My feet hit the snowy valley floor, and I slammed to a stop so hard, my knees gave out. I went down face-first into the biting snow. My back teeth crashed together with my tongue caught between, and blood trickled down my throat and made my doubts taste twice as raw.

What if this had been a mistake?

Across the valley floor, the sound of thundering hooves stopped.

"What did you do?"

Lager. He sounded crazed, his words slurred, either from ...