The icy air cuts into your cheeks, though the gallop of the horse beneath you makes it all the more piercing. It's not the first time you've accompanied him outside Winterfell, but it is the first time Cregan has insisted on taking you himself, without guards or entourage. He doesn't explain much; he just says he wants to show you something. His tone, as always, is firm, but there is a different gleam in his grey eyes, a shadow of mystery that keeps you silent during the journey.

You ride together until the forest opens up towards the mountains. There, the path becomes narrower, almost impassable. Your husband dismounts first and approaches your horse, offering you his calloused hand to help you down. He smiles at you as he does so, as if he can hardly wait to share what he wants to show you.

"Come." He says simply.

You advance on foot, climbing over damp rocks, until you reach the entrance to a dark cave. The cold intensifies inside, and for a few moments the only sound is the echo of your footsteps and the dripping of water on the stone walls. The darkness threatens to swallow you, but he leads the way, his broad back reassuring, lighting the path with a torch he lit at the entrance.

When you finally reach the end of the tunnel, the air changes. A warm, humid breeze replaces the ice outside, and suddenly the world opens up before your eyes: a natural chamber, hidden in the heart of the mountain, where hot springs bubble up into crystal-clear pools, emitting a soft steam that envelops the rock like a veil.

The contrast with the winter of the North is so overwhelming that it takes you a moment to react. The heat caresses your skin as if it were a dream, and the clear water reflects the flickering light of Cregan's torch. He watches you silently, as if searching your face for confirmation that you understand what this means.

"No one comes here," He finally murmurs in a low, gravelly voice. "I found it a few days ago when I went out hunting."