Georgie nods. “I remember what happened before, when I fell into their cave and you rescued me. I’ll stay close.” Her mittened hand slips into my belt and she holds onto me.
We travel further up the mountain, and I deliberately keep my steps slow so Georgie can keep up. It makes for a very slow pace, but eventually, I spot the black hull of the flying cave that brought my mate and the other humans to this world. She said it came from high above in the sky. Now, it is covered with newly-fallen snow, the top of it pristine save for the jagged hole that lets fresh air in.
I turn to my mate. “Where should I put the human?” I try to say the words delicately, because I know she is fragile in this moment. Her expression is distant, her eyes big in her face as she looks at the cave, and I know she is lost in recent memories. They were not kind to her, those that stole her away, and I want to hurt all of them for daring to touch my Georgie.
After a moment, her gaze focuses on me and her hand tightens on my belt once more. “Is it safe if we leave her out here? I’d like to bury her and the others outside.”
“We can do that.” I set the dead female gently in the snow. “Do you want to go inside or shall I do it?” She hesitates, and I turn to my mate, a protective feeling sweeping over me. “You do not have to go, Georgie.”
“I do.” She shakes her head. “I need to.”
“There is nothing in there for you.”
She shakes her head again, biting her lip. “I need to remember, so I never forget, Vektal. It’s important to me. Please help me climb up there?” She gestures at the opening at the top. The snow packed around it has given way to ice, and it will be a slippery climb for her.
I hate that she insists…but how can I refuse? I frown at her for a moment, hoping she will change her mind, but Georgie only raises her chin and meets my gaze steadily. There is no shaking my mate from her course. This is important to her…and so I must allow it.
I sigh and kneel into the snow. “Climb onto my back.”
“You’re the best man ever, you know that?” She gives me a kiss on my brow before moving to put her arms around my neck and lean against my spine.
“I am the most tolerant of mates,” I grumble, but her slight chuckle makes me feel better. I pat her hand before getting to my feet, and then wrap her arms around my waist from behind. “Hold on to your male.” Finding handholds on the strange, cold surface, I begin to climb.
It is a short drop inside, made shorter still by the pile of snow under my feet. It has drifted in here, creating a soft landing spot, and when my boots thump onto the floor of the cave, it is muffled. The interior is dark and still smells of many things. I catch the faint hint of smoke from our fires when we rescued the females, and the stink of their forced habitation here. They were trapped in this small, strange cave for two hands of days and near death when we were able to bring them to the tribe. Keeping a cave clean and fresh was not a priority.
I kneel again and Georgie slides from my shoulders, stepping forward. She clutches her cloak to her neck, her eyes wide and glowing as she looks around the dark interior. “It looks smaller than I remember it,” she whispers. “Darker, too.”
I grunt, glancing around. At the far end of the cave, near the wall where we pried six females from their sleeping pods, I see the two lumps of the carefully covered females. We were to bury them for the humans but were forced to flee quickly when their captors threatened to return. I look to my mate, waiting.
She is lost in thought, staring around her. Her eyes are shiny with unshed tears and she licks her lips. “It’s so cold in here.”
It is warmer than outside, because there is no wind, but I say nothing.
“I left them here with no clothing because I went to get help. They had no food, no nothing, and I wandered off into the snow and met you. While they were shivering, we were flirting.” She swallows hard and then swipes at her cheeks. “I should have tried to get back to them faster. Maybe if I had, Dominique would still be alive.”
Did we come here so she could blame herself? I hold back the words, but this is not like my Georgie. If there is a problem, she is the first to offer a solution. She does not like to dwell on the past. But there is something about this place - and these dead females - that she cannot move on from. “You did the best you could. We could not speak, remember?”