A fierce wind howled past, knocking down a tree behind the ruined temple. The trunk crashed onto the roof, instantly punching a large hole. With tiles shattered all over the ground, they had no choice but to cover the opening with an oilcloth and weigh it down with branches.

This was a perfect example of the saying, "when it rains, it pours."

Staring at the raging storm outside, Evelyn Ford’s right eyelid began to twitch uncontrollably.

A sharp neigh came from the herd, and the other horses grew restless. Evelyn Ford pulled on her raincoat, deciding to go out and see what was wrong.

"Put on your rain boots. I’ll go with you."

Evelyn Ford glanced down and saw she was still wearing her cotton slippers. She hurriedly swapped them for rain boots, and the two of them exited the carriage, running toward the dilapidated building nearby.

A bolt of lightning struck. Ronan Kendrick yanked Evelyn Ford out of the way just as the strike split several nearby trees in half. They came crashing down, narrowly missing her head.

Evelyn Ford stared at the smoldering branches, her heart pounding in her chest.

’I was almost struck by lightning.’

"Are you okay?"

Evelyn Ford stared blankly at the branches for a few seconds before looking up at Ronan Kendrick. Another flash of lightning lit up his face, revealing it in stark detail. She shook her head.

"I’m fine."

When they reached the dilapidated building, they found the horses pacing restlessly, snorting heavily and whipping their tails back and forth.

Evelyn Ford caught the faint scent of blood. She moved through the herd and found a mare huddled in the back. It was about to give birth.

"We’ve been so busy traveling, I completely forgot to check on them. Ronan, help me boil a basin of water."

"Okay."

Hearing the commotion, the others came over.

"Evelyn, what’s going on?"

"One of the mares is giving birth."

Wyatt Vaughn sighed. "The poor thing, it’s suffering so much."

Evelyn Ford examined the mare. Normally, a foal emerges head or forelegs first, but this one was in a breech position. She would have to go in and pull it out by hand.

This was a challenge for Evelyn as well. Worried the frightened mare might kick her, she first had to calm it down, isolating it from the others so they wouldn’t agitate it further.

"You all need to go outside. Don’t crowd around me." ’With so many people here, I can’t see a thing, and it’s frightening the mare.’

"Evelyn, is there anything we can do?"

"Gather some leaves."

Ronan Kendrick arrived with the hot water while the others grabbed knives and hurried out to cut branches. Evelyn Ford stroked the mare’s mane, continually soothing it.

Once the mare had calmed down some, Evelyn took off her coat and gloves and began to assist with the delivery.

Thankfully, Evelyn wasn’t a germaphobe. She found the foal’s hind legs, and while continuing to soothe the mare, she forcefully pulled the little one out.

Back in the carriage, Evelyn immediately grabbed some hot water to wash up. She scrubbed her hands and arms several times before she finally stopped.

"I swear, I want to castrate every male animal we own." Despite the stove in the room, Evelyn was shivering uncontrollably from the cold.

Ronan Kendrick, who was helping her dry her hands, glanced at her. Their eyes met, and for some reason, Evelyn saw a flicker of fear in his.

"Ahem, I wasn’t talking about you."

Ronan Kendrick touched his nose. "Good to know."

The rain stopped the next day, and the long-awaited sun finally emerged. Evelyn noticed the temperature had climbed back to sixty-three degrees. ’It seems the extreme cold is finally ending,’ she thought.

In the ruined temple, the group was already cooking rice and stewing meat. After getting caught in the rain and wind, Evelyn was starting to feel congested and dizzy. She went to check on the mare and her new foal. The little one was already on its feet and seemed to be in good spirits.

While she was at it, she checked the other mares and ewes and found that quite a few of them were also pregnant.

The roads would be treacherous and slippery after the rain, so the group decided to wait two more days before moving on.

The stew was ready. Wyatt Vaughn made a bowl of chili dipping sauce, and the others got out their bowls, ready to eat. Evelyn ladled some rice for herself, intending to eat in the carriage. ’I’m coming down with a cold,’ she thought. ’I shouldn’t risk infecting everyone.’

Ronan Kendrick followed her back into the carriage. Her cold had ruined her appetite, so she just took a meal out of her storage space for Ronan and drank a large bowl of ginger soup herself.

"ACHOO."

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..."

Evelyn didn’t even finish half her bowl of rice before climbing into bed. She cranked the electric blanket up to its highest setting but still felt cold.

"Take some medicine before you fall asleep. Does your head hurt?"

"I did. It hurts."

"A little of my blood will help you recover quickly."

Before Evelyn could refuse, he pressed his bleeding finger to her lips. The sweet, fragrant scent of blood compelled her to open her mouth and suckle.

Seeing how much pain she was in, Ronan’s brow furrowed deeply.

He lay down on the bed beside her, pulling her into his embrace. His body was scorching hot, and within moments, Evelyn felt her own body begin to warm up as well.

"Feeling any better?"

Sweat began to bead on Evelyn’s forehead. She nodded, dazed.

When the others came to check on Evelyn, Ronan Kendrick brushed them all off. By the time Evelyn woke up that evening, her voice was too hoarse to speak.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to be on the road, so she could continue to rest in bed.

To speed up her recovery, Evelyn even gave herself two injections.

Thankfully, she was finally able to get out of bed just before they had to set off again.

"Evelyn, you’re finally over your cold! We tried to check on you these past couple of days, but Ronan wouldn’t let us in the carriage. We had no idea how you were doing."

"It was pretty bad for a couple of days, and I was worried about getting you sick, so I didn’t want anyone coming in. I’m all better now, so there’s no need to worry."

"That’s a relief. Here, take this medicine. You have to take something for a cold; don’t just try to tough it out."

Wyatt Vaughn pressed two boxes of cold medicine into Evelyn’s hands. "I tried giving this to Ronan before, but he actually said it wouldn’t work. It made me so mad."

"I know! We tried to give him the medicine, but he wouldn’t take it or even talk to us."

"Evelyn was sick, so of course Ronan wasn’t in the mood to talk to us. Alright, everyone, stop crowding around here. Hurry up and pack your things; we need to get back on the road today."

Taylor Vance said this, then turned to Evelyn. "How are you feeling now?"

"I’m all better."

"That’s good."

Taylor Vance breathed a sigh of relief. They had all been together for so long that they were no different from family. If they hadn’t been afraid Ronan would beat them up, they would have stormed the carriage to check on Evelyn long ago.

The group set out once more. Leaving the ruined temple behind, they entered a wide, main road that was much easier to travel than the narrow mountain paths before. Animals began to appear more frequently in the woods, including monkeys that pelted the flock of sheep and the carriages with stones.

"These damn monkeys! We ran into one on the road before, but I never expected a whole troop here. You’d think the cold would have frozen them all to death."

Quincy was still holding a grudge about being pelted with rocks and looked as if he wanted to charge out and pick a fight with them.

The sight of the monkeys also reminded Evelyn of the last time they were attacked. ’It seems the animals are always the first to know when the temperature is on the rise,’ she mused.

Time flew by on the road. In the blink of an eye, a month and a half had passed. The group had left the Drakeridge Mountains, and after crossing a long bridge over a river, they finally entered Eldoria.

The route through Eldoria was over a thousand kilometers long, a journey that would take them about half a month.

After another half a month, they would enter Khoros. The great plains were almost within reach.