Page 65 of Polestar
Thesunwasstillbelow the horizon by the time the dark outlines of the fishing village came into sight in the dim light.
Her fatigued muscles threatened to drag her down into the snow.
How long had she been running?
The road declined sharply toward the village, forcing her to move with more care.
Would the villagers stop her?Had word somehow been sent that she’d escape the stronghold?
Magnus wasn’t with her.Surely, they’d be suspicious, considering they were there to record their impending union.Banished, Magnus was forbidden to stay.
A distant sound drew her attention.Standing motionless, straining to determine what it was.
It was the whine of engines.Boats?
She hurried down through the village path.
This time, there was no one to witness her arrival.It was dark and silent.Eerily silent.Like the village was abandoned.
She rounded the downward bend, eyes searching the small harbor for their plane.
The dock was empty.
No!No, no, no!
She slipped the rest of the way down the path, desperately scanning the ocean in case maybe the tether had come untied and it drifted nearby.
The whine of engines grew louder, but there were no boats visible on the horizon.
The sound came from behind her.
Moments later, snowmobiles came into view.
Is there any other way off this island?
Even if there was somewhere to swim to, she’d freeze in the Barents Sea at this time of year—anytime of year, if she were honest.
She considered drawing her gun.Instead, she ran back up the path, frantically tugging the doors to some houses.
All locked.
The snowmobiles were deafeningly close.
The temple.She darted toward the divine sanctuary.Locked.
She stared at it in disbelief.
Who locks temple doors?
Anyone trying to keep riffraff out.
Spinning around, she scanned the darkness, searching for somewhere to hide, then crouched, moving through the shadows.
Grunting against the strain in her exhausted muscles, she broke for the forest.Maybe there was some other way off the island.
There has to be a boat somewhere, right?
At the edge of the village, she gauged the distance between the cover of the buildings and the forest’s edge above it.The snow cover was pristine, with little hint of how deep it was or how uneven the ground was beneath it.
