Chapter 15 The Hunter's Return

• The snow came back overnight, heavy and silent, burying the garden and the road and the mountains in a fresh layer of white. I woke to the smell of cold air and woodsmoke, and when I looked outside, the world looked brand new.
• Kaelen was already in the kitchen, feeding the fire. He moved stiffly in the mornings, his bad leg aching from the cold, but he never complained. He just worked, his hands steady on the kindling, his face set in its usual lines.
• "You're up late," he said without turning around.