Despite the silencing of their music, the falls still made a breathtaking picture. The gigantic river that fed them poured into numerous pools and cups as it fell, its journey downward stacked into steppes and caverns and stony overhangs glistening with frost. Wolves could rest on one level without ever laying eyes on their neighbors; there could be privacy even when standing a single plane above the nearest beating heart. Toward the bottom, the layers subtly evened out, but where Kira stood her maple lanterns saw only harsh edges plated with ivory glass. A stubborn pout tightened her pert muzzle. Very well. She would find Kahlan, no matter if she had to hike up and down these falls or not—

“Oh, Kira . . .”

The snowbird’s empty heart took flight in her chest. She whirled around, fine paws skidding on a thin sheet of ice, and whimpered for joy at what she saw. There stood Kahlan. The lovely. The wise. The generous. Was it possible for her to become more beautiful after all this time?

Kirastasia had thrown herself at the wolfess without wasting a breath. In her exuberance she all but tackled the huntress to the ground, throwing her brindled forelimbs around Kahlan’s shoulders and burying her muzzle in the richness of that earthen pelt. So incredibly soft. Other scents threaded through Kah’s dreamy perfume, tokens of where she’d traveled and who she’d been with . . . and the latter, the princess could hardly detect at all. How could that be? Wolves of Saw Tooth wore their signature pack musk like armor. Theirs was a kingdom that seethed with activity, a massive family unrivaled by the other territories. For it to linger so faintly in the satin tapestry of Kahlan’s fur . . .

And then, belatedly, Kira realized that her schoolgirl crush did not feel as bright and warm as she usually did. The sun that had lit her life had dimmed. Sadness lay heavy over Kahlan’s gentle aura.

The alabaster damsel pulled away from the comfort of her infatuation’s coat, gingerly freeing her from the desperate embrace she had all but slammed her with. Her luminous amber windows flickered affectionately, brimming with concern, into Kahlan’s tired visage. “What happened, Kah?” Kira asked, voice barely hovering above a whisper. One of her paws reached forward to rest lightly on one of Kahlan’s, soft pads just touching the perfect claws. “Are you here to visit the Falls? Or did you . . . run away?”