Finn stopped just short of the door and nudged Condal with his elbow to halt her. The slight movement of his arm flexed his biceps beneath her hand, and she curled her fingers tightly around it, trying to capture some of its fleeting strength before it relaxed away.
Finn balanced his weight between the balls of his feet and flexed his knees in preparation. Everyone knew a running jump did not count.
“Joseph,” Irene asked, “how many hours before dark?”
Yusuf nudged his bag aside with his foot and leaned back to peer out the tall window.
The moment Dara stopped to catch her breath her dread enveloped her again, like a suffocating velvet cloak she had trailed behind her as she ran. She saw her husband across the room, but he was only half-dressed, and in the snowy light he was blue-white as a cadaver. The fire was out, and the air smelled chilly and strange.
“Brede! What are you doing?” Estrid panted.
“What does it look like?” he groaned.
Osh stopped just short of the cottage and lifted his hands to halt Vash and Shosudin behind him.
“Stand clear if you value your noses,” he warned.
“Malo!” Lady Gwynn panted as she shuffled to a skidding stop. “Thank heaven you’re still here!”
“God’s wounds! You don’t think I know what color eyes anyone has around here, do you? I would have to sit and think a while to tell you what color eyes my children have. They do all have eyes, don’t they?”
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