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He frowned. “Well, can you shift and fly?”
Her eyes went luminous and she shook her head. “Frost took my primary flight feathers. I can’t fly without them.”
“Won’t shifting heal your wings?”
“No. Those feathers take longer to regenerate,” she said, her voice cracking slightly. “Eventually I’ll be able to fly again, but not soon enough. We have to run.” Her eyes filled with tears and he hugged her tightly.
“Baby, I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry you got taken too. We’ll make it. There’s no other choice.”
She sniffled and nodded. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
They moved down the hall, passing empty cells, until they were nearly at the end and someone called faintly, “Don’t leave me.”
They stopped and saw a male clinging to the bars, his pointed ears marking him as an elf.
“Who are you?” Winter asked.
“Tahvi,” he said, his voice a low rasp. “Frost took my magic. Please, don’t leave me here to die.”
“Winter, we can’t leave him,” True said.
“All right,” Winter said, unlocking the cell door. “But my priority is my mate and you have to keep up with us.”
“I will,” Tahvi said.
As he stepped into the hall, Winter noticed the elf’s skin looked oddly pale, with a faint frost creeping along the veins of his neck. He pushed the thought aside and focused on getting them out of this frozen hellscape. They reached the end of the hall, where another door opened into a stone corridor.
Winter hesitated.
He wasn’t sure which way to go to get to the surface. If they went the wrong way, they might get caught.
“To the right,” True whispered.
“You remember them bringing you in?” he asked.
“No, it’s my homing instinct. Northernmost is to the right and up.”
“Northernmost is home for you now?” he asked.
She smiled through chattering teeth. “Of course. It’s where you are. You’re my home, and your home is mine.”
“This is nice, but can we get the hell out of here?” Tahvi asked, then coughed, bending over to catch his breath.
Winter snorted. “Right, let’s move.” He took True’s hand and hurried to the right, heading down the hall, up a set of carved stone steps, and through another door, before finding the air turning even colder, and a set of steps leading to what looked like an iron security door.
“There could be guards, stay close,” Winter said.
He hit the door hard, hoping to surprise any guards beyond, but saw none.
Taking a moment to get his bearings, he spotted the Northern Lights in the distance and the faint glow of the Well through the blowing snow that threatened to cut off his view.
Winter took True’s hand. “Sweet love?”
“We’ve got this.”
“You’ll keep up?” he asked Tahvi.
“Yeah.”
