Ixek and I trek in silence for nearly two days. As we ascend higher, dry rock becomes coated in snow, first a fine, dusty layer, then voluminous fluff. Now I understand why Nal m'se insisted we take boots. Snow clings to the fur stretching from my feet to my knees. I'm especially grateful that I sewed sunlight beams into the boots. The cold barely penetrates my toes, and the boots are nearly as soaked as Ixek's. I suppose I never added the extra warmth to his pair.

A shiver racks Ixek's shoulders. He pulls his robe tighter around his shoulders.

I clear my throat. "Are you alright?" He grunts a 'yes.'

Kletasuah assured me that he was set for the journey, but I'm not convinced. He seems to shiver more than me, and sometimes, his feet drag through the snow while I get ahead of him. Still, he only agrees to rest when it's mealtime or growing dark.

"We're almost there." Ixek's voice is hoarse from disuse. The frosty air isn't doing him any favors, either.

I gaze up the mountainside. Three peaks rise in the distance, each taller than the previous.

"Which one are we climbing?" I ask.

"We aren't climbing any," Ixek says. "We're going around the base."

"Oh." Relief swirls inside me. The thought of more climbing makes me cringe internally.

We trudge up the snowy incline. My legs burn from the exertion. Honestly, even if Ixek feels fine, I wouldn't mind a break. Then again, frequent rests would delay our journey more.

Ixek stops at the mountain's base. He holds up a hand, motioning for me to stay back.

"Careful," he warns in a whisper. Slowly, he inches forward. His feet are silent on the snow, in contrast to slight crunching under mine. He glances back, annoyed. "Shh."

"Sorry," I whisper.

Up close, the distance between peaks is much further than when I'd surveyed it from afar. We keep traveling along the undulating snow. Ixek picks up momentum from the up and down topography while I slow down. I stop paying attention for a bit because the next time I look up, Ixek is nowhere in sight. I stumble to a stop, glancing around. Deciding that he probably continued straight ahead, I continue that way.

His thin frame returns to view. He stopped ahead, his expression hardened into the coldest stone.

"Come on," he hisses. He grabs my arm and pulls me along. My feet tramp noisily behind me, but I guess Ixek's given up on a silent approach.

Finally, the tallest mountain peak looms overhead. I spare a glance upward, and terror overwhelms me. Jagged rocks hang off the vertical slope, ready to impale whatever is in their path should they fall. I quickly avert my eyes to the rock arching overhead. The large peak forms almost a bridge crossing to a downward sloping cliff on the other side. Ixek pulls me behind the rock on either side of the gaping hole in the mountain.

Ixek pokes his head out, then quickly ducks back. "There are three Anderwres out there."

"Anderwres?" My brow wrinkles. The name sounds familiar, but I can't quite place it.

"We need a distraction while I retrieve the parcel." His eyes appraise me, and I feel warmth flooding my cheeks. His jaw shifts, gaze flickering to the snow. "Hmm. Maybe I should cause the distraction."

"I-I can cause a distraction," I say.

His eyes lock on mine again. "They might shoot you."

I pause, grappling for a response. "I... I can do what needs to be done. For Nal m'se." For the tribe.

"I can't let you get hurt. It's part of the Warrior's code. If we have a choice, we put ourselves in the most danger first." He glances behind the peaks again. "Here, look."

He points to a rock on the diagonal side of the mountain pass. I press myself flat against the rock, craning my neck to see.

"The parcel is in there," he says. "You may only have a few minutes to find it. Can you do that?"

"I-I think so."

"Good." He peers out once more, then retracts his head behind the rock. "When I give the signal, run as quickly and quietly as you can."

I nod. To my surprise, Ixek looks up to the peak's crest. Before I can react, he places a hand on the nearest shard jutting from the craggy cliff.

"Ixek! What are you doing!" I hiss.

He's already several feet above the ground. This is a horrible, reckless idea. Just a few days ago, he was shot and injured. If he doesn't fall to his death, his wounds may reopen.

I can't see his face as he ascends, but I can see the jerking movements in his shoulders. He takes fairly frequent rests, his feet pressing against the mountainside while he holds onto a notch above. I don't know if I should be grateful that he's trying to pace himself or worried that he's too tired to make the intense climb. Even from far below, I can make out the rise and fall of his shoulders as he takes deep gulps of air.

He reaches the top third of the cliffside. At this point, it'd take longer to come down than go up. Ixek pauses, then stretches his hand upward to grasp the next rocky ledge. The rock fractures the moment he grips it, tumbling to the ground. I hear a grunt from the other side of the pass. My heart rate clicks up in tempo.

Ixek must've heard the grunt, too. He angles his face to the ground. His jaw is clenched from the exertion, though panic shines in his wide eyes. He fumbles for another rock, testing it to make sure it will hold him. More rapidly than before, he pulls himself up the mountainside.

I want to call out to him, telling him to not rush. Rushing is the best way to make mistakes, and Ixek can't afford a single misstep, or perhaps more appropriately, misshand. But that would be a dead giveaway to the people on the other side of this mountain pass.

What did Ixek call them again? Andres? Andares?

Anderwres. It comes to me in a flash, and I remember where I've heard it before. It was in Ellna's story, the one about the two sisters who tried to overthrow the tribe. They partnered with the Anderwres in an attempt to do so. My gaze settles on Ixek, who's nearly at the peak. Is this what the parcels have been about? Do the Anderwres pose a threat to the tribe, just like they did so many years ago?

Ixek disappears at the peak's summit. He must be lying on his stomach, concealed by the thick snow. A tiny hand reaches over the mountainside, motioning toward the direction of the pass. I inch closer to the arched rock and dare a glance out. Three men pace the rolling, white slope. I quickly duck back, heart thudding in my chest.

There's a whisk of wind, then a shout. I whip my head out again. Two warriors run toward the peak, docking arrows in their bows. The third lies at the peak's base, an arrow protruding from his stomach and blood dying the snow around him. Arrows rain down from the sky, but the Anderwres are well-trained, ducking and dodging the hits.

I can't hesitate any longer. The distraction won't last forever. I dart across the clearing. Snow labors my footsteps, but whooshing arrows and shouts muffle the crunch. I slip into the small alcove. Two rocky sides curve inward and a slight overhang partially blocks the sun, but I'm hardly protected. I'm straight in the Anderwres' line of vision if one turns around. They would not miss if they took aim at me.

My heart is in my throat, and fear clutches at my chest. Frantically, I scan the space. All sorts of crags and holes litter the rock. It would take forever to stick my hand inside each one. Why didn't Ixek think to be more specific with his instructions? I stick my hand in the nearest one, then the next and the next, shoving both arms into holes at the same time. Each time, my hands land on dry rock.

I freeze in my frenzy. Dry rock. Nal m'se wouldn't have a need for waterproof parcels if they were placed in dry rock. The parcels need to be somewhere that they can be soaked, and the message inside ruined.

My eyes land on the snow. I crouch down, digging my hands through it. Cold reaches my bones, turns my fingers numb. I glance at the Anderwres. Rocks now rain over them. Ixek must've run out of arrows. One of the Anderwres angles his body toward me, as if he's about to turn around, but a rock manages to hit him square in the jaw, sending him backward. I'm running out of time. I pull back more and more snow, destroying the pristine layer that once coated the ground.

My hand strikes fur. In a shadowed part of the cave, I draw a sodden parcel from the ground, the same one I sewed after the tribe's gathering. I tighten my fist around it and run from the alcove.

A shout rises behind me, and I feel the brush of an arrow tip on my neck. Adrenaline propels me to the other side of the pass. Ixek is still on the mountain peak. Grunts and yells charge toward me. There's no place to hide, and I can't outrun a well-aimed shot. I drop into the snow, pressing myself against the rock like it will hide me from sight. A man runs around the corner, donned in brown fur. He lifts his bow, pulls back the arrow, points it at me...

An arrow pierces his chest, and he drops to the ground.

I can only stare at the body, panting. I don't know what to do. Tears sting my eyes, but I blink them back, refusing to cry.

"Celisae!"

I startle at Ixek's voice. He's on the cliff now, hurrying down the way he came.

"Run! I'll catch up."

"But—"

"Just run. I saw more Anderwres on the horizon."

Despite my burning lungs, I break into a run. Snow weighs me down, makes my movements heavy and labored. My legs feel like they're flailing as they clunk through it. A light crunching sound jogs up behind me. I stagger to a stop as Ixek passes by.

"Don't stop," he says. "We have to get out of here." I continue the fight through the snow again, and Ixek slows his pace. He reaches into his belt, handing me a dagger. "Here. In case someone attacks you. I have a few arrows left in case of emergency, but let's try not to need them."

I shove the dagger into my bag, then scan the clearing. Nothing but snow stretches as far as I can see. Finally, I turn back to the cliffs. The steep rocks drop to the ground, leaving little room to hide. Except, as we run past, my eye snags on something. It's a glimmer, one that most would overlook, but I've been trained to spot. Part of the cliff juts out, and on the other side of it, I spot a cave right where I saw the light.

"Ixek," I pant. "Over here." I start toward the cave.

"What are you—" I don't respond. The pattering behind me tells me he's following anyway.

I dart into the safety of the alcove, which is just large enough for us both to fit. The flicker I saw dissolves into silvery dust, adding an extra sparkle to the snow. Shadows fall over the entrance now. Ixek slots in beside me, curling into a ball to fit.

We wait. Neither of us say a word. Only the wind stirs up a whooshing sound outside.

The crunching is soft at first. The footsteps are in sync, one person running toward us. As it draws closer, the sound grows and separates, the pounding of a hundred feet on the snow. Vibrations shudder through the rock.

I peek out as they pass in a giant swarm of fur-covered men. They clutch bows at the ready, arrows taught against the strings. A few cast glances behind them, some even landing at us. I press myself harder against the rock. If only I could shrink into and away from their line of sight. But none seem to spot us.

The group races on, their footsteps fading until the only thing pounding is my heart. Echoes bounce off the cliffs for several minutes, but even those dissolve into the air. Silence returns outside. I become all too aware of blood rushing in my ears, the sound of Ixek's and my breaths. It's too loud, bound to draw the Anderwres back. But they don't return. The mountainside remains blissfully quiet.

Finally, Ixek uncurls his legs from beneath him, stretching them for a moment. "I don't know how you spotted this place, but quick thinking."

A smile spreads on my face. For once, my knack for spotting light beams has been used for something not forbidden by the tribe.

"We should rest," I say. "It's been a long day. Besides" — I motion to the outside clearing — "The Anderwres might come back."

Ixek peers at the sky. Clouds dim the sun, though it's probably late in the day, too. "Alright. We'll head back in the morning, once we're sure they're gone."