Chapter 1
Mare
The girl who gazed back from my reflection was not me. She was beautiful. Little lavender petals decorated her snow-white hair—hair woven in perfect braids. She looked noble. Proud. Her confident poise and regal bearing warned of an enemy not wisely crossed.
Tugging my fur cloak around my shoulders, I looked up from the lie reflected in the lake's waters.
A crudely painted target hung above the icy lake, and boys along the shore lobbed snowballs at it, hoping to dunk the child sitting on the rickety bench hanging from a thick tree branch.
An old Aenir game. Boys laughed and jeered, hoping to humiliate their friends.
One of the boy's snowballs found its mark. The tree branch holding the bench up groaned as the ropes twisted and flipped, dunking the poor boy into the cold water.
Girls weren't allowed to join. A gaggle of them watched the boys from a distance. One reached down to pack a snowball, but her mother grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back up.
My hand twitched, resisting the urge to make a snowball of my own.
Powdery snow fell from the black heavens, and I shivered. Why must the king insist we celebrate Winter’s Tide in our neighbor's frozen country?
Foreign relations could also be strengthened in the summer.
"Freezing to death?" A snide, irritating voice asked.
Sighing, I answered before turning around. "Yes."
My little brother sauntered through the snow-covered grass and stood at my side. He dusted snow from his handsome coat and straightened his crimson vest.
Liam had always been a vain little fop.
"Aren't you too old to pick fights with children?" He asked.
"Humor me.Yougo sit on the bench."
"And lose the last scraps of my dignity? Not a chance." Liam flicked his jet-black hair over his shoulder and stared at my trembling arms. "Have you lost track of time, dear sister?"
"Whose fault is that?" I crossed my arms. "The shitty pocket watch you gave me doesn't work."
"Why do you hold onto it, then?"
"Because I'm waiting for you to replace it."
"It was a life lesson, Mare." He leaned in. "Learn how to fix your own problems."
I scoffed and shivered. Of course, I'd never tell my brother I would rather bleed out in the streets than give up that broken watch. This little game was much more fun.
"It's Wassailing time," he said. "If you'd taken the watch to a repairman, you'd know that."
"Cheap delinquent thief," I spat. "Couldn't even buy his sister a proper gift. Stole her a broken one instead."
"Your face is turning red. I know just the cure for that. Come on." He winked and strolled away.
A smile tugged at my trembling lips.
There was one good thing about holding Winter's Tide in the frozen country of Muirashi, aside from our typical banter.
Hefting my skirts, I jogged to catch up with Liam.
Kentoro was a beautiful town, I supposed. Black buildings nestled along cramped streets in neat little rows. Snow covered their slanted roofs and large signs. But something about this place seemed cold and aloof.
