.... I nearly lost my mind with fear and
loneliness.' She suddenly realized the wolf was no longer with them,
and that full night was falling. She let her thoughts collapse.
Kalus could not hold himself back any longer. 'You're not alone
anymore.'
Her eyes sought out his, but they were hidden among the deepening
shadows of the nook. With only his limbs clearly visible, he looked
like some phantom sage of the darkness, at once frightening and
reassuring. 'But you must not feel it now. Feeling is for when the
body is safe, and we are not. Now you should sleep..... I will guard
you.'
She moved further into the cave and lay down. But though she tossed and
turned for what seemed an eternity, sleep remained the distant dream of
a child.
'Kalus?' No reply. She sat up and turned back toward him.
'You wouldn't hurt me, would you? Please say you'd never hurt
me.'
'Of course I would not hurt you. Why do you think I stay?' He
added after a time, sounding cold and irritable. 'Go to sleep and
trouble me no more. I have much to think on.'
Now what had she done to upset him? Feeling more lost than ever, she
swallowed hard and turned away. She lay down again, and perhaps an hour
later, fell at last into exhausted slumber.
*
Long after the wolf had returned and lay sleeping beside her, Kalus
remained wide awake, crouched at the edge of the shaft, listening.
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