Dawn brought little relief from the arctic temperatures. We had no time to shake a night of shivering off with a warm fire and instead began marching on even further North. When the snow began falling was when the situation really became dire. With icy air encapsulating us and flakes from winter's scalp landing on our skin, I felt the hyperthermia begin to close in. We feared Blaise and Raven catching up with us so we ran but every lung full of the outside air I took, stung more and more.

"We've got to find shelter," I heard Gale say to Rhydian as he carried me in his arms. I'd started to feel weak miles earlier and Gale had held me close to him in an attempt to share body heat.

"There's no need," Rhydian said stopping in his tracks. 

I opened my eyes to see that the river we had been following for two days now, seemed to suddenly stop. Of course it wasn't stopping, instead, it was flowing over a steep edge.

"The waterfall," I uttered pricking my ears to hear the sound of gushing water.

"This is it?" Gale asked breathing heavily. "We won't be safe here."

"We haven't arrived yet," Rhydian replied.

It didn't take me long to realise what he was inferring. Our destination wasn't the top of the waterfall but the bottom.

"But it's a sheer cliff face," Gale pointed out. "We'll be killed."

"There is only one way down," Rhydian said. "Many, quite understandably, would share the same fear as you, Gale. But that is what makes it so safe down there. Your enemies would never dare...so do you trust me?"

"You have been nothing but kind to us," Gale replied. 

"Then follow my lead," he said before wading into the fast flowing river.

I watched in shock as he reached the edge of the waterfall and simply...jumped.

"What the-" Gale began.

"We have to follow him," I said as he put me back on my own two feet. I then took his hand. "We'll go together."

Gale hesitated for a moment before putting on a brave face and nodding.

"Do you think we've been driven to insanity?" he asked as we reached the edge of the river, hand in hand. 

"Probably," I replied. "But what choice do we have? It is risk it all or lose it all. Our pack can't be far behind us."

He gripped my hand tighter and we stepped slowly into the water. I gasped at the cold. It stung and when it reached my middle, it took my breath away. I felt the strong pull of the flow force me to the edge so Gale helped steady me until we were stood battling the current looking over a beautiful valley of trees, lakes, streams and hills.

"It's beautiful," I observed.

"More so than I ever imagined," he added. "Are you ready?" he then continued after looking down at me.

"As ready as I'll ever be to jump off a cliff," I replied with a slight laugh as I tried to stop my teeth chattering.

He looked from me to the edge and out into the valley. 

"Then lets do it," he said.