He didn't say anything. Just breathed deeper, once, through his scarf.
The cold hit different now. Not sharp. Not numbing. Just there. Like something real instead of something cruel.
Ahead, the slope didn't just climb. It broke.
Stone jutted upward like shattered ribs. Rough. Slanted wrong. No proper trail in sight. Not even enough of a ledge to fake one.
Ren crouched and kicked a loose rock over the edge. It skittered down. Bounced once, twice, then vanished into snow.
She straightened, eyes scanning upward like she was estimating something. Probably stupid.
"We're climbing," she said. Not a question.
Ardan gave a long sigh. "Great."
Meren sat down immediately. "You climb. I'm spiritually ascending."
Lira didn't pause. Her fingers brushed the surface of one of the outcroppings. She stepped sideways, checking for footholds.
The slope narrowed here. Everything funneled to this one rough pass, lined with frost and bad footing. But it wasn't impossible.
Just annoying.
