Arthur woke up to the cold.
Not the manageable cold of the fortress interior. Something that had gotten through the stone overnight, pressing through the narrow windows and under the fabric doorway and into the room in a way that yesterday's cold hadn't. He sat up and saw his breath immediately and that told him everything he needed to know about what had happened to the temperature while they slept.
Roz was already awake. He was sitting at the window ledge looking out at the forest and his expression was the expression of someone confirming something they'd already suspected.
"We need to move," Roz said. Without turning.
"How bad."
"Creslan's border in winter is not survivable for extended periods without proper shelter." He finally turned. "The cold that's here now is the beginning. In two days it will be significantly worse. The fortress will hold but the forest between here and the kingdom boundary will not be passable after that."
Arthur looked at Theodore's bed.
