Nox shrugged. “That's what I was, pretty much.”
“You didn't stop to think what you were actually doing? All that suffering?”
“Look, Cait, I'm sorry. No, I didn't. I told you. Running an evil empire is actually a whole lot of fun. It's an absolute blast. You get to do whatever you like. Of course I didn't question what I was doing. I was having the time of my life. I'm sorry, but that's the truth.”
They trudged along in silence for a while after that. The ground rose slowly toward the slopes of the mountains. At least the effort made her a little warmer, although her toes were tingling into numbness.
Every now and then she stopped to peer back the way they'd come, but there was no sign of pursuit. Nor could she sense any undain anywhere. Up ahead, the peaks grew taller and taller, as if
