Rowan rolls his eyes and runs his middle finger down the bridge of his nose. I can’t help but laugh. Having Rowan around has been good for not only Sebastian but the kids as well. He’s the fun guy and his charm rubs off on everyone, even Sebastian.
“Where is it we’re going?” I question.
“To build a snowman!” Sabrina squeals, jumping up and down.
“Are you Princess Anna?” I tease. We finally watchedFrozena couple of weeks ago and the girls went batshit for it. They didn’t notice so much about the whole parents dying thing.
“That makes me Queen Elsa,” Phaedra demands, grasping my hand and dragging me away from Sebastian. “And as queen, I demand we go out and build a royal family of snow people. Not men.Snowmenis sexist.”
“Sexist?” Sebastian’s eyebrows hit his hairline as he stares at his six-year-old before his questioning—and maybe slightly perturbed—gaze slides over to me.
I shrug unrepentantly. “Well, we were discussing how certain words and terms are gender-specific even when they shouldn’t be and how this is based on a patriarchal society.”
“Yes, Papa. As queen, I plan to change that,” Phaedra continues while I put on my coat and slip into my snow boots.A foot of fresh powder fell last night, and I’m excited to go out and play in it. It doesn’t snow in Tourin ever, so I haven’t had a chance to play in the snow in a very long time.
“My darling girl, it is well past time someone did,” Rowan tells her, opening the back door of the chalet, icy wind and snow smacking us in the face as he does. “This world needs strong women like you to run it. So far, men have done a terrible job of things.”
“Yes,” Sebastian agrees with a weary sigh. “That is very true. I can’t even deny that, and you will be an excellent queen. But for now, can’t you just be my little girl for a bit longer?”
“Okay, Papa, but only for now.”
“I’ll take what I can get.” He scoops Phaedra up in his arms and runs the both of them out into the snow, tossing her into a heaping pile. She squeals as she flies, and when she emerges, covered head to toe in white, she lets a fistful of snow fly. It hits Sebastian in the face, and for a moment, everyone freezes.
Sabrina gasps. Rowan and I hide our snickers. Zayer is whining because the snow is high and he’s small and every step of his takes him twice as long as it does us.
“Did you just throw a snowball at me?”
Phaedra squares her shoulders, staring defiantly at her father. “I did.”
“Oh, little girl, you’re asking for it now.” In the blink of an eye, Sebastian scoops up a pile of snow in his gloved hand and hurls it at Phaedra. She screams, diving away from the projectile just as another ball of snow hits Sebastian. This one in the back.
“That’s my sister,” Zayer yells, and that’s it. That’s all it takes for us to launch into a massive snowball fight. Rowan grabs Zayer, and the two of them take cover behind a large pine tree. I go for Sabrina, and we make it safely over to the side of the back deck. Phaedra and Sebastian join forces, and they take onthis challenge as they do everything else—with serious fucking intent.
Before long, snowballs are flying through the air every which way. Most miss their intended targets, but Rowan is deadly accurate with his. Especially when he uses poor little Zayer as his human shield, holding him out in front as Rowan races from one spot to the next.
“Come on, lad. Put your arm into it,” he tells him, and Zayer manages to get a good one on Sabrina.
“Not fair,” she cries as snow drips from her braid.
“I’ve got him,” I tell her, holding a tightly wadded ball of ice and snow in my gloved hand. Winding up, I toss it with all my might, but as it sails through the air, it misses Rowan and hits Sebastian right in the back of the neck. The one part of his body other than his face that isn’t covered by some form of weather-protective clothing.
Oops.
He spins around, his eyes wild when he spots me. “Did you just hit me with that?” He wipes the already melting snow and ice from his neck, and yeah, that has to be cold and miserable. We’ve only been out here fifteen minutes and I already can’t feel my cheeks.
“I might have,” I tell him. “What are you going to do about it?” I taunt, tossing up the fresh ball in my hand as if it’s a baseball. Half of it falls apart, but it’s all about the effect.
“You want to know what I’m going to do about it? I’ll show you.” Like a lion, he springs at me. I scream, hurling my now half-formed ball at him and missing terribly as I simultaneously take off into a sprint. I don’t get far. Barely a half-step and my boot slips on a slick patch. Sebastian’s freaking fast as hell as he comes at me, clearly having no trouble with his footing.
I don’t stand a chance of getting away.
A point he proves by catching me seconds later. His arm bands around my waist, and he picks me up and tosses me overhis shoulder as he did the first night he took me to his bed. “Ah! No. Put me down.”
“As you wish,” he answers and tosses me in the snow much the way he did Phaedra.
The world whooshes around me, my hair flying every which way as I’m airborne, landing heavily in the snow that instantly coats me in freezing white. I don’t have a moment to stand up or shake myself off or even sit up as in my next breath, Sebastian is on me, pressing me down into the snow with his weight.
“Do you yield?” He licks at some of the snow on my neck and cheek before pulling back and meeting my eyes with a sparkle in his I’ve seen more and more frequently. A sparkle I’d swear was something resembling happiness.
