliff means it will take at least a couple of days for us to get back on track, and that’s assuming Boris doesn’t get to us again.”

“If you’re not in good condition, you won’t be able to move at all.” He locked gazes with her just in time to see her eyes flicker with annoyance. “You need the rest.”

Something in her tone told him that arguing with her would be futile

“There.” Mallory said, pointing at a spot, “We can hide there for the night.”

He followed her finger. Thirty feet away, rising out of the snow, was a large rock. Lance frowned. It wasn’t just a rock. There was an opening on one side. A cave.

Before he could protest, Mallory said, “You need to lie down. I’ll tend to whatever wounds I can. Time will mend the rest.”

“I—”

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