Axel did not say another word.
He simply grabbed Ivy’s wrist and started pulling her uphill.
“Axel! Wait…what are you…slow down!” she stumbled, nearly dropping the baby goat in her arms.
The kid bleated, slipping from her grasp with a soft thud. But instead of crying, it trotted after them cheerfully, stubby legs bouncing through the brush, like it was part of some strange pilgrimage.
“Axel! Where are we going?” Ivy gasped, her breath visible in the suddenly biting air.
He did not answer. Again.
Her boots scraped against the steep terrain, rocks giving way to frost. She slipped once, then again, but he did not stop. Did not evenlook back.
Just pulled her through the changing terrain…past the tree line, into the whites.
Snow.
The air turned thin. Cold bit at her skin. The sun had
