50

I think I sleep a little before I feel the horse slow down and finally stop again.

It's dark around us, but I can see that we're still in the forest and there's snow everywhere now.

I don't have time to ask any questions.

Miguel moves away the arm that holds me, and I see this as a cue to move away.

“House Belven is ahead,” he says.

I look over my shoulder.

We're close to some kind of small town below, and from here you can see that they, like the Tarus, have a fortress right in the center, and everything is lit up with torches and lanterns. I can even see guards patrolling the walls here, but they don't see us. We are inside the forest and both we and the horse are just dark figures mixed in with the shadows.

Miguel helps me get off the horse, and I start to feel cold again as soon as I move away from him, but I don't say anything. I'm already mortified enough to have come all the way here clinging to his body like a puppy.

Even in the dark I can see him looking at me, that intense r