The Ranger of Marzanna (The Goddess War #1) - Jon Skovron Page 0,70

top. “Take some… getting used to.”

“They do.” She vividly remembered the first time she had walked in the wide flat shoes that prevented one from sinking into the snow. It had been exhausting hauling the extra weight, and challenging to adjust one’s gait to accommodate the odd shape of the shoes. Of course, she’d only been seven at the time, and she’d hoped an adult male might be able to handle it a little better.

“Catch your breath and have something to eat,” she advised. “Your body burns a lot more nutrients in low temperatures like this.”

He let out a short burst of laughter as he slipped his pack off and fished around for provisions. “I don’t feel the cold right now at all.”

“Aren’t you glad I made you leave behind that ridiculously thick fur coat?” she asked.

“It was rather expensive…” He gnawed on a piece of cured venison as he looked down at the less fancy but far more practical lightweight wool coat the chief had given him in exchange.

“But now you see what I was talking about, right?” she asked. “It would have made you sweat too much and that would have lowered your body temperature. So in the end you would have been more at risk of freezing to death in that big thing.”

He tapped his own snow goggles, which she had carefully carved from soft wood for him before they left. “These make more sense now, too. I took them off a little bit ago just to see what it was like, and my eyes immediately began tearing up. I don’t think my vision would have lasted more than an hour in this glare.”

She nodded. “The days are shorter in the winter, but it’s still enough light to make you go blind. And speaking of shorter days…” She pointed to a lone pine tree off in the distance, partly buried in the snow. “I think I’ve spotted a good place to camp tonight.”

“Already? It’s only midday.”

“Distance can be deceptive out here. It’ll take us hours to get there. And it’s a good idea never to pass up a tree like that if you can help it.”

“If you say so.” He pulled his pack back on. “Okay, I’m ready.”

They continued down the slope and across the field, their feet crunching softly in the snow. As Sonya had predicted, the sun was already beginning to set by the time they reached the tree.

“What’s so great about camping next to a tree?” asked Jorge.

“Simple. The tree’s already done most of the work for you.”

She untied the shovel from her pack and started to dig about eight feet from the tree. Taking turns, Sonya and Jorge dug down and cleared out a small cave at the base. The branches closest to the bottom were the largest, and since they were below the snow line, made an excellent roof for their cave, while the trunk provided a strong support for one of the walls.

They sat in the small, dark space, surrounded by the smell of pine sap, their knees touching as they gnawed on dried venison.

“We’re both going to, er, sleep in here?”

“It’ll be snug, but that’ll help us keep warm. It’s already dropped about ten degrees up there, and it’ll go even lower. Snow is an excellent insulator, and the more body heat we can keep trapped down here, the better.”

“It’s just…”

Sonya had better night vision than most, but even so she could only see the vaguest outline of his face down in the unlit cave. He sounded nervous.

“Just what?” she asked.

“We’ll be practically on top of each other when we lie down.”

“Oh, sure, that’s part of the fun!” she said.

Jorge did not reply with words, but she clearly heard him swallow hard.

“Wait… Jorge, are you a prude?”

“A prude?”

“It’s okay if you are,” she said quickly. “My mom is a prude. But she has a lot of great qualities, too.”

“Well, I’ve, er, never thought of myself as a prude.”

“You just don’t sound like you like the idea of us snuggling close tonight. Wait, is it my ears? Do they gross you out or something?”

“No! God, no! I hadn’t even…” He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. “No, nothing about you grosses me out.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“In Raíz, a man and a woman do not… snuggle like that unless they’re married.”

She laughed. “Oh. I guess because it never gets so cold down there you’d freeze to death if you didn’t.”

“Er, yes, I suppose that’s part of it.” He paused a