By the time he pulled her over the edge of a plateau, she was trembling from exertion. She collapsed on her back, sucking in cool air. She hadn’t realized how difficult it was to climb over snow. She imagined several more days of slow, steady ascent.
Ashur joined her on the plateau. The others followed one by one. She dragged herself upright to study their surroundings. They were stranded in a sea of jagged peaks and slopes, flanked by a stretch of gritty, gray-streaked snow.
“That’s a glacier,” Ashur said in Arabic.
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve seen pictures.”
The glacier appeared to follow the path of least resistance into steeper terrain. It was a mix of volcanic rock, blue ice and ashy-looking snow. It resembled a raging river, frozen in time. With crampons, they could travel over the surface.
They shared a lunch of dates and flatbread, taking a much-needed rest.
“Can we go that way?” she asked Hudson, pointing to the glacier.
“It would be faster, but more dangerous.”
“I want to try it.”
He stared across the icy expanse, contemplative. Although he claimed he was still weak from the months of captivity, he didn’t look it. He glowed with health and manly vigor. Maybe it was the light reflecting off the surface of the snow that flattered him. Maybe it was the spectacular backdrop. He seemed very much in his element, framed by rugged mountain peaks. “I thought I was giving the orders up here.”
“You are.”
He fell silent, the corner of his mouth twitching. It dawned on her that he was enjoying himself. He didn’t like the way she’d forced him into this journey, but he was clearly relishing the experience. He was the type of man who embraced challenges. His strength and resilience were undeniable.
She smiled back at him, her breath hitching with excitement. His gaze darkened and tension spiked between them. His words suddenly struck her as suggestive. She wondered if he wanted to order her around in the bedroom, not just on the mountain. The idea made her jaw drop.
He laughed at her scandalized expression. She knew then that danger was the spice of life for him. It was an aphrodisiac that allowed him to let go of his anger toward her and focus on the pleasure they might share together.
While she stood there, remembering the feel of his hard body against hers, a snowball came hurtling from Ashur’s direction. It hit her right shoulder and exploded over her chest. She gasped in outrage.
No one spoke. The Yazidi girl’s eyes widened. Seconds passed.
Layah did the only thing she could do. She dropped to her knees to scoop up some snow. Her cousins followed suit. So did Hudson. In the next instant, snowballs were flying everywhere. There was no escaping the onslaught. Layah launched hers at Ashur, who ducked to avoid it. The Yazidi grandmother was standing behind him, so she took a cold blast to the face. Ashur doubled over with laughter and got pelted by multiple assailants. Cousins targeted cousins. Hanna lobbed a snowball at Hudson.
At the end of the battle, they were all grinning and out of breath. Layah had snow in her ear and her hands were frozen, but she wouldn’t have changed a thing. Because she hadn’t seen Ashur this happy in years. She hadn’t seen him play. The war had taken everything good they’d both ever known, and left them with only each other.
Hudson helped Ashur to his feet, brushing snow off his jacket. Ashur didn’t protest. Maybe this was the beginning of a truce between them. Layah stuck her hands in her pockets, her throat tight.
“We need to gear up if we’re walking over the glacier,” Hudson said. “Do you have crampons and harnesses for everyone? And goggles?”
“Yes.”
“How many ice axes?”
“Three.”
“That’s not enough.”
She held his gaze. They didn’t have enough food, either. He knew that, because he’d examined the contents of every pack. “I want to get over these mountains quickly. There is no safe path.”
He studied the surface of the glacier, his brow furrowed. “We’ll have to travel in roped teams, and watch out for crevasses. Most are exposed, and easy enough to avoid, but some are hidden under a layer of snow. The risk of falling is significant.”
She nodded her agreement. They unpacked the gear and decided on three teams. The leader of each team would have an ice ax. The others would hold tent stakes and hope for the best. Hudson showed them how to self-arrest in the event of a fall. Layah translated his words for her cousins, but the physical demonstration was easy to follow. She admired his form as he modeled the proper technique.
Hudson chose Layah and the Yazidis for his team. The other two teams were led by her cousins. She helped the women with their harnesses before donning her own. Then she attached the crampon spikes to her boots and found her snow goggles.
Before they set off, Hudson checked their gear. He knelt to adjust Layah’s harness, giving it a hard pull. She flushed as the straps tugged between her legs. Nodding, he clipped her to the rope with a carabiner. He repeated this process with every member of the group. Then he used his ax to hack some notches into the side of the glacier. It was a similar process to kicking steps in the snow.
After he made a safe access point, he climbed the ice stairs. The Yazidis followed, then Layah. They walked a short distance across the top. The surface of the glacier wasn’t as slippery as she’d imagined. It was grainy and rippled, covered in a frozen layer of snow. Her crampon spikes crunched with every step. She felt like a true adventurer, and smiled at Hudson, pleased with their decision.
He waited for the other teams to join them. Then
