Page 44 of Own to Obtain

“It is a different amount each time. But someone always does. Throughout the whole of the Southern Lands, we have never had a perfect survival rate. We are not yet in the worst of this one, but we have to go to the mountain to make sure everyone is safe.”

Shaya searched his eyes. “That is our responsibility? To check on the people?”

“Not always,” Kardos said. “It all depends on the directional track the blizzard takes. Much of the damage can be minimized if we know which way it is heading. This particular blizzard is crossing Nyek Island and will pass over the village mountains. Everyone should be in the shelter by now, but I want to make sure everyone is safe and that all safety protocols have been checked to ensure we can survive there for weeks if we have to.”

Shaya nodded. “So it is a safe place while the blizzards rage?”

“Based on the blizzards location and tracking, there are different safe places,” Kardos explained as he cuddled her back into him. “The best preparation we have is to study the patterns before it even arrives.”

Shaya was quiet for a moment as she lay her cheek on his chest. “And you studied this one?”

“Yes, but there are more than one.”

Shaya lifted her head up to look at him. “How many?”

“At least three, all coming in from different angles.”

Her eyes widened as she stared at him. “Is that normal?”

“It is not frequent,” Kardos admitted. “But we have survived them before.”

“That doesn’t seem normal. Has anyone looked into why this happens so much here?”

“It is the nature of the Lands, Shaya,” he said. “It is a natural phenomenon that cannot be explained. The best we can do is weather it through preparation, tribe harmony, and fortitude.”

Shaya lay her head back in his chest, her expression thoughtful.

Kardos pressed his lips on her forehead, breathing in her scent. His heart soared that he had her in his arms again and a strange peace settled within him. She had chosen to return to him. No matter what happened, no matter what the result was of this blizzard, if he had Shaya in his arms nothing would faze him. It was the most positive he’d ever felt during a blizzard. When he was younger, he had feared them, thinking he would die with each one. That was what everyone around him believed, and that belief started to seep into him. But he soon realized that preparation and a determined attitude were the keys to survive and he faced them head-on, thinking of each blizzard like a battle—each one different but beatable. With this one, he was glad he had his Omega—that he was whole again, and he was determined that neither he nor his Omega would suffer.

The carriage slowed and he readied himself, holding onto Shaya tightly. As it came to a stop, he opened the hatch and ran in the direction of his hut, seeing the door a few seconds before he burst through it. Shifting Shaya to one side, he ran to the bedroom and placed her down the bed.

Pulling open one of his drawers, he grabbed four potion bottles and handed one to Shaya. “Drink this,” he instructed, before opening his wardrobe to find furs for her.

“What is it?” Shaya asked, opening the potion bottle to sniff it.

“It is a potion that helps to keep the body temperature up and the mind clearheaded,” he said. “Rozalia has a batch ready for every blizzard to help us survive it.”

“Us?” Shaya said as she tipped the potion into her mouth.

Kardos began to dress her in the layers and furs he had collected. “Tribe Nyek,” he clarified. “It is the potionist’s job to help the tribe survive storms and blizzards any way they can. She makes these for the entire tribe throughout the year, special recipes for babies and elderly. She has been doing it for years and it is her own recipe. She has kept many of us alive for a long time with this potion.”

Shaya watched him as he buttoned up a woolly torso-covering garment on her. “Where is she now? In the shelter?”

Kardos shook his head. “She is on the Central Island in the birthing temple for this one. That is where she is most needed, protecting the new babies of the Southern Lands.”

“That makes sense,” she murmured, as he swiftly pulled on thick furs over her body. “Will she be safe there?”

“The birthing temples tend to be the safest place in the island during these blizzards,” Kardos explained as he dressed. “Nothing is for certain. There was one year an entire temple got destroyed, mothers and babies along with it. It was a devastating time for the Southern Isles. The high chief and tribe leaders debated how to avoid it again for months, but nothing is certain.” He held up two of the bottles and then tucked them into her furs. “If you start to feel extremely cold, drink one.”

“All right,” Shaya breathed, her eyes wide as she looked him. “Where are yours?”

“I have some here,” he said tapping the pocket of his furs. “But if we are separated, you need to have your own. If anything happens, sip it every few hours. It will stave off the cold until you are found.”

He picked up a long piece of thick material wrapped around his waist, crossed it around his chest, and tied it around his neck. Then he picked Shaya up and swung her around onto his back, slipping her boots into the sling on either side of his body. “Keep your feet inside this,” he said. Then another thick piece of fabric went around her whole body attaching her to him securely. “Arms around my neck,” he ordered. “Comfortable?”

“Yes,” Shaya said, her breath in his ear.

“Keep your hands locked around my neck at all times, Shaya,” he said. “Just because you are tied in doesn’t mean it won’t loosen and you won’t get swept away.”

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