Redhawk Caldera m a r d u k

It felt as if someone had driven a steel knife into her heart. Ani jerked and writhed, unable to see or even move properly as her entire body went numb with cold and oxygen deprivation.

Then all sensation dulled as her consciousness faded into the ether. In those final, everlasting seconds, Ani went still and sank into a feeling of absolute calm. The cold left and she was warm again. There was no panic, only peace.

She wasn’t aware of Bridget grabbing her scruff and dragging her bodily toward the jagged hole in the ice. When Ani’s head broke through the surface, she didn’t know to draw in a breath. She remained limp as her pack mate struggled to pull her out of the caldera’s bitter clutches, frozen in time.