Snow looked back at Unit 1 for the third time before they reached the turn toward District 2.
The compound had already slipped behind the houses, but her ears stayed angled that way. Averik watched her walk several more steps before he said, "The deer isn’t going to follow you home by itself."
Evelyn’s arm was looped comfortably through his. She glanced down at Snow, then up at him, amusement brightening her silver-gray eyes. "She probably thinks we made a terrible mistake leaving it with other people."
"She watched them drag it inside."
"That may be the part she objects to." Evelyn smiled when Snow looked back yet again. "Please don’t encourage her to go and steal it, Averik~"
"I wasn’t going to stop her." A quiet laugh slipped from Evelyn as she leaned a little closer against his arm. "Then I’ll have to make dinner quickly when it arrives. I’d rather not explain to unit 1 why Snow broke into the storehouse because both of you got impatient."
Averik looked down at the wolf. Dried blood still darkened the fur around her muzzle from the deer she’d taken on the road. "Both of us?"
Evelyn’s smile turned knowingly sweet. "Mm. You just hide it better."
Snow gave a low huff, as if Evelyn had finally said something sensible.
The noise from Unit 1 thinned behind them. Stone houses crowded closer along the inner streets, old snow piled against walls and smoke lifting from iron vents. Two residents carrying tied bundles of firewood stepped aside when they saw Snow coming. One kept staring until his companion nudged him forward.
After days of crawler noise, camp voices, frozen roads, and someone always moving on the other side of a wall, the ordinary sounds of Vardel felt almost unfamiliar. A shovel scraped somewhere beyond a courtyard. A woman called down from an upper window. Wheels complained over uneven stone farther along the street.
Evelyn rested her head briefly against Averik’s shoulder as they walked. "I’m glad we’re home."
"You say that now. Wait until Snow spends the evening staring at you from the kitchen door."
"I don’t mind. I promised I’d cook enough for her too." She looked up at him. "And if you’d like, I can make more than we need tonight so there’s something ready later."
"Make plenty."
Her smile deepened. "I had a feeling you’d say that~"
Their house came into view beyond the next row of roofs, the yard half buried beneath old snow. Snow quickened without being told. By the time Averik opened the gate, she was already waiting at the front door. "Look at her," he said. "She’s wasting away."
Evelyn’s lips twitched. "Averik, please. She did all the work for that deer. Could you let her keep a little dignity until dinner gets here?"
Snow looked at Evelyn. "Don’t recruit my wife against me."
Evelyn squeezed his arm lightly. "I don’t think she needs my help~"
Warm air met them inside, carrying the dry heat of the old pipes and the hearth. Snow went straight to her usual place near the fire. Averik shut the door, stripped off his coat, and hung his field harness beside it with Roderic’s heavy revolver still holstered. Evelyn propped her refitted spear by the inner wall before removing her own coat. Once the tie came free, her long silver hair loosened over her back, the red ends catching the firelight when she turned.
Averik dropped onto the sofa. Evelyn looked toward the kitchen, then toward the empty entry passage where the venison very obviously wasn’t.
"I was hoping they’d somehow be faster than us," she admitted.
"You want Unit 1 to butcher a deer before we can walk home?"
"I know it’s unreasonable." She came over and rested a hand on the sofa back beside him. "I was still hoping."
"Hungry?"
"Mmm~ Maybe." She tipped her face toward him. "Would you like something while we wait? I can make drink, or there should still be some bread."
"Sit." Evelyn’s smile softened. She tucked one leg beneath herself and settled closer. "All right, Averik. I’d rather stay here with you anyway."
He put an arm along the back of the sofa behind her, and Evelyn settled beneath it without hesitation. Snow dozed by the hearth with one ear twitching whenever a cart rattled outside.
They spent the wait talking about nothing urgent.
The afternoon faded around them while they talked. Pale light at the windows turned blue, then dimmer. Lamps began coming on along the street, each one throwing a weak pool of light across packed snow.
A knock sounded at the door.
Snow was standing before the second one landed.
"There," Evelyn murmured, watching her. "See? She knew they’d come eventually."
"She knew someone touched the door."
Evelyn looked at him with laughter already at the corners of her mouth. "Please let me give her this one~"
Averik snorted and got up.
Two Unit 1 non-awakened workers waited in the yard beside a handcart loaded with wrapped bundles. The older man rubbed his gloved hands together while the younger shifted his weight from foot to foot against the cold.
"Your share from the deer, sir," the older worker said. "Caedren had most of it sent here. Unit kept the rest and the hide."
"Leave it by the door." The younger worker bent for the first bundle, then noticed Snow standing several steps behind Averik. His eyes moved from her paws to the dried blood caught around her muzzle. "Sir, your wolf killed that thing?"
Averik glanced over his shoulder. "Ask her."
The worker looked at Snow for another second, then dropped his gaze to the meat. "I’ll take your word for it."
Evelyn came up beside Averik, a smile threatening at the corners of her mouth. "Thank you for bringing everything over."
"Welcome, Ma’am," the older man said. He gave Snow a wary glance. "Enjoy it."
They unloaded the last bundles and took the cart back through the gate. Averik carried the meat inside while Evelyn held the door. Snow followed every bundle with her eyes.
The moment the door shut, she lowered her nose toward the nearest wrapping.
"Don’t." Snow stopped. Her nose retreated perhaps an inch.
Evelyn crouched by the bundles. "Could she be impatient just this once? She hunted it for us, Averik."
"She took the neck before anyone else got a bite." Snow’s tail hit the floor once.
Evelyn looked at the wolf and smiled. "I think she remembers exactly how much she contributed. I’d better make sure she thinks the reward was worth it."
The kitchen filled with the smell of venison soon after. Evelyn cut enough for the three of them and left the unused wrapped meat in the cold entry passage away from the hearth. Snow abandoned her place by the fire and sat at the kitchen edge, posture rigid, attention fixed entirely on the pan.
Averik leaned against the doorway and watched her. "Pathetic."
A low complaint rolled out of Snow’s throat.
Evelyn glanced over her shoulder, smiling. "Averik~ please let her eat soon. Look at her. She’s been staring at that pan since I started."
"Suffering?" Snow made the sound again.
Evelyn bit her lower lip, but the laugh still escaped. "She’s making a very convincing case."
"Traitor."
"I’m still cooking your dinner." She tipped her head toward the pan. "Does that earn me a little forgiveness?"
Averik stepped closer, reached past her, and stole a thin piece from the edge of the plate before it reached the pan.
Evelyn stared at his hand, then at him. "If you’re that hungry, I can cook another piece for you. You don’t have to raid my cutting board."
"Didn’t have to wait."
"Averik... That one was meant for your plate, you know."
He ate it.
For a moment she tried to look offended. The attempt failed when he caught her watching his mouth and raised an eyebrow.
"You make it very hard to keep a straight face," she murmured, smiling again. "Could you sit with me while this finishes? If you stay here stealing pieces, Snow may decide she’s allowed to do it too."
Averik looked at Snow. Snow looked at the cutting board. "Fine."
Evelyn’s smile brightened. "I’ll hurry before Snow starts complaining again~"
He sat at the low table, though only because watching both of them from there was just as entertaining.
When Snow’s portion had cooked and cooled enough, Evelyn carried the bowl to the hearth. The wolf waited for Averik’s nod before lowering her head. The first bite shoved the bowl halfway across the floor.
"Slowly," Evelyn told her with a laugh. "No one is taking it away from you."
"I could." Snow froze over the bowl and turned her eyes toward him.
Evelyn looked across the table at Averik. "Averik... would you really steal her dinner after making her wait for it?"
"No." Snow kept staring.
Averik took a bite from his own plate. "She doesn’t know that."
Snow snatched the largest piece from her bowl, carried it to the far side of the hearth, and settled over it with her forelegs braced around the meat.
Evelyn laughed so suddenly she had to put down her fork. "Now look what you’ve done. She took her dinner across the room just to get away from you."
"She’s learning."
"Mm~ perhaps a little too well. You did teach her to take you seriously."
"You’re taking her side."
"Only because she’s hungry." Her eyes softened when they met his. "I still belong on yours."
Averik grinned. "That’s my wife."
"Yes Averik~"
Dinner slowed after that. Snow eventually stopped checking whether Averik had moved toward her bowl. Evelyn talked more once she stopped laughing, telling him about a woman at Unit 1 who swore camp stew tasted better if nobody asked what had gone into it.
"She told me to stop looking in the pot," Evelyn said. "That was when I knew I absolutely had to look."
"Mistake."
Evelyn made a face at the memory. "A terrible one. There was something gray floating in it, and Bram claimed it was meat."
"Was it?"
"I still don’t know." She took another bite of venison and sighed with obvious satisfaction. "Which is why I’m appreciating this properly. I know what animal this came from. I watched Snow drag it behind the crawler. Very reassuring."
"High standards."
She took another bite. "They’ve fallen since we left home."
Averik finished before Evelyn did. By then, the windows had gone black-red with night. He stayed at the table while she ate the last of hers, and when he finally looked up, he found her watching him.
Evelyn turned her cup slowly between both hands. "Averik... I wanted to ask you something, if you don’t mind."
"You usually do." A tiny smile touched her lips. "I know. I only wanted to make sure you weren’t tired of talking after the trip."
"Ask." She let the silence sit for a moment. "What are you thinking about? Not the venison. You’ve had that look for a while."
"What look?"
"The one you get when something has already started becoming a plan in your head and you haven’t told me yet." Her smile turned warmer. "I like knowing what you’re planning, if you want to tell me."
Averik reached for another piece from the serving plate. "Power. More of it."
Evelyn didn’t look surprised. She let the silence hold a beat, then asked, "Would you mind telling me how much more? I don’t mean.... I mean... is there ever a point where you’d look at what you have and think it’s enough?"
"Why would I?"
A soft laugh escaped her. "Mmm~ i think, maybe-."
"If someone can decide what happens to me because I can’t stop them, I’m weaker than I should be," Averik said. "If they can take something I care about because I can’t keep it, same problem."
His eyes moved to Evelyn, then to Snow by the hearth.
Evelyn followed the glance. For a few seconds she only watched him. "And if someone gets in your way while you’re becoming stronger?"
"Depends what they are and what they’re worth." Averik drank. "If I can tame them, I will. Useful ones get used. The rest can stay wherever I leave them. If something I can’t tame still blocks me, I’ll kill it."
Evelyn took a moment before answering. "I’ve known you most of my life, Averik. I didn’t love you because I thought you were secretly gentle with everyone else."
He almost laughed.
"I’m happy you married me," she added. "There was one thing I kept thinking about from this morning. May I ask you about it?"
"Go on."
"The Eagle...I saw what happened when it tried to force that Corruption into you. I know it failed. You weren’t frightened at all."
"No."
"I was." Evelyn gave him a small, almost apologetic smile. "Not because I thought that bird was going to take you from me. Once I saw you standing there, I knew it hadn’t. But if something much stronger tried the same thing one day... could it hurt you?"
Averik considered the question instead of giving her a comfortable lie. That eagle had failed. It didn’t mean every stronger thing in Rhevora would.
"If it’s strong enough, it could be a problem," he said. "So I don’t stay weaker than whatever comes next."
Evelyn breathed out through her nose, the worry in her face easing without disappearing. "I knew you would say something like that."
"You wanted something prettier?"
"No." Her smile returned, softer. "I wanted the truth from you."
"You have it." For a little while, she said nothing. Then Evelyn offered him her hand across the table, palm up. Averik looked at it once, caught her wrist, and pulled her hand the rest of the way into his. Her fingers curled around his immediately.
"I don’t want to ask you to stop taking risks," she said. "I know you wouldn’t," Her gaze dropped briefly to their joined hands. "I only... please don’t decide one day that leaving me here is better for me. If I can still stand beside you, let me. I want to keep being useful to you. I want to get stronger too. And I want to do it close enough that I can still protect what matters to me."
Averik glanced toward the spear by the door and back to her. He’d watched her work the western road instead of hiding behind him. Leaving that at home would be a waste.
"You’re my wife," he said. "I decide where I want you."
Evelyn’s breath caught, warmth entering her expression at once.
Averik tightened his grip around her hand. "I want you beside me. Keep getting stronger. I don’t plan to have my wife falling behind."
"I will." Her answer came without hesitation, but she didn’t leave it there. "I want to. Just... please don’t get annoyed with me when I keep asking to come with you~"
"I already know you’ll ask." Her fingers tightened gently around his. "And you’ll still take me?"
"When I want you there."
Evelyn’s smile came slowly, warm and unguarded. "Then that’s enough for me. Thank you, Averik."
"Don’t thank me yet. You still have to keep up."
Her thumb stroked his knuckles once. "I will. I’d rather struggle beside you than be comfortable somewhere you aren’t."
Averik held her gaze another moment before letting her hand go. "Finish eating."
"I will~ I was almost finished." Her eyes flicked to the last piece on the serving plate and back to him. "Would you like that one, or may I have it?"
He looked at the plate.
Evelyn laughed softly. "I shouldn’t have asked."
"Too late." He took half and left the rest for her.
Her eyebrows rose. "Thank you, Averik~ I was starting to think you wanted all of it."
"Careful."
Evelyn’s eyes warmed with quiet playfulness. "And here I was planning to thank you properly after dinner~"
That got a laugh out of him.
By the time the dishes were moved aside, night had settled over District 2. The street outside had quieted to occasional footsteps, the grind of a distant cart, and doors closing against the cold.
Evelyn carried the last dishes into the kitchen and came back a few minutes later. As she reached the sofa, Averik closed an arm around her middle and drew her onto his lap.
A soft surprised sound left her. Then she relaxed into him, one arm circling his shoulders. "Averik~ I was coming to sit with you anyway."
"Too slow."
"I was almost there~" She was already smiling. Her fingers brushed the back of his neck. "I can’t complain about the result."
Averik closed a hand around her nape and kissed her.
Evelyn met him without hesitation. Her body softened against his chest, fingers sliding behind his shoulder as the kiss deepened and then eased again. There was no camp wall a few steps away, no watch outside, no crawler waiting to move. When Averik drew back, she stayed where he’d put her, silver hair spread across his arm and shoulder.
"I missed this," she murmured.
"You were beside me the whole trip." Averik said.
"You know that isn’t what I mean~" Evelyn tucked closer, cheek against his chest. "At camp there was always someone awake, someone walking past, someone calling for something. Even when you were right beside me, I couldn’t forget we were surrounded."
"Too many people."
"Mmm~ Much too many." She tilted her face up again. "Did you miss being alone with me too?"
"Maybe." Evelyn stared at him with wounded disbelief, though the corners of her mouth kept betraying her. "Only maybe, Averik?"
Averik slid his hand up from her waist, closed it at her nape, and pulled her close enough that her next breath touched his mouth. "Ask again."
Her eyes softened. "Did you miss me, Averik?"
"Yeah." The answer changed her expression at once. She kissed him this time, gentler than before, then rested her forehead against his. "I missed you too. More than I should have when you were never actually gone."
"My sweet evelyn."
"Averik~" Evelyn smiled and settled more comfortably against him. "May I stay here a little longer?"
"yeah, until I move you." Evelyn nestled closer beneath his chin. "Then I hope you don’t feel like moving me soon~"
A faint scrape sounded above the neighboring wall.
Snow heard it first. Her ears snapped upright, head turning toward the window.
Averik’s attention followed hers. Another light scratch came from the roofline outside, too small to matter as a threat. Once he listened for it, his hearing separated it easily from the softened night noise beyond the walls.
Evelyn stayed on his lap and glanced toward Snow. "What did she hear?"
"Something small." Snow padded to the window. Two dark birds hopped along the edge of the neighboring roof, stark against the snow. One disappeared behind a chimney. Farther down, a smaller shape slipped beneath an eave before Averik caught more than a quick tail and movement.
He watched the roof for a moment. He’d spent days finding beasts beyond Vardel, and now two of them were hopping over a roof he could see from his sofa.
Evelyn followed his gaze to the roof. "You have that look again. Is this about your Talent?"
"I don’t need to wait for another expedition to find beasts. District 2 have few of them."
Evelyn followed the nearest bird as it hopped along the ridge. "You mean to try every one you can get close to, don’t you?"
"As many as I can."
That brought a fond little smile to her mouth. "I should’ve known. Would you like me to come with you when you start looking?"
"Yes, you’re coming." Averik stroked her hair and cheek gently.
"thank you my husband." She settled back against him with a pleased smile. "Tomorrow morning, may I make breakfast first? If we take Snow out before she’s eaten, I think she’ll spend the whole time searching for another deer."
Snow looked over at the sound of her name.
Averik glanced at the wolf, then at the dark roofs beyond the window. "Feed her first. After that, we start here."
"Mm, all right. I’ll make enough for Snow too." Evelyn tucked herself beneath his chin again. "I only hope you won’t blame me if you come home with more mouths to feed~"
A bird landed on the neighboring ridge, kicked loose a dusting of snow, and hopped out of sight between two chimneys.
Averik kept watching the roofs. "I won’t."
Evelyn laughed quietly against his chest. Snow stayed at the window, ears pricked toward the streets beyond the glass.