Free Daughter of the Moon (The Moon People, Book Two) by Claudia King

down her back, but she could not bear to uncross her arms from around her body to squeeze it dry.
    As the sounds of rushing water dimmed, she heard the voices of the others nearby. The pack was huddled together at the edge of the trees, Adel taking count of everyone while Caspian and the other men lingered near the flooded cave's entrance, trying to snag any supplies they could rescue before the current swept them away.
    Wren called out and pointed when she caught sight of Netya, and within moments she had been dragged into the shivering arms of several of her pack-sisters, all of them rubbing one another to try and stay warm.
    "What happened to you?!" Adel exclaimed.
    "M-my wolf," she stammered out, but found herself unable to say more.
    Caspian ran over a moment later, drawing her into his arms and squeezing her tight. "I thought you were with the others."
    "Get out of your wet clothing," Adel said. "Find something to dry yourselves with if you can, and get a fire going before we freeze."
    "With what?" Caspian replied. "We have nothing to strike sparks with. Everything was in the cave."
    "Then I will dive back in there myself! We make fire or we die."
    "There is the fire we light up by the pool," Briar said. "We usually leave a striker there."
    Adel glanced up the ridge. The first light of dawn was just beginning to lighten the sky above it. "Go. Take Hari with you, and keep moving. We need to stay warm."
    "She's right," Caspian said softly into Netya's ear, his voice heavy with concern. "You're so cold. You can't stand still and shiver. Come, move your legs." He began hopping from foot to foot behind her, rubbing her arms as he held her tight against his chest. She could feel him shivering too, but he felt much warmer than she was. Raising one stiff foot off the ground, she forced herself to move, shifting her shoulders from side to side as she watched white clouds of breath steam the air in front of her face.
    It seemed an eternity before Briar and Hari arrived back with the pieces of flint and pyrite they needed. They had also brought back a dry hide awning from the small campsite at the top of the ridge, and wasted no time in propping it up with a series of branches to create a partially sheltered space around the fire the others had been building in the meantime. Soon a small flame was crackling between the logs, but there was not enough space for everyone to huddle around its warmth. Adel ushered Netya, Wren, and Lyucia's mother forward first, along with a few of the others who were suffering worst from the cold. The rest huddled around them, clad only in a scant few articles of clothing that had managed to remain dry.
    As the fire spread and the close press of bodies trapped in its warmth, Netya gradually began to notice a tingle of feeling creeping back up her legs. As she sat there quivering in Caspian's arms, she began to weep.
    "You are safe," Caspian said softly, rocking her in his arms as he kissed her shoulder. "All of us are safe. I even managed to snag your spear out of the water."
    That only made Netya cry harder. It was not just her fear that had upset her, though its ache still lingered like a bleeding wound. She had not even thought to pick up her treasured spear before running. She had not spared a thought for anyone or anything but herself.
    "What did we manage to save?" Adel said from somewhere behind her. Now that the immediate danger had passed, her tone sounded horribly bleak.
    "The furs will dry," Rokan said. "And if the water drains, or someone swims down there, we can retrieve our tools."
    "What about the rest?"
    A moment of silence followed.
    "You know the herbs are ruined," Caspian said at last. "The rest of the food, too. Maybe some pouches can be dried out, but the water carried many of them away."
    "We cannot practise our healing without those plants, nor our rituals," the den mother said.
    "At least we are alive, and no one was injured."
    "We are seers! Our power lies in those plants!" Adel