Page 260 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

Muttering a string of curses under my breath, I go in search for Mine.

The prisoners are all forming a long line to the gates, ready to depart.

Mine is in the middle, and as I squeeze next to his side and grab his hand, a slow smile curves up his lips.

“You came,” he whispers.

“I promised I would.”

He squeezes my hand tightly and keeps me flush against his body so I don’t touch any of the other prisoners.

We walk slowly until we reach the woods he mentioned, at which point I shield him with my powers and we make our way surreptitiously out of line and away from the marching soldiers.

I tug him toward the cover of the trees, but he keeps glancing back toward the men marching forward.

“Do you want me to help them?” I ask, noting the worry lines etched on his face.

He shakes his head.

“You cannot mess with that many fates.”

“For you, I will. If you want me to…”

“No.” His answer is clipped. “History must go forward. I’ve already done too much.”

“What do you mean?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he murmurs, finally following me deeper into the forest. “I suppose I feel bad for those men. With nothingelse to do in all these months, we got to know each other and…they’re good men.”

“I can?—”

“No,” he states again. “Some will survive. Others won’t. It’s life.”

I accept his reasoning, but I can’t help but feel the sadness seeping out of him.

It makes me wonder what truly happened in that camp while I wasn’t there for him. But I can do something now. I can ease his suffering…somehow.

We walk for a few hours in a perpendicular direction so we don’t meet any other soldiers.

“We’ll need to find a place to sleep for the night. It’s late and you must be tired,” I tell him when I note he’s gone too quiet.

He takes a deep breath and looks around.

“We won’t find anywhere warm or anywhere that they won’t try to kill us on sight.”

I snort at him.

“You happen to be traveling with a goddess, in case you haven’t noticed. Come.”

I look around for a spot that’s both hidden by the trees and has even ground. When I find a good one, I nod to myself and kneel down, pressing my open palms against the frozen ground.

Particles of ice meld together and rise forth, slowly knitting themselves into a solid structure in the shape of a small cabin. I fortify the roof and floor with two thick layers and add a second one for the walls so they can conserve heat.

When I’m done, I blow the hair out of my face and turn to Mine.

He’s staring at me in shock, or rather, admiration?

“This is…”

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