Page 134 of Season Warriors & Wolves

“Auntie Snow,” Lila bellowed, ignoring the game she was playing with her friends and dashing like a bull towards me.

I caught and swung her round before resting her on my hip. “How many times do I have to tell you to not call me auntie Snow.”

“But you are my auntie.”

I pulled her finger from her nose. “Don’t have to announce it to the whole world, kid. Makes me sound old.”

“Makes me seem important,” she murmured, resting her head on my shoulder. “The other kids don’t ignore me when they know you are my aunt.”

“Who is ignoring you?”

She giggled. “Don’t turn scary.”

I sneered down at her, pulling her finger out of her nose again. “I’m always scary.”

“Not to me.”

Gods, I was losing my touch. “Fear me, kid.”

“Okay.” She blinked up at me, hopeful and waiting for approval. “I can scream if you want. Like the people in the valley.”

Sigh. This was pointless. “Screaming children do nothing for my ego. Only hurts my precious ears.”

“Where is uncle?” she asked. “I like uncle. He always visits me and brings me pretty flowers.”

“He does?”

She nodded quickly. “He even took me to the flower land and I played with flower people. Oh, auntie, he even got me a flower dress!” the little demon screeched.

“Flower la—” Oh. The gardens in Amaris.

“Babysitting duties?” Cai asked, strutting all dark and tall towards me. He took Lila from my arms and threw her up in the air a couple times, making her squeal like a piglet.

“You too?”

He sighed. “I was kicked out of the training courts by Tristin.”

“My, shall I take a guess as to why? Bullying another newbie?”

He gave me an unimpressed look before tugging on my cheek hard enough to hurt and then flicking my forehead. “How will you drop this on our people?”

“There is no gentle way to go about this,” I murmured, rubbing where he’d flicked me.

“As if you would ever have a gentle way to go about things.”

I gave him a shove. “Should have asked Nia to come with me, not you.”

“Come on, Cakes,” he teased back. “I can be inspiring. Supportive. All qualities you looked for when you befriended me.”

I rolled my eyes. “We bonded over sugar and hate.”

“Ah,” he said, grinning, “similar taste. Forgot about that one.”

My people crowded in the maze-like city square moments right after we’d arrived when I climbed on top of the centre fountain. Lila still sat on Cai’s lap blissfully unaware of how turbulent her future was at present—how she might not have a future at all. How it was all my fault for it.

Emotion welled my throat when thousands of hopeful eyes looked up at me, expectant of the worst. My people knew to always expect the worst. Yet there was such bliss in there, too, admiration that leaked courage in my heart.

But there was no voice coming out of my mouth no matter how many times I opened it to speak.