“Oopsie,” I muttered, shooting Lilah a look.
She narrowed her eyes. “You’re lucky you’re on my team, or I’d make you eat snow.”
“What about you guys?” I asked, nodding toward Dorian and Noah—who were both lounging near the fireplace like the cozy, warm-blooded betrayers they were.
“Papa’s making pancakes,” Gracie said with a serious nod. “And Daddy’s still healing. Noah says she wants to cuddle him on the fireplace.”
“By the fireplace, G,” Dotty said. “If they were on the fireplace, we might have a bigger problem.”
“Aw, the cute little couple,” Trent teased, slinging an arm around Dotty’s shoulder.
“They want to cuddlebythe fireplace,” Gracie repeated, proud of herself.
“Good job, G,” Noah called from the couch. “Have fun!”
“Be careful,” Dorian added softly, his gaze flicking to Gracie as we headed out.
Dotty passed out colored armbands like we were heading into a gladiator arena. “Okay,” she said as we trudged into the snowy yard. “Team green, you’re west near the trees. Team red, east by the shed. We count down, and then all bets are off. No crying, no timeouts, and no mercy.”
Ellie glanced around like she’d been dropped into a different dimension. “Do I get a say in any of this?”
“Nope,” Colt said, clapping her on the back. “Welcome to hell.”
“I thought it was Christmas.”
“Same thing,” Colt muttered darkly, tugging on his gloves. He leaned closer and gave her a once-over. “How are you at sports?”
Ellie looked mildly horrified. “Um…bad?”
“She can dance around a stage for hours without losing her breath,” I said. “She’s got stamina for days.”
Colt grunted. “We’ll take it. Let’s destroy them.”
Dotty’s countdown started. “Three.”
I crouched behind a bush and grabbed a handful of snow, already forming the perfect compact sphere.
“Two.”
Ellie still looked dazed, her antlers flopping slightly in the wind.
“One.”
“War!” Gracie screamed at full volume.
All hell broke loose.
I got nailed in the ribs within the first ten seconds. Ellie ducked behind a tree and popped out like an assassin, pelting me with precision. I doubled over, laughing as snow exploded against my chest.
Gracie tagged Colt in the shin and threw her arms up. “I did it!”
Colt growled and dramatically limped in circles. I spotted Trent mid-sprint and launched a snowball straight at his face. It splattered across his beard.
“Hey! No face shots!”
“That wasn’t in the rules!” I shouted, already diving behind a tree.
Ellie emerged from the trees and hit me again right in the chest. Again.
