The Blood of Darkness

Chapter 17

Val

It was the first snow of the season, so the four of us kept up our tradition for the third year in a row. Coryza and Zeke against Vance and I, in a snowball fight "to the death."

Vance and I had won, obviously.

We were in the clearing near the edge of the forest, and the newly snow-coated trees rose as white fairytale beings in the wintry landscape. We laid on our backs, staring up at the grey-blue sky. My breath expelled from my lips in small clouds due to the numbing air, and I blinked thoughtfully as the frost patiently kissed my face. I was captivated by the soft, dusty illusions of light that say heavy on my eyelashes. I adored the snow, even more so when it was falling.

"Hey!" Coryza shrieked as Vance tossed snow in her face. He sat up, turning to me with a fiendish grin, holding another handful of snow.

"You wouldn't dare!" I said, propping myself up on my elbows.

His grin only widened. "Oh, but I would." The snow connected with my face, and I yelped due to the sudden, wet cold.

Zeke's smiling face appeared above me, and he tugged me to my feet, glancing at Vance, who was holding yet another handful of snow. "You wouldn't hit your boyfriend, would you?" he asked teasingly.

Vance threw the snow at his face anyways, sapphire eyes alight with joy. The rumors of unrest in Rurik meant nothing to us then.

Coryza tackled Vance to the snow-covered ground, and they rolled down the small hill, laughing. Zeke and I sprinted after them, my loose white hair flying in the wind. I tripped, falling face-first into the snow, and let myself roll the rest of the way down as well.

A shout of warning came from Zeke as I slammed into Vance's body, causing him to bump against Coryza, who lay in the snow next to him. Vance turned onto his side, beaming at me. "You cold yet?"

A huge icicle shot from his hand, and he jumped to his feet, quickly creating another and tossing it to me. The second our make-shift swords connected, they broke in half. Vance and I looked down at the short sticks of ice we held, then threw them at one another, both of us ducking at the same time.

I felt so happy at that moment; I couldn't stop smiling. We chased each other through the frosted forest like we were kids, stumbling over fallen branches and shaking snow off the trees so it landed on ourselves. Then, we tramped back to the castle and drank hot chocolate while sitting in front of the fire, speculating about the winter festivities and other cheerful nonsense.

When I got up to retire for the night, Vance looped an arm around me, and I leaned my head on his shoulder. He gently led us out to the balcony, and gestured up at the clear night sky, a sea of stars. "They're the same stars as last week, last year. The same as when we were kids, when we weren't even born yet. In a thousand years, no one will know who we were, but they'll know those same stars."

He turned to me. "I find that comforting. Do you?"

I nodded. "The stars will always be here." One constant in an ever-changing world.

And he said, "Every time I see the stars, they remind me of you."

"I wouldn't say that I shine that brightly. I wouldn't say I shine at all, to be honest."