Chapter Thirty-Eight

The wind blew his fur back as he ran. His legs were still weak but he ignored the aching that tried to make him slow. There was a hint of chill in the morning air, but compared to where he'd been, it felt like the middle of summer. Sprinting the last few feet to the summit, Brand finally gave himself permission to stop and catch his breath. He looked out over the valley as he tried to gulp in oxygen from the thin mountain air. He climbed onto a flat rock and sat, enjoying the view.

The world was covered in a cacophony of colors. Reds, golds, and oranges dominated with a smattering of green thrown in from the pines. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed all the colors while he had been staring at grey ocean and frozen white landscapes for so many months. That was another thing. Back in the Northman village, only a few months had passed. Here, he had been gone almost two years. Two entire years! He hadn't believed it when Gunnar had told him, thinking his brother was trying to get on