Slivers of daylight peeked through the cracks, but it wasn’t what made her stir. Warm, wet strokes brushed against her cheek, frantic whimpers rung in her ear. One eye opened, greeted by Flake, who was alert and licking her face. Her nose nudged against Ash a few times before she fully roused.

  “I’m awake, Flake,” she said. “I’m awake.”

  A relieved bark thrummed against her eardrums. If she wasn’t awake before, she certainly was now.

  “Give me a few more-” Ash’s eyes widened. “Oh no, Bernard!”

  She pushed her hair back.

  Bernard was nestled within her locks, snuggled in the crook of her neck. The steady rise and fall of his body was proof he still lived.

  Ash smiled through a sigh. Whether it was the cloak or her body heat that kept him warm through the night, she was thankful all the same. Everyone was accounted for.

  Now came the tricky part.

  Ash pushed against the bark, the accumulated snowfall showing resistance at first. With assistance from Flake, she shoved hard enough to wiggle the door forward, pushing the pile of snow along with it. After one final push, it opened all the way.

  The wind wasn’t as strong as the night before; the sled was buried beneath a thick blanket of snow. Ash brushed the layer away, the bedding was frigid but still usable. Only thing left to worry about was which direction to go in. Even if she managed to get through in one piece, there was still the matter of getting through the barrier. But getting to the barrier would amount to nothing if she didn’t have permission from the Great Winter Fairy first.

  Except no one had seen or heard from her in years. Her disappearance left a great rift in the Winter Kingdom and the uncertainty of her fate still remained today.

  She could commune with the other Great Seasonal Fairies, but they were in their respective domains. None had power over winter like their sister did. Not to mention that Ash only had enough food to last a few days, perhaps longer if she rationed them well; visiting the other kingdoms wasn’t an option in that sense.

  “What should we do?”

  Flake whined a bit. She wasn’t sure either.

  The longer they stayed there with no direction, the more unsure Ash became.

  Maybe coming here was a mistake.

  As she pulled out the map to check their position, a brief rustle grabbed her attention. She turned to the trees where some bushes grew around the base.

  Nothing there, but the chances that a monster was roaming the area wasn’t an impossibility.

  “Come on, Flake. Bernard.” Ash attached the harness back on to Flake, brushed off the snow from the sled, then hopped in. “Let’s keep moving.”

  The husky nodded, moving forward at a steady pace along the path. However, the earlier noise made her fur bristle, head turning this way and that.

  Ash couldn’t blame her, this was unfamiliar territory for them both. Still, her focus went from the path to the map every so often. With each distant crunch of frozen foliage, she would skim over the area, hoping to catch sight of whatever was there. Nothing ever was.

  Something wasn’t right.

  The Forbidden Wood was dense. Gnarled branches and roots were spread out here and there on large trees, their girths so wide it made turning without having to slow down first difficult. There were so many branches overhead that daylight didn’t break through easily. And though the wind wasn’t as strong as it was last night, it did cause them to swerve every so often.

  Yet nothing happened.

  No monster sightings. No untold dangers. Just strange sounds followed by silence.

  Cold, dead silence.

  The sounds weren’t from any local wildlife. No birds sang their praises to one another; no squirrels debating where their nuts were hidden; not even the wind carried its usual melody.

  Ash tugged at the reins. Dread pulsed through her veins, breath more visible than ever. She drew in a harsh breath.

  “There’s nothing to fear out here,” she muttered under her breath. “There’s nothing to fear out here.”

  Over and over, she repeated that mantra. It did little to soothe her rising nerves, but it was all she could do. Any lapse in judgement could drive them off the path, or alert whatever followed them to their presence.

  They needed to flee. Go somewhere. Anywhere.

  But where?

  “There’s nothing to fear.”

  The back of her neck tingled, each hair raised, but not from the cold. Something was out there.

  “There’s nothing to fear.”

  They had to run.

  “There’s nothing to fear…”

  Run.

  “There’s nothing to fear…”

  Run.

  “There’s nothing to—”

  RUN!

  “N-Nothing to—”

  A branch snapped.

  Ash flicked the reins. Flake yiped, bolting through the forest at top speed.

  The sled swerved through trees and brush, each bump against either forced it to pivot. Ash clung to the rail for dear life, doing her best to guide Flake so the sled wouldn’t topple over. The sledge runners skidded around without purpose as it was.

  All around her echoed sounds that hadn’t been present until now.

  Howling wolves. Crowing ravens. Crackling branches. Maniacal laughter.

  Everything was out to get them. She glanced over her shoulder.

  Through tree and brush, something large charged their way.

  Her eyes widened. Something had been following them! Ash flicked the reins over and over, going faster and faster each time. Her chest ached, breath tight in her throat, coming out too quick, too frantic.

  If it would only end now. If they could make it through without incident. If only—

  CRASH!

  The sled tipped over. Ash tumbled out, lying prone in the snow.

  Wind whistled high, drowning out Flake’s barking as it grew more distant. Ash groaned, coughing a few times before struggling to stand. A sharp pain shot through her ankle up her leg. She reached down.

  It was swollen, probably twisted. By how much was difficult to tell through the boots. From how intense the pain was, she wouldn’t be moving much anytime soon.

  The nearest bushes rustled.

  Ash gasped.

  The large figure from earlier stared her down through the copse of trees. It stood tall, posture inhuman in nature. No details could be made out, the area too dense for light to penetrate it.

  Ash scuttled back, kicking up snow in her wake. More pain coursed through her ankle. She bit back the scream that threatened to come out.

  The creature drew closer.

  She rifled through the snow. There had to be something she could use to defend herself. Her breathing came out in rapid succession, both throat and chest ached from the chilled air. Her gloved hands soon brushed against something long and rough. With a smile, she pulled it out.

  A stick wasn’t the best weapon, but it would have to do.

  “Stay back!” Ash pointed the stick at the dark figure. “Don’t come any closer!”

  It stopped for a moment.

  Then it crept closer…

  And closer…

  And closer still.

  Ash backed up until she was up against a tree. There was no getting away from this; no way to put enough distance without injuring herself further. She raised the stick, poised to strike…

  Until Bernard started nibbling at her ear. His frantic squeaks in between made it difficult to focus.

  “Bernard!” She tried to grab him but the little mouse was quick to slip through her fingers. “What are you doing?”

  The creature— no, this monster, was about to come in range.

  Despite the pain, despite Bernard’s pleading squeaks, Ash raised the branch ponce more…

  “Get back!”

  … and swung.

  There was a loud crack followed by a pitiful moan. Through shut eyes, Ash heard a low whine, more animal than monster. Slowly, she opened her eyes and turned toward the creature.

  Her eyes widened.

  What she thought was a monster was actually a deer. Not just any old deer that lurked between the forests of the Autumn and Winter Kingdoms every year, but one whose shadowed glamor gave way to a bright, warm glow. Its eyes shimmered an impossible color, antlers gilded in gold and silver, and the hooves the most pristine she’d ever laid eyes on.

  The branch fell from her hands, Bernard’s biting ceased. Of all the warnings of dangerous creatures, this was an unexpected surprise.

  She reached up, flinching when she noticed the fresh gash along the deer’s head.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t kn— I wish I—”

  Ash shook her head. While she had a right to be wary of these woods, she had no excuses for how she acted.

  “To think splendid creatures like you roamed the Forbidden Wood as well.”

  She reached up to its muzzle, the deer snorted but didn’t retaliate, pressing its nose against her hand. For a magnificent being to not run away from even the slightest of movement nor perceive Ash to be a threat was astounding. The fact she couldn’t understand the deer’s language was proof it wasn’t a pure animal.

  A guardian perhaps, or maybe a familiar of some kind?

  If this was indeed a familiar, that meant its magi was nearby waiting for its return. If they saw the damage done…

  Ash didn’t want to think about it.

  “Hold still.”

  She pulled out the roll of cloth scraps, unraveling each strand one at a time, only taking enough to cover the gash. The deer flinched but didn’t pull away. All it did was stare as Ash carefully wrapped the strips around it head, avoiding the antlers in the process.

  Once the strips were tied tight, Ash stepped back. It wasn’t perfect, blood had seeped through the cloth, but it did the job well enough. Hopefully, the wound would heal in time.

  She smiled.

  “I hope that…”

  The pain returned, this time worse than before. However, this time it was followed by an intense wooziness. Her vision blurred, head growing lighter by the second.

  “Helped…”

  Her body tilted, grew heavy, then fell toward the snow. For a moment, Ash thought she felt fur push against her, but dismissed it in her haze. Everything grew dark as all sensation faded.

  The last thing she heard before losing consciousness was the distant crunch of footsteps that stopped close to her. A figure in cloth boots danced in her vision, then nothing.

  All was quiet save to the soft crackle of a flame.