Thereafter, it escalated fast.
Snow was flying in every direction—wild, unpredictable, completely uncalculated. Ryker and Soren initially faced Kael, but then Kael turned his attention to Soren, while Ryker switched sides twice in under a minute. Laughter and noise filled the yard in a way that chased the quiet off for a while, and the quiet let it happen.
"Join them," Tala said. "Don't just watch."
I bent down.
The cold stung my fingers through my gloves as I packed the snow, rolling it between my palms, shaping it. I straightened, aimed, and threw.
It hit Ryker on the back of the shoulder.
He spun around, scanning, and his eyes found me. His face did something complicated — surprise, then recognition, then a slow grin spreading across it.
"Bad move," he said.
I didn't move fast e
