Chapter 4

The mountain cabin creaked under the assault of another bitter wind. I wrapped the thin blanket tighter around my shoulders, my breath forming small clouds in the frigid air. Three weeks had passed since Nathan banished me to this desolate outpost, and winter had descended with merciless fury.

I stared at the dying embers in the fireplace, too exhausted to gather more wood from the dwindling pile outside. My wounds from the rogue attack had finally healed, but new ailments plagued me—frostbitten fingertips, a persistent cough that rattled my chest, and the hollow ache of isolation that threatened to consume…