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I smile and shake my head. “I’m good.”
I take a sip of coffee and Astrid turns to go. “Lilli’s magic is quite advanced for her age,” I comment.
Astrid turns back around. “Yes, for sure. It’s a bit of a handful at times. I blame her fae blood for that.” She lets out a small chuckle. “And speaking of handfuls, she’s got a lot of energy to burn after being cooped up during the snowstorm yesterday. I hope you like walks in the woods.”
I try not to frown. It’d definitely be safer to stay inside. It’s much harder to protect someone outside in the open. But Astrid is right—we can’t keep a kid cooped up for days.
So, all I say is, “Of course,” with a nod.
“Well, we’re going to try to get some of her schoolwork done, and then we can head out.”
Astrid heads back to the kitchen, presumably to eat her own breakfast. They spend a couple of hours reading, writing stories, and creating art. I catch snippets of their conversations as they work. Eventually, they head upstairs to change clothes. A bit later they come back down, Lilli making enough noise on the stairs to rival a herd of elephants. They’ve both got on jackets, boots, scarves, gloves, and hats, Lilli in pink and Astrid wearing blues and greens.
I open the front door for them and Lilli bolts out into the snow, which is a good three feet high. Magic sparks off of her, melting the snow and creating a slushy mess.
“Slow down!” Astrid calls. “No magic until we get to the trail!”
Astrid jogs after the girl, and I jog after Astrid. I can only imagine how difficult it is to get a seven-year-old to understand that she can’t go blasting magic out in the open. It’s a good thing Astrid doesn’t have close neighbors. And it’s also clear why she has to school the girl at home. I imagine if the other witches hadn’t shunned her that she’d have some help with that. Just thinking of it makes me angry.
Lilli clearly knows the way to the trail Astrid mentioned, because she beelines across the clearing next to their house and skips into the trees beyond. The path she takes looks like barely more than a deer trail, but within a hundred feet it opens onto a wide path through the forest. Spruce trees and other evergreens rise high above us, covered in ice and snow. Boulders line the trail here and there, icicles hanging down from them, some several feet long. It’s like a winter wonderland.
And Lilli’s not the only one with excess energy. My dragon wants to get out and fly. Being back here, in the land where I was born, causes a stir in my soul that I haven’t felt in a long time. Then, of course, there’s the wild array of emotions running through me because of Astrid. My past has awakened something inside me that I’d forgotten about a long, long time ago.
A snowball sailing at my face interrupts my thoughts. I duck at the last moment, thanks to my super-fast shifter reflexes.
“Lilli!” Astrid scolds.
I grin. “It’s okay. I just hope you’ve taught your daughter how to mount a proper defense.”
Reaching down, I scoop up snow, press it into my palm, then raise it to my lips. I blow softly, and a stream of silver-blue magic surrounds the snowball, ice magic from my dragon. When Lilli squeals with delight, I know I’ve accomplished my goal of impressing her.
I toss the snowball lightly at the girl, making sure not to get it anywhere near her face. There’s another happy shriek as the snowball pops against her jacket. I’m too distracted by entertaining her to notice the second snowball until it hits me in the shoulder. When I look up in surprise, Astrid throws me a wicked smile.
“Oh, it’s two against one, is it?” I laugh.
And then an all-out snow battle ensues.
Snow and magic fly back and forth across the forest path. Streaks of silver, gold, and fuchsia light the air like fireworks. Lilli cackles with glee and races around in the snow, her scarf whipping in the air behind her. And Astrid, who has been so serious since I came, has a huge smile on her face. I never would have pegged her for the type to romp in the snow.
She’s competitive as hell, too, which isn’t as much of a surprise. I’ve been trying to avoid hitting either of them in the face with a snowball, but she has no such compunction. Astrid pelts me repeatedly, rapid fire, until I can barely see. Our battle rages on for upwards of ten minutes. Astrid and Lilli mount a final charge and come at me with everything they’ve got, which is a pretty impressive offensive.
As they rush in, Astrid stumbles on something hidden under the snow and knocks right into me. The momentum takes us both down, crashing into the snow. Crystalline powder flies into the air around us as we land in the deep white powder. We’re lying on our sides, pressed up against each other, our legs tangled. I can feel Astrid’s heart thrumming in her chest. She’s got snowflakes in her eyelashes that glitter when she blinks. Well, she’s got snowflakes pretty much everywhere. She laughs and smiles up at me.
I reach out and brush her hair out of her face, and where my fingers touch her skin, it glows golden as her magic responds to me. And it’s not just hers. My own silver light pulses around us, encircling our torsos as if binding us together. Astrid leans toward me, bringing our chests even closer together. I move toward her, too, drawn like a magnet, a compulsion I can’t fight. My lips hover over hers…
The rush of dark magic sweeps across us a moment before I hear the branch snap.
I’m on my feet in an instant, pulling Astrid with me. Footsteps pound toward us, four sets at least. Astrid and I reach out simultaneously with our magic and yank Lilli toward us from where she stands a few feet away.
The Night Guild has found us.
