Reincarnated as an Elf Prince-Chapter 158: Freezing Trail (2)

He exhaled slowly through his nose. Let his breath fog out in front of him before it was torn away by the wind.

'Don't complain. Don't slow down.'

He focused on the next step. Then the next.

Small things.

Little choices.

Keep the feet under control. Watch for loose stone. Make sure Meren doesn't eat snow face-first before they find a camp again.

The sky overhead stayed gray. Not threatening. Just endless. The kind of cold that didn't bother arguing. It just waited until you gave up first.

He wouldn't.

Not now.

He reached a wider part of the trail. Flattened. Safer. A break in the climb, even if it only lasted ten steps.

He stopped.

Ardan stopped with him.

Meren practically collapsed behind them. "Sanctuary. Blessed, sacred flatness."

Ren stepped past him like she hadn't heard a thing. She pulled her coat tighter and crouched near the edge, peering down into the drop like she expected something interesting to crawl up and say hello.

Lira moved up last. She paused beside Lindarion. Her breath visible now. Not fast. Not forced. Just steady.

She looked at him.

"Pace holding?"

He nodded once. "For now."

Her eyes lingered on his face for a second longer. She didn't smile. But she didn't look away either.

Then she moved ahead.

Meren looked up from the ground. "I think I left my soul back there on the last bend."

"You'll live," Ardan said.

"You say that, but you haven't seen my toes."

Lindarion didn't answer. He was watching the ridge ahead.

The trail narrowed again. A cut through the stone that looked too clean to be natural. Like something had carved a path out on purpose.

He pulled his scarf tighter again. Just to feel something against his skin.

His fingers brushed the edge of the fire-thread still lingering under his sleeve.

Not a spell.

Just warmth.

He focused on it.

Let it pulse once in his palm. Then let it go.

'Not yet.'

The others didn't need to see what else he could do. Not until it mattered.

And it didn't. Not yet.

Just a climb.

Just cold.

Just another stretch of trail where he had to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Simple.

—

The path narrowed again.

Not enough to stop them, but enough to make the wind feel closer. Like it had been waiting for an excuse to slip in and whisper behind their ears.

Lindarion pressed his glove flat to the cliffside as he passed. The rock was slick, frozen in patches, and cold enough to bite through leather.

The mountain didn't care who he was. It barely cared that he existed. Just another body trying to cross its ribs.

He tried not to think about how long the climb still was.

Tried not to think about how far they'd already come.

One foot forward. One breath at a time. That was the rule right now.

Behind him, Meren coughed into his scarf.

It was a pathetic sound. Half sputter, half whine.

"I hate altitude," he muttered. "And snow. And rocks. And my knees. Especially my knees."

Ren's voice floated up from the bend below. "Your knees have hated you since we left the river."

"Untrue," Meren said. "They betrayed me only recently."

Lindarion didn't smile, but something near the edge of his mouth twitched.

The wind caught his hair again, pushed a few strands across his face. He didn't bother fixing them. His fingers were stiff. Not numb yet. But getting close.

He flexed them once. Mana responded, slow and steady. Not enough to cast anything. Just enough to remind him it was there.

'No need to panic. Not yet.'

Lira moved ahead, glancing back only once to check their formation. Her coat had gathered a crust of frost across the shoulders, but she didn't seem to notice. She was more shadow than person right now, all clean movements and silence.

Lindarion watched her for a second longer than he meant to.

Then looked away.

Ardan passed him next. No words. Just that quiet, unshakable pace. Like gravity owed him a favor.

He could hear their breaths now. That was how thin the air had gotten. Every step louder than it should be. Every exhale a reminder they were higher than any of them liked.

Ren caught up beside him. She nudged his arm lightly.

"You look like you're about to duel the mountain."

He didn't look over. "It started it."

She laughed once, short and sharp. Then kept walking.

He followed.

His boots slipped once on a patch of cracked ice. He caught himself before it turned into a fall. His heart didn't race, but it did beat just a little harder for a few seconds.

'Pay attention.'

The wind changed again.

He turned his face into it without thinking. Let it sting his cheeks. Let it remind him he was still here.

Still moving.

Still climbing.

The pass curved again. Another bend. Another wall of white waiting ahead.

But the worst part wasn't the cold.

It was the quiet.

Not silence. Just the kind of stillness that made his thoughts louder. Made the weight behind his ribs lean forward, like it was watching too.

He didn't mind quiet.

But this kind?

This kind made it hard to breathe.

He blinked, once. Hard. Just to clear the frost building at the corners of his lashes.

The cliff widened again ahead. A ledge. Small. Enough for all of them to stand, maybe even sit if they crowded.

Lira reached it first.

She didn't say anything. Just took a knee, back to the wind.

Lindarion followed and dropped beside her.

The stone was freezing. He didn't flinch.

Ren leaned her back against the wall next to them. Ardan stood near the edge like he'd grown there. Meren collapsed with a groan, arms out like he was offering himself to the mountain gods as tribute.

No one laughed.

But no one told him to stop either.

Lindarion tilted his head back. Let his eyes trace the cliff above. No sky anymore. Just haze. Snow drifted between the rocks like ash.