Throughout the remainder of the journey, Claire did her best to ignore the warmth of Alek's body pressing into her back.

It was difficult.

The basket they shared had never felt as cramped as it did now, and Claire could not stop recalling the desperate way his hands had gripped her shoulders, or the softness of his eyes as they stared down into her own. The more Claire thought about it, the more she realized that in that brief instance, Alek had shown her something she felt it safe to assume he'd never shown anyone else: vulnerability, uncertainty and a hint of fear.

What troubled her was why.

Why was he afraid, and what had he meant when he said he was dangerous? It was enough to make her want to turn around and shake the answers from him right then, but she knew in her heart that would only serve to push him away.

That was the last thing she wanted to do.

Claire did eventually find a reprieve from these thoughts. It came in the form of a cityscape that appeared on the distant horizon as though by magic. As they drew closer, what had started out as a gray blemish smeared across the cerulean sky, now began to morph into something far more recognizable.

The towering structures seemed to sparkle in the sunlight, as though each one was made entirely out of glass. If Claire hadn't known better, she could have easily mistaken the place as a city from her own world.

An unexpected jostle drew Claire's attention from the sky, and the city, downward. The ground beneath the sleds had begun a gradual shift from pristine white, to a muddier mix of old snow, dirt and withered grass the color of dirty hay. Soon the sleds came to a stop, the runners no longer able to move smoothly across the changing terrain. Ahead of them the sprawling city of Avala now took up a majority of the horizon, but Claire knew that it was still miles away.

"How are we going to get to the city?" Claire asked even though she already knew the answer.

"From here we go on foot," Alek replied as helped Claire out of the basket. "How is your leg?"

"It's alright," Claire replied.

It was almost the truth.

While her leg didn't hurt nearly as much as it had previously, it was still plagued by a persistent, dull ache that grew more prominent during the time spent cooped up in the basket of the sleds. "How far is it?"

"About five or six miles, we should make it before the sun goes down," Alek explained as he pulled a small pack of supplies from the back of the sled and slung it over his shoulder. The bag was held securely in place by a strap that traveled diagonally from his right shoulder to his left hip. Claire suspected the pack held more than just a few food rations, but she didn't question it. Curious as she was to know what the blue bag had held, she was determined to wait until Alek was ready to tell them himself.

Draz joined them a moment later, a similar pack slung about his shoulder.

"What should I carry?" Claire asked, looking between the two of them and then down at the sled.

"Nothing," Alek stated in a very matter-of-fact tone that suggested it wasn't open for debate. Claire frowned and was about to protest when she felt a thudding tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Yakone standing over her, his expression one of gloom.

"Yakone leave now," he said.

"Don't be sad," Claire said, reaching her arms up and standing on tiptoe just to give him a hug. "Thank you for all of your help." She placed a light kiss on his cheek before pulling away. Yakone's face grew bright red and his frown shifted instantly into a wide grin. He hurried off, his hand pressed against his large cheek where Claire had kissed him.

"We should probably get moving," Alek declared. He shield his eyes with his hand and looked skyward. "I'd say it's about noon. We have seven or eight hours before it's dark."

"The more distance we put between us and them," Draz jerked his finger in the direction of the dogs who were waiting patiently for their next orders, "the better." Claire patted him lightly on the arm and Alek simply rolled his eyes.

The travelers said their farewells to the rest of the group before beginning the final leg of their journey towards the city. It was sad seeing them go, especially Yakone. Claire could only hope to see them again some day.

As they traveled, Draz sang crude bar songs about women, drinking and fighting, often sending Claire into unexpected fits of laughter.

Alek, however, seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.

Each time she looked at him, his gaze was distant, his mind no doubt far from them.

On more than one occasion she considered reaching out to grab his sleeve, to bring him back to the here and now, but she couldn't bring herself to interrupt his thoughts. Instead she fell into step beside him and turned her thoughts outwards, towards her surroundings.

The snow had disappeared completely now and the patches of dull green grass started growing more frequent.

They hadn't been walking for very long when Claire felt the dull ache in her calf grow more intense as it begin to creep up into her thigh. The uneven, rocky terrain did little to help soothe the pain, and every other step resulted in the ground shifting beneath her in unexpected ways. Claire refused to complain for she feared that if she said anything Alek might insist that they stop. The last thing she wanted was for them to be stuck out here overnight.

Claire tried to focus her attention on other things, like the city which never seemed to get any closer despite how long they walked. She was beginning to think the whole thing was an illusion, a giant mirage that would disappear the moment they got too close.

If it weren't for the fact that the others seemed to be so confident that it existed, Claire might have actually begun to believe her own, quite reasonable, delusions.

Finally, Alek motioned for them to stop and take a break. Claire offered no protests and found a large, smooth, relatively flat boulder to sit on in order to give her leg a rest. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths in through her nose before expelling the air out again through her mouth.

"Here," Alek's voice drifted down to her and she looked up to see him standing over her. In his hand he held a small skin used to hold liquids like water or wine. Claire was not hopeful it'd be the latter, though a bit of that spiced mead sounded quite lovely.

"Thanks," she said, taking the skin and bringing it to her lips. As she suspected the skin contained water which was cold and refreshing. Claire hadn't realized just how thirsty she was until the first drops hit her tongue. She'd nearly drank the whole thing before she realized Alek was staring at her with a bemused expression on his face.

"Sorry," she said, smiling sheepishly. She handed it back to him but he shook his head.

"Drink it all, Claire, your body needs it," he said. "Mind if I sit?"

She shook her head and scooted over to give him some more room. He sat down and immediately reached for her leg. Claire let out a surprised shriek when he lifted her foot clear off the ground and draped her calf across his lap. The sudden, unexpected motion nearly sending her tumbling to the ground.

"Sorry," he chuckled, and Claire found it difficult to believe his apology to be sincere. She found it even harder to be mad at him.

"You could have warned me," Claire admonished with a pout.

"If I had, you would have argued with me," Alek replied as he gently eased the loose fabric of her pant leg up and over the bandages. "Don't you dare tell me you wouldn't have either."

Claire's mouth, which had opened in protest, promptly snapped closed. He was right, she probably would have argued. Instead she sat in silence as he poked and prodded the tender flesh.

"It's swelling," Alek said at last. "I was worried about this. Is it hurting?"

Claire started to shake her head no and Alek frowned.

"A little," Claire admitted. "I can keep going, Alek, really. I don't want... I don't want to spend the night out here again. Those things..."

Alek sighed and Claire could see in his eyes that he was conflicted. "I know, Claire," he said quietly. "I don't want to either, but if you put too much stress on your leg, you could injure yourself again." He looked down at her calf again as though trying to determine if the benefits of pushing onward outweighed the potential risks.

"Here is what we'll do," Alek said at last, pulling the leg of her pants back into place. "We'll rest a little longer and then we'll walk again. There is one condition, you have to promise me that you will tell me if this," he tapped her calf, "starts hurting too much."

Claire let out a sigh of relief and nodded with enthusiasm. "I will, I promise."

Alek looked long and hard at her, as if trying to decide if she was telling the truth, or just telling him what he wanted to hear. Claire tried to look as innocent as possible. Finally he nodded and handed her a small leather satchel. Inside were some dried strips of salted meat. "Alright, it's settled then. Get a bit of food in you and we'll be on our way."

While the dull throb in her leg never went away, it didn't get worse either, and for that Claire was grateful. Alek kept casting sideways looks at her the entire way and Claire suspected he was trying catch a grimace, or something else that might expose any pain she tried to hide.

It took two hours before they drew close enough that Claire could make out more details of the city in the dusky glow of late afternoon. By then the sun hung low on the horizon and the sky looked as though it had been set ablaze. Claire had never seen such intense reds or vivid pinks.

Set against the fiery backdrop was the city Claire had only been able to imagine up until then. Now that she was closer, she realized the tall buildings were made of brick and mortar, glass and stone, just like those back home. They weren't nearly as modern, however, and reminded Claire of pictures she'd seen in her history books of New York at the start of the 20th century.

Eventually the uneven terrain gave way to a road. It started as random patches of smooth, paved cobblestones and eventually grew into a path wide enough for them to walk side by side without touching. As the sun sank ever lower and the sky shift from crimson to a deep purple, lights began to appear. They lined either side of the road, appearing to float mysterious until the group drew closer and Claire realized they were lampposts. Soon after the lights began to dot the horizon, blazing bright.

It was as if they were guiding them like tiny beacons, towards a safe haven.

"Feels almost like home, doesn't it?" Alek said, falling into step beside her.

"Yeah, it kind of does," Claire offered a distracted smile, her thoughts elsewhere. She couldn't explain it, but the familiarity was more off putting than comforting as one might expect. Her mind was still caught up in the wonder of the place, still coming to grips that she was not caught up in some fantastical dream. To be dropped so unexpectedly back into more common place surroundings was mentally jarring.

They remained on the road which wound up and over a gently sloping hill before reaching the city itself. As they drew closer, Claire felt a tug on her arm and turned to see Alek's fingers curling around her wrist.

"What's wrong?"

"You remember what I said?" He asked. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Draz glance their way, the expression on his face dark and brooding. She ignored it, turning her full attention to Alek. She nodded.

"It's very important, Claire," Alek said, his tone serious. "You have to be very careful here."

"I get it Alek, I won't say or do anything that might attract attention," Claire replied. She paused a moment and then added, "Perhaps if you tell me more about what's going on, I'll be able to look after myself better. You know what they say, knowledge is power."

"I don't know who said that, but in this particular instance, the less you know the better," Alek insisted. "Just stay with Draz and I, we'll make sure nothing happens to you."

Claire sighed and nodded reluctantly. There wasn't time to get any more information out of him now anyhow. They were nearing the city gates and the road they were traveling along was growing more congested with foot traffic.

"Welcome to Avala," Alek said gesturing with a sweep of his arm towards city.