There should really be a pamphlet for all these balls.
Like: “Welcome to Everfrost: So You Accidentally Became a Fake Queen. Here’s Why We Keep Making You Wear Corsets and Fight Sentient Ice.”
Instead, I got Lira shaking me awake at what felt like the literal ass c***k of dawn.
“Up,” she chirped, yanking the curtains open. “Big night.”
I threw an arm over my face. “I swear if this one is ‘Dance Until the Hollow Eats You’ themed, I’m sitting it out.”
“This is the Night of Offerings,” she said, way too cheerful. “The gift-giving ritual.”
That got past the exhaustion.
“Gift-giving?” I croaked. “Like Secret Santa, but with more antlers?”
Nyre’s voice drifted in from the doorway. “Less ‘secret,’ more ‘existential.’ What is Santa?”
I just laughed and smiled at her.
That didn’t sound p
