The Snow

Elena didn't remember falling asleep.

One minute she sat on the edge of a hotel bed in a safehouse Adrian's men had hurriedly prepared. The next, the world was white.

Snow.

It fell thick and silent over a dark forest. She was running, barefoot, a thin coat around her shoulders. Her breath came in sobs. Her belly ached with a weight that wasn't fear.

I'm pregnant, she thought, so clearly it hurt. I'm going to tell him. I'm going to tell Adrian tomorrow.

She stumbled. Ahead, between the trees, headlights flashed.

A voice behind her was calling.

"Elena!"

She turned.

A man ran through the snow. Dark coat, bare head, his hair wild. His face was streaked with tears. He was calling her name over and over, hoarse, desperate, terrified.

"Elena! Elena, please! Don't go! Whatever they told you, it's a lie!"

Her heart broke in two.

Adrian.

She tried to run to him. She tried to scream. But her legs wouldn't move, and her mouth wouldn't open, and something cold seeped into her veins.

Someone had a hand on her shoulder. A long hand. A silver ring.

A voice in her ear, soft and kind, whispering:

"Sleep, little warden. Sleep. You'll forget him by morning."

She tried to turn her head. She tried to see the face.

The snow turned red.

"Elena!"

She woke screaming.

Hands caught her shoulders. Strong, warm, shaking.

"Elena. Elena, look at me. It's me. You're safe."

She opened her eyes.

Adrian knelt on the bed in front of her, wearing only a gray shirt and old trousers, his hair a mess, his face white with fear. She was drenched in sweat. Her hands were clenched in the sheets.

"You were dreaming," he said. "You were calling for me."

"You came," she said, her voice breaking. "You came for me."

"What?"

"In the snow. You were running after me. You were crying." She grabbed the front of his shirt. "You never stopped looking, Adrian. You never stopped."

His face crumpled.

"I told you," he said.

"I didn't believe you."

"I know."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He pulled her into his arms. She went, sobbing into his shoulder, and he held her like she might fall apart. "Don't ever be sorry for that. You didn't know."

For a long time, they stayed that way. She felt his heart beating against her cheek, steady and strong, and slowly her breath calmed.

"Tell me what you saw," he said quietly.

She did. The snow. The headlights. The weight in her belly. The voice, soft and kind, that told her to sleep.

"A hand," she whispered. "On my shoulder. With a ring on it."

"What kind of ring?"

"Silver."

Adrian went still.

"Thin," she said. "Plain. On the right hand. And the voice..." She shivered. "It sounded like it was smiling."

"Elena."

"I know," she said. "I know who it sounds like."

She felt his body tense. His arms tightened around her, protective, unyielding.

"Did you see his face?"

"No." She pulled back to look at him. Her eyes were bright with tears. "The memory broke before I could. But Adrian..."

"Yes?"

"I think the man who took me away..." Her voice cracked. "The one who told me to forget you..."

She swallowed.

"I think he was the one who held you down in that room."