Runa let herself sink to her knees on the rough, uneven ground beneath her. The cold air of the desert at night made her shiver slightly as she laid on the ground, not caring about the dirt and grime.

The tent she and Antyza were in would fill with barn heat slowly, but not enough to keep them comfortable. A majority of the heat was leached by the thin walls of the tent.

‘We could escape if we just cut a hole in the wall,’ Runa thought, her eyelids heavy as ...