15
Jian
“She needs someone to care enough to bring her back.”
Qara’s words were the only thing keeping Jian moving through the snow-deep mountain passes. He’d crossed into Koulland days before, but he didn’t know how much longer he had to travel to reach the monastery.
Ice crusted his gloves as he wrapped chilled fingers around his horse’s reins and focused all his strength on just staying in the saddle. He’d fallen off periodically throughout the day, but always managed to get back up.
When was the last time he’d slept? Each night, he set up a tent to keep the wind at bay, but the cold never went away, leaving him shivering as he lay awake.
He’d switched horses at each village he found, but there hadn’t been another village in days.
Weakness enveloped his very bones, and he pitched
