Free mythean arcana 06 - master of fate by Linsey Hall Page A

so far north, it was past ten in the morning, and she was grateful. She wasn’t a summer dawn sort of girl. 
    As she’d expected, she found him within. He was strapping skis and poles to the side of a snowmobile.
    “Morning,” she said. “Thanks for breakfast.”
    He grunted and stood to look at her. “We’ll head out soon, if you’re ready to go.”
    “I’m ready.”
    Mouse hopped immediately into the fluffy egg harness strapped to the front of the snowmobile seat and started to purr.
    “So is she,” Aurora said.
    A smile lit his eyes, but didn’t extend to his mouth. “We’ll take the snowmobile as far as we can. It’s too many miles to start skiing from here. But if you start to feel the power of the city, let me know. We’ll stop so it does no’ destroy this machine too. After that, we’ll head out on skis.”
    “Good plan.” The skis were old enough that they shouldn’t fall under the soulceresses’ zap-anything-powerful-and-unfamiliar spell. It really was a clever protection charm. Her kind were smart. Reviled by all who knew of them, but smart. You had to be smart if everyone hated you.
    She climbed on to the snowmobile behind Mouse and waited. Her gaze stayed riveted to Felix as he grabbed a heavy jacket from a hook on the wall and tugged it on. A woolen hat and gloves followed. 
    He grabbed two helmets and handed her one, then shoved his down on his head. She could almost feel him brace himself before he climbed on behind her.
    If she wasn’t mistaken, he seemed to have a problem with touch. He wanted her as much as he had in the past—she’d seen it in his gaze. But it was the touching that gave him pause. It never had before.
    He was tense behind her, but she enjoyed the closeness anyway. In the cold dark of her aether prison, she’d thought of him all the time. Memories of him—her first and only love—had kept her a bit warmer. It hadn’t been the same man currently sitting behind her, but his younger self.
    She preferred this one, no matter his damage. 
    He twisted the key in the ignition and drove them out of the barn, hopping off long enough to close the doors. They set off at a quick pace across the snow. It glittered in the dawn light, an entirely different sight from last night. 
    What had led Felix to make his home out in the middle of nowhere on a freezing island? It was the opposite of what she’d want. Especially after her time in the aether.
    She shook the thought away. She shouldn’t be wondering about him. She didn’t want to fall for him more than she already had. There was too much that threatened a relationship between them. They were both damaged. Hers lurked right under the surface, ready to strike and tear them apart.
    The wind didn’t cut so deeply this morning and the sun helped the air feel a little warmer. It turned the endless expanse of white into a glittering canvas. 
    After a while, her skin prickled slightly. She’d been too focused on the cold and driving the snowmobile last night to feel it. Not to mention, she hadn’t been expecting it. But now it was distinct.
    “Stop!” she yelled back at Felix.
    The snowmobile came to a halt. They climbed off. Mouse followed, pouncing into the snow. With quick, competent hands, Felix undid the skis and poles and handed her a set. She struggled a bit with the unfamiliar objects, but she got them on.
    “You might want to lose one of those jackets,” he said. “You’ll warm up when you’re skiing.”
    She was loath to take off a jacket, but he was right. She unzipped and tossed it over the seat of the snowmobile. He picked it up and tucked it into a small bag attatched to the back of the snowmobile, then unhooked Mouse’s harness.
    He fiddled with the straps, then held it up. “You can wear it like a pack and Mouse can ride along. Or I can wear it.”
    Aurora’s eyebrows shot up. “Nice. Hear that, Mouse? Fancy transpo for you.”
    Mouse approached him and snaked herself around his