A Large Shadow

Emma nodded lightly. Olya and Magnus looked so beautiful together and she wondered the same about her and Lazarus. If only things were different. She was supposed to leave with him for Wilyra today.

She wasn't feeling better and he was afraid that she would be dizzy if he traced her, so he got a horse for them to travel through the snow forest. 

Lazarus was putting food in his saddle bag. Olya had wrapped meat in a thin muslin cloth and rye bread along with few other things for their journey. 

"It is going to be severely cold, Lazarus," Magnus said, watching him pack. "I suggest that we also come with you and together we will be able to handle the cold well. I will carry tent supplies with me." 

"I don't want you and Olya to be exposed, Magnus," he said in his signature throaty and commanding voice. "You should stay here."