It was just as well. Though he had managed to unclench his fists, he still felt like he was wading through a troubled sea, tension and frustration dragging at him with every step. At least for the moment no voices plagued him—no Guardian, no friends, no faint persistent whispers from his past. ...
The land beyond spread out in a tangle of iced-over streams, tiny ponds and slumped hills. He led them diagonally away until they could barely make out the road, then raised the Guardian's antlers and set a loping pace. Arik's pain and Fiora's distress ate at him, but they needed distance, and ...