Bullet of Frost (An Iron Fey Fanfiction)

Chapter 7

         *Note: Mature content near the end.           

           The next morning, I awoke to find, gloriously, nearly three feet of snow on the ground. It was chilly in the room, not because I could feel the cold but because Wheels was curled up by my head, still fast asleep.

I sat up and stretched, wondering if Adne was awake yet. It was still quite early. Pulling on a fresh shirt, pants, and boots, I decided to go hunting. A nice juicy squirrel sounded good, and my stomach growled in response.

Out in the kitchen, Qui sat at the table, polishing her knife. She met my eyes as I entered the room and froze, simply staring at me. She did this often. It was a bit unnerving. After picking up my unspoken question, she blinked. "She's in the paddock with her pony," she said, going back to polishing her knife. I did not thank her. Saying that would merely indicate that I put myself in her debt, and I did not have any desire to do that.

Outside, the clouds blocked out the sun, leaving a bleak and dreary atmosphere. I found Adne in the paddock, where Qui said she'd be, brushing down Badger. Calx stood a few feet away, nibbling on a weed he'd dug up from under the snow.

"Sleep well?" I asked, keeping my voice light. She jumped slightly; I had forgotten mortals could not hear our footsteps in snow.

She hesitated. "Yes," she said curtly. "You?"

Boy, we were icy this morning. Perhaps she'd had a nightmare...

"Is something wrong?" I asked carefully, stepping up beside her.

She turned to look at me, looking as if she wanted to murder something...or someone. "Your brother is what is wrong," she whispered lowly, as if he might be nearby.

Well, she wasn't completely wrong, there. "What did he do?" Whatever it was, I probably shouldn't be surprised.

"I could not get one instant of sleep because of those two engaged in...certain activities," she said angrily. "I was debating knocking a broom against the ceiling just to get Tabby to stop moaning like a dying animal."

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. So they'd reached that stage. Lovely. Rowan would be gloating all day. "Well, perhaps, they will keep to themselves from now on," I suggested, knowing it wouldn't happen, not in a long shot.

Adne shook her head. "Tabitha will not leave me alone once she finds me. So that's why I'm going to the hot springs. Where it's warm, and isolated, and peaceful." She hoisted a saddle off of the fence and onto Badger's back. "You're welcome to join me, if you like. Might be a nice vacation from the house and your brother."

It did sound rather nice. And did she say the hot springs were isolated? "I think I'll take you up on that offer," I said, smiling and going to tack up Calx. After Adne grabbed a sack of bread and cheese from the house and a couple of towels, we set off for the hot springs. Along the way, I managed to catch a squirrel, and Adne a bird. That ended up being our lunch. We didn't speak much, just enjoyed each other's company. At least, I hoped Adne enjoyed mine. She seemed a bit tense.

"Am I a shitty kisser?" she blurted out of nowhere while we sat around a small fire, finishing off our lunch.

I paused, my eyebrows raised in surprise. No, no she wasn't. "Not at all," I said, grinning at her. She blushed and dropped her eyes, finding the bone she was holding quite fascinating. I scooted closer to her and draped an arm over her shoulders. I wondered why she wasn't shivering; she wasn't wearing a heavy coat and it was at least in the low twenties.

She leaned into me and tossed the bone into the fire. "I've never really been close to a boy before," she began.

"What about that boy in the dining hall – Cory, I believe his name was?" I tossed my squirrel bone into the fire as well.