Grey Dura 3

“Regis, inside me. Caera, here.”

“What are you—”

“There’s not enough snow above us to block the hail,” I said impatiently. “I can protect my body with aether, and you with my body. Just lay down.”

Regis immediately leapt into my body, but Caera continued to look at me uncertainly. This moment of hesitation was interrupted when a massive bullet of ice blew through the snow above our heads and bounced off the hard ground at my feet, showering us with snow, dirt, and ice.

“I feel like we’ve gotten much closer in these last few days, Grey, don’t you?” she said, letting out a stiff laugh before lowering herself down next to me.

“A bit too close for my comfort,” I grumbled, pulling the cloak around us and shifting so that I was hovering awkwardly above Caera, shielding her from the hail and sharing my warmth. My entire body began to hum with a palpable layer of aether.

‘Well this is cozy,’ Regis thought happily.

I rolled my eyes and settled in for a long wait.

***

By the time the hail stopped falling and the wind subsided, we were mostly buried again, as the continual bombardment had caused the snowy roof to collapse down on us, and the blizzard had deposited several feet of new snow down into our hole.

The enclosure had protected us from the wind, though, and left a smaller area for our bodies to heat, which likely saved Caera’s life. Still, she was blue around her lips and shivering violently as we dug our way back up to the surface.