A Court of Stars and Memories

56. Old Wounds Reopened

    Mitsi laughed to herself as she watched the children scurry about the lawn of the orphanage, some making snow-angels and others having snowball fights. Mina lingered beside her, trying to pick snow out of the hood of her fur-trimmed cape.

    A few of the boys had dumped snow in it when Mina wasn't aware, but the minute she noticed, she'd been quick to retaliate. The boys found snow shoved down their trousers and shirts, even more than they'd put in her hood.

    "I should've buried them in a snowdrift and let them sit there a while," Mina grumbled, and emptied the last bit of snow from her hood.

    "Oh come now, it was a harmless prank. It's not like the cold bothered you," Venelia called nearby.

    She had asked to accompany them today and brought the Twins along as well. Emrys and Lir were having fun playing with some of the boys their age, and Mitsi was glad to see them happy and occupied.

    She knew they were beginning to miss Eira and it would still be another week before she returned from the Dawn Court. Mitsi had gone to the River Estate several times to play with the Twins in the hopes of lightening their moods and giving Venelia some time to herself.

    "Well I hope they know better than to prank me now." Mina crossed her arms and pretended to frown, but amusement glittered in the hidden smile beneath it.

    "Surely they've given you a new idea for pestering Corbin," Mitsi laughed, poking her sister's side. Mina just rolled her eyes, though a sly grin crept onto her lips.

    Corbin had returned from Ridgeback a few days ago, fully healed thankfully. Mina had spent a lot of time with him since then. In fact, today was the first time Mitsi had seen her sister unaccompanied by the male. She'd made no remark upon the fact though. If they were getting along now and Mina found herself desiring his company, Mitsi wouldn't complain.

    Mina wasn't complaining about her and Lysander anymore either, which Mitsi was exceedingly thankful for considering she'd been spending even more time with him these days. They had their usual training lessons, but aside from those, they were just spending time together.

    Lysander frequently worked on paintings when she visited him and she usually took her quilting or sewing to keep herself occupied. But watching Lysander paint was fascinating by itself. She didn't know how he managed to create such fine details and swirl colors together to create beautiful scenes.

    Every stroke of his brush was deliberate and precise, as if it were one of his daggers, or a weapon of its own, and he'd spent decades honing his skills with it. He paid such careful attention to every aspect of his art, and sometimes, he seemed to turn that attention onto her as well.

    They hadn't spoken about that night in her room or the morning that followed, but it weighed on Mitsi's mind every day. She couldn't stop the way her heart leaped over that shining strand within her chest whenever she saw him.

    She couldn't stop the thoughts that emerged when she sat beside him, simply watching him create something beautiful, or saw him teaching a lesson in Windhaven, or even when they were sparring.

    She loved him. But she'd told no one yet. Not even Mina or Micah. She was counting the minutes until Eira's return, hoping she'd get a chance to confess her feelings to her friend and ask for her advice.

    Mitsi shoved the thoughts aside as Venelia joined her and Mina. The female brushed snow-spattered auburn hair back from her face and watched her sons with a smile. "Maybe I should bring them more often. It's good for them to play with children their own age, and these children have gone through experiences similar to their own."