Because he had no choice.
And slowly the shelter went up. Pine and birch and gnarled oak, he laid
them down and made a refuge of their bones, as dark thoughts tormented
him.
But the shelter went up. And the night the frame was completed, and all
work done save the filling in of cracks, the heaviest storm of the
season moved in and piled three feet of snow outside it, blocking them
in with drifts up to twice that high. Without warning or ceremony,
their new home had been christened.
The next morning Kalus had not the strength to force open the frozen
door, and sat alone by the fire for hours, speaking to no one, feeling
nothing but weak and shivery exhaustion. The Cold World, which he had
said he loved, was upon them.
Chapter 17
That night the two slept together for the first time since word of
Skither's fall. Kalus had no strength even to touch, and was moved
not at all by his lover's gentle caresses and quiet words, nor even
by the tears he wiped apologetically from her eyes as she said, 'I
understand.' From this more than any other token, he knew that the
blows absorbed of a lifetime had finally taken their toll. He was like
a hurt fighter, hanging on, half waiting for the knockout blow.
He woke feeling little bitter, his emotions still dazed and floundering,
to find the girl reading quietly on the stairs that led to the silent
altar.
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