Eira Riley has a secret to hide, even though she doesn't want to. She loves her powers of ice and snow.
When dark forces enter her world, she is forced to stand up against them. In fact, Eira wasn't that unwilling to do so. For once, she'll no long...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Eira is pronounced i'ra.
***
In Eira's world, rain is a bad omen.
She couldn't tell if it was bad or good at the moment. Her knowledge of the Ryders world was limited, her only source was her grandmother's worn, leather-bound book.
The rain fell as gentle as snow, a seemly harmless view locked outside by windows. The silence worried Eira more than what was happening in the classroom.
"EEerra!"
She turned her attention to the front. Her teacher was pinching his eyes at the attendance sheet. A few of her classmates stared over their shoulders and snickered.
Sighing inwardly, she said: "The name is Eira."
The class broke the short-lived silence. Their laughter ringed in a horrible rhythm.
Eira turned to look at her best friend. "He never gets my name right."
Her friend's green eyes narrowed upon smiling, "I have to admit it does give everyone a great laugh."
Eira rounded her eyes, but a smile slipped onto her face. "Even you, Jess?"
"I really can't help it."
A piercing and sharp sound sent everyone shooting out of their seats. It didn't matter if their teacher was desperately asking everyone to come back. It was none of their fault that he had taken attendance late. Bags swung over shoulders, footsteps in a hurried shuffle, the boys and girls shoved one another out of the door. All that was left were the two friends who packed their bags in an orderly and patient manner.
"Goodbye, Sir." Jess said sweetly as she reached the door. Eira gave a respectful nod and followed.
The students had dissipated quickly in the hallway, Jess looked at Eira briefly and slanted a smile. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow?"
"See you!"
They took their separate paths. Eira purposely took the long way. She liked ambling past the rose garden in their school. She and Jess usually sat there for lunch, and as Eira walked past, she almost thought she could smell the roses and feel the sun on her shoulders. Except, the rose garden had no roses. It was winter, blessing the earth with a thin blanket of snow.
I guess it was not bad rain after all.
Her straight brown hair was trapped between her wool scarf, she scooped a hand behind her neck and pushed it out. A big drop of rain splatted on her fringe that spread across her forehead like frost. She narrowed her eyes and chuckled, quickly crossing to shelter.
