"Easy. Easy, love. Remember what Lady Ulma said? Nearly a year here came out to be only days in our world."
Elena hesitated. It was true; she couldn't deny it. Still, she felt so cold...
Physical y cold, she realized suddenly, as a blast of frigid air swirled around her, cutting through her leather like a machete.
"We need our inner furs,"Elena gasped. "We must be getting near the fracture."
They yanked down the palanquin covers and secured them and then hastily rummaged through the neat cabinet that was set on the rump of the thurg.
The furs were so sleek that Elena could fit two under her leather easily.
They were disturbed by Damon coming inside with Bonnie in his arms.
"She stopped talking,"he said, and added, "Whenever you're warm enough, I suggest that you come out."
Elena laid Bonnie down on one of the two benches inside the palanquin and piled blanket after blanket over her, tucking them in around her. Then Elena made herself climb back up.
For a moment she felt blinded. Not by the surly red sun - they had left that behind some mountains, which it turned a pink sapphire color - but by a world of white. Seemingly endless, flat, featureless whiteness stretched out before her until a bank of fog obscured whatever was behind it.
"According to legend, we should be headed toward the Silver Lake of Death,"Damon's voice said from behind Elena. And, oddly, throughout al this chil , his voice was warm - almost friendly. "Also known as Lake Mirror. But I can't change into a crow to scout ahead. Something's hindering me. And that fog in front of us is impenetrable to psychic probing."
Elena instinctively glanced around her. Stefan was Stillinside the palanquin, obviously Stilltending to Bonnie.
"You're looking for the lake? What's it like? I mean, I can guess why it might be cal ed Silver and Lake Mirror,"she said. "But what's the Death bit?"
"Water dragons. At least that's what people say - but who has been there to bring back the story?"Damon looked at her.
He took care of Bonnie while she was in trance, Elena thought. And he's talking to me at last.
"Water...dragons?"she asked him and she made her voice friendly, too. As if they'd just met. They were starting over.
"I've always suspected kronosaurus, myself,"Damon said. He was right behind her now; she could feel him blocking the icy wind - no, more than that. He was generating an envelope of heat for her to stand in. Elena's shivering stopped. She felt for the first time that she could unwrap her arms from clutching herself.
Then she felt a pair of strong arms folding around her, and the heat abruptly got quite intense. Damon was standing behind her, holding her, and al at once she was very warm indeed.
"Damon,"she began, not very steadily, "we can't just - "
"There's a rock outcropping over there. No one could see us,"the vampire behind her offered - to Elena's absolute shock. A week of not speaking at all - and now this.
"Damon, the guy in the palanquin just below us is my - "
"Prince? Don't you need a knight, then?"Damon breathed this directly into her ear. Elena stood like a statue. But what he said next rocked her entire universe. "You like the story of Camelot, don't you? Only here you're the queen, princess.
You married your not-quite-fairy-tale prince, but along came a knight who knew even more of your secrets, and he cal ed to you..."
"He forced me,"Elena said, turning to meet Damon's dark eyes straight on, even as her brain screamed for her to let it go. "He didn't wait for me to hear his cal . He just...took what he wanted. Like the slavers do. I didn't know how to fight - then."
"Oh, no. You fought and fought. I've never seen a human fight so hard. But even when you fought, you felt the cal of my heart to yours. Try to deny that."
"Damon - why now - al of a sudden...?"
Damon made a move as if to turn away, then turned back.
"Because by tomorrow we may be dead,"he said flatly. "I wanted you to know how I felt about you before I died - or you did."
"But you haven't told me a word about how you feel about me. Only about what you think I feel about you. And I'm sorry that I slapped you the first day I was here, but - "