Frostbite

Chapter Twenty-Three

A few inches of snow had fallen overnight, coating everything with a stark whiteness. It contrasted with the the sky, which was an ominous dark grey, the sun already beginning to depart over the horizon, despite it only being mid-afternoon. Today was the second darkest day of the year, after all.

Eira felt like the weather echoed her mood. Blank, monotone, and lacking brightness in the places where it should be.

Her eyes drifted over the snow topped gravestones with an aloof cool that had taken hours of pacing, pulling at her hair, and feeling like she could vomit her guts out to muster.

A small huddle of people dressed all in black gathered around a newly erected stone, the packed, frozen soil around it free of snow.

Eira kept her distance, trying to keep the sickness from coming back into her stomach.

Only after the mourners had dispersed did she make her way over to the gravestone. She knelt down in front of it, snow soaking through the knees of her trousers. She forced her eyes to read the words that had been freshly carved on its face.

A strong wind blew and freed her hair of its knot.

Eira sat in silence for some time—whether it was minutes or hours, she didn't know. For once, her mind was blank. She was thankful of that silence, that lack of pounding in her ears.

When the sun had almost taken its leave and twilight had set in, a girl in black approached her. One of the mourners from before. The one Eira thought had cried the most.

"Did you... know him?" the girl asked tentatively. Her voice was hoarse, her eyes rimmed with an angry red.

Eira stifled a bitter laugh. "Barely."

"I just—I don't know how someone could do such a thing. No matter how much of a monster they were. I don't understand how they could just take his life with such a lack of remorse. He was new to the guards, and it was only his third patrol. He was so excited for it. That job had been his dream for so long, you know. Even back when he was a little boy. To join the city guard and protect everyone, that was what he always spoke about to everyone we knew. I was so proud when he finally achieved his goal—when he finally got that badge to show for it. My brother, he was strong, courageous, and passionate. The one I always admired and sought to be like. And now—now he's dead. Because of some damned renegade Frost." Her words were edged with venom. A venom Eira knew too well.

She was no better than any of them.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, voice breaking. It was more directed to the guard, than to his sister.

There was nothing that could undo her actions. No matter how much she wished it. And if she was going to continue on the path she was on, then she would have to be willing to take more lives.

"You," the girl breathed.

Eira stood, bringing herself to her full height. She turned around, schooling her features into an emotionless mask.

The guard's sister's eyes widened with pure, undiluted terror. "You're..."

Eira opened her fist, letting some gentle snow fall from her palm almost lazily.

"If you mention this to anyone"—she turned the snow to jagged shards of ice—"then you will meet the same fate as your brother."

~

Eira, Kea, Gwen, and Gwen's companions—introduced as Tanwyn and Garey—gathered in a clearing in the woods that lay at the city's eastern edge, awaiting the arrival of Darrow.