The hand that he could not stop from stroking her hair froze as she stirred. She was warm, he realized. Very warm. He should be wrapping one of the blankets aboul himself decently and moving away. Her eyes opened, clear and deep green, staring at him seriously from not a foot away. She did not seem surprised to see him, and she did not pull back. He took his arms from around her, started to slither away, and she seized a handful of his hair in a painful grip. If he moved, he would have a bald patch. She gave him no chance to explain anything. I promised my near-sister to watch you. She seemed to be speaking to herself as much as to him, in a low, almost expressionless voice. I ran from you as hard as I could, to shield my honor. And you followed me even here. The rings do not lie, and I can run no more. Her tone firmed decisively. I will run no more.

Rand tried to ask her what she meant while attempting to untangle her fingers from his hair, but she clutched another handful on the other side and pulled his mouth to hers. That was the end of rational thought; the Void shattered, and saidin fled. He did not think he could have stopped himself had he wanted to, only he could not think of wanting to, and she certainly did not seem to want him to. In fact, the last thought he had of any coherency for a very long time was that he did not think he could have stopped her.

Some considerable time later-two hours, maybe three; he could hardly be sure-he lay atop the rugs with the blankets over him and his hands behind his head, watching Aviendha examine the slick white walls. They had held a surprising amount of the warmth; there was no need to latch on to saidin again, either to shut out cold or to try warming the air. She had done no more than rake her fingers through her hair on rising, and she moved completely unashamed at her nakedness. Of course, it was a bit late to be ashamed of something as small as having no clothes on. He had been worried about hurting her when dragging her out of the water, but she showed fewer scrapes than he did, and somehow they did not seem to mar her beauty at all.

What is this? she asked. Snow. He explained what snow was as best he could, but she only shook her head, partly in wonderment, partly disbelief. For someone who had grown up in the Waste, frozen water falling from the sky must seem as impossible as flying. According to the records, the only time it had ever even rained in the Waste was the time he had made it. He could not stop a sigh of regret when she began pulling her shift over her head. The Wise Ones can marry us as soon as we get back. He could still feel his weave holding her gateway open. Aviendhas dark reddish head popped through the neck of the shift, and she stared at him flatly. Not unfriendly, but. not friendly, either. Determined, though. What makes you think a man has the right to ask me that? Besides, you belong to Elayne.