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Junie: I’ve never seen him look at anything like that. Not even at his first grammy.

Kozo: Forget the grammy. He’s looking at her like he just discovered God’s a woman.

Zymon: Nah, he’s looking at her like he finally found the demon that matches his energy.

Kozo: I’m sending a screenshot of this conversation to him.

Zymon: I wouldn’t do that if you value your life, moron.

Kozo: You’re no fun, man. He’ll enjoy my commentary.

Junie: He won’t.

Kozo: You both are no fun.

Kozo: Our fearless Khaos…defeated by one white-haired bombshell with sharp teeth.

Kozo: Shiiiiiiit.

thirty-two

. . .

Goddess of Winter

“The woman with an ice block for a heart was a myth.” — K

“Oh, fuck. It’s freezing.”

A cameraman trudges past me, shoulders hunched against the cold as he pulls his coat tighter around himself.

I almost laugh.

This? Cold?

I’ve slept through winters with less than half the protection these people are wearing, and yet they’re all acting like little bitches. As if a little frost is going to kill them.

Pathetic.

Not wanting to interact with more people than absolutely necessary, I remain beside the black stallion, watching the crew prepare Artemis’s shoot through the monitors. I hate having all these strangers invade my property, stomping through my garden and turning my home into a fucking circus, but I have to admit, they’ve done an incredible job in less than four hours.

My garden looks fucking unreal. Thousands of white lights coil around every single tree, countless crystal lanterns cast a warm glow over the snow, and the frozen fountain in the middle of it all glitters as if covered in diamonds beneath the afternoon sun.

For a moment, I simply stare.

I’ve lived here long enough to know every corner of this garden, every tree, every path, every fucking stone. I’ve watched the seasons strip it bare and bring it back to life again. I’ve seen it beneath summer sunsets and autumn rain, beneath moonlight and morning mist.

But I’ve never seen it like this.

It’s breathtaking.

Yet, the entire garden becomes nothing more than a blur the moment I catch sight of her a few feet away.

Everything else ceases to nothing.

The lights. The snow. The glittering ice. The entire fucking world around me.

There’s only her.