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"But not me?" Wraythe taunted.
"Oh, I know yours will be good," Talin assured him. "I just have this feeling that Ela's will look as atrocious as Nari's did last year."
"Hey," I said, letting my mouth hang open in fake-shock. "You said that hag looked good."
Talin wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, hugging me as we kept walking. "She did. She also looked like a hag, Nari. Watching you make her was worth leaving that disgusting creature out here to be seen, though."
I reached back to poke his ribs, which was enough to make him let go. The moment I was free, I took off running. "Then I'm working with Ela this year. We're going to make the most beautiful snowman ever."
Ela ran to catch up with me, snagging my hand in the process. Linked, the pair of us hurried ahead, leaving Talin and Wraythe to trudge their way after us. My breath misted in the air, and all the white around us made Ela look like he was made of gold. Out here, in the middle of nowhere, with the houses hidden by the trees and hills, it was gloriously peaceful.
Until we crested the next swell in the land.
A bright pink coat and a jade green one made the women stand out. The tree they were pressed against looked black by comparison. They were silent, but only because their mouths were pressed together, gloved hands pulling each other as close as possible. I recognized Maela immediately. She wore the jade color. But when the pair pulled apart, I realized the woman wearing pink was Yamina.
"Sorry!" I called over to them. "Just wanted to make snowmen."
Ela lowered his voice. "That wasn't my imagination, was it?"
"Nope," I agreed. "I knew they were friends, and it kinda makes sense, but it seems our Baroness is very good at hiding things."
"And I just offered to explain to her how to make love to a woman," Ela admitted. "Please tell me their ages are appropriate?"
"Yamina's almost eighteen," I assured him. "Maela's my age. It's fine."
The whole time, we kept walking closer. Talin and Wraythe had come over the rise behind us, which made Yamina head over to meet us. She didn't yell. She'd been raised too well to do such a lowly thing. Instead, she met me and Ela in the middle of the open area, nearly mid-shin in snow, and just lifted her chin.
"You can't tell my brother," she insisted.
"I already saw," Talin assured her.
"I meant Tath," Yamina said. "He wouldn't approve of Maela cheating, but since we're women, it doesn't count."
Maela had her head down, looking like she wanted to crawl inside herself. She also had her fingers laced with Yamina's. She hadn't pulled her hand away, and she wasn't trying to deny anything. She was just embarrassed.
"That's not really how it works," I told Yamina. "Cheating is anything that isn't agreed to in the relationship. Anything."
"But - " Yamina insisted.
Ela lifted a hand, stopping her. "But Tath already broke their contract. He's had affairs. He hasn't treated Maela the way she deserves. There's no reason for her to be loyal to him, and I promise we're all on your side in this. If the two of you are happy, we won't be the thing that ruins it."
"How long?" Talin asked. "This thing between the two of you. How long has it been going on?"
"It's been growing," Maela added. "When I first came here, Yamina was the only person who was nice to me. She became my friend. We held hands. We hugged. We do the things that girls do, but I liked it too much."
"I kissed her after Tath tried to beat her and Haryth last year," Yamina added. "I just wanted to make sure she was ok. And we've tried not to do anything - "
"But at the Darkest Night," Maela added. "The things I saw?"
Ela let go of me to pull Maela in for a hug. "Stop feeling ashamed. Stop waiting for us to hate you. You don't have to look at the ground, ok?"
"I told you they'd understand," Yamina said. "Father always said that in the temple, the rules were different. People didn't have to change themselves to fit into society. They could be who they really are without shame."
"How long have you known you like women?" Wraythe asked her.
Yamina just shrugged. "Always?"
"Kinda what I thought," he said. "So. How about you two be cute? Hold hands, steal kisses, and help us learn how to make some snowmen?"
