Krentz, Jayne Ann - Lost Colony 02 by Crystal Flame (v4.0)

Author:Crystal Flame (v4.0) [Flame, Crystal]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

A short while later, Ridge finished fastening the travel bags to the creet saddles, double-checked the saddle buckles, and handed one set of reins to Kalena. She took them with gloved hands. The morning air was chill with the promise of mountain snow. In addition to her gloves she wore a fur-lined travel cloak over her riding clothes, the hood pulled up over her head. Ridge too wore a lined cloak and warm, flexible lanti skin gloves. The creets fluffed out their feathers to insulate themselves against the cold and pranced forward with their usual willingness.

Kalena glanced back at the quiet inn as Ridge led the way out of the yard. “I’m glad you changed your mind about yelling at the entire Village Council,” she said.

“I didn’t change my mind,” he informed her arrogantly. “I just didn’t want to waste any more time.”

“Yes, of course,” she murmured, hiding a tiny smile. “We wouldn’t want to waste any more time. All the same, thank you for restraining yourself.”

He glanced back. “You would have been embarrassed, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes,” she admitted. “I’m quite sure the Village Council had nothing to do with the failure of those lamps last night. Furthermore, I met some nice women in the spa and I would have felt awkward if you had turned around this morning and humiliated them by using your clout against their husbands.”

Ridge shook his head. “Women,” he muttered, but he sounded oddly indulgent.

Kalena breathed a sigh of relief and reached down to stroke her creet’s neck feathers. Diplomacy, she was discovering, was another useful skill for a wife. It occurred to her that last night was not the first time she had managed to douse the Fire Whip’s temper. She really was getting quite proficient at the task.

The wind that swept through the mountains had a definite bite to it now. The creets climbed higher and higher into the pass, following the old trail that had been carved out by the first High Healers when they had decided to move into the mountain reaches. Even during the height of summer, this trail could be chilly. The snow on the peaks of the Heights of Variance never completely disappeared.

When Ridge called a halt for lunch he took the time to build a small fire so that Kalena could prepare a warming mug of tea. He stood watching as she carefully boiled the water and added the yant leaves.

“We should reach the wall of white mist the caravans complained about by tomorrow evening if we continue at this pace,” he remarked thoughtfully.

“Where do we camp tonight?”

“There are some shelters along the trail built by the early traders. Creet rations are kept stocked in them along with emergency supplies. We’ll stop at one this evening.”

Kalena nodded and finished the meal preparations. “I’m glad we won’t have to spend the night out in the open. It’s so cold here.”

Ridge smiled faintly. “You don’t have to worry, Kalena. I wouldn’t force my wife to sleep in the snow.”

“Very reassuring.”

The

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.