The sun was bright on the snow.
It made everything sparkle.
Ace woke up late.
His head hurt.
Too much wine last night.
He sat up in bed.
He rubbed his face.
He remembered the dance.
The music.
Lifting Jade into the air.
The feel of his thin waist.
The look on his face.
Surprised.
Confused.
Real.
“Ugh,” Ace groaned.
He flopped back on his pillow.
He got dressed slowly.
He put on black pants and a thick grey sweater.
He went downstairs.
The big hall was quiet.
Servants were cleaning.
They were sweeping up leftover food and confetti from the party.
The fancy decorations looked tired in the morning light.
Ace walked to the kitchen.
He wanted strong coffee.
On the way, he passed the big window that looked out into the garden.
He stopped.
Outside, in the snow, stood Jade.
He wasn’t wearing a coat.
Just his simple green tunic from yesterday.
His white hair was loose, blowing a little in the cold wind.
He was looking at something in his hand.
It was the blue thread charm.
The one he had tied to Ace’s bow.
Ace watched.
He didn’t mean to spy.
He just stood there, hidden by the curtain.
Jade’s shoulders were slumped.
He looked very tired.
He looked very alone.
He turned the blue thread over and over in his fingers.
Then he closed his hand around it tight.
He looked up at the grey sky.
He took a deep breath, like he was trying to be brave.
Then he did something strange.
He bent down.
He used his finger to draw in the snow.
He drew a little wolf.
It was a good drawing.
The wolf was sitting, its head tilted.
Under the wolf, Jade wrote one word in the snow.
*Brother.*
He looked at the word for a long time.
His breath made white clouds.
Then he wiped it away with his hand.
He wiped the drawing away too.
He stood up.
He put the blue thread back in his pocket.
He hugged himself because he was cold.
Ace felt a funny twist in his stomach.
He didn’t like it.
He turned away from the window.
He didn’t want coffee anymore.
He went to the training yard instead.
He needed to hit something.
Alex was already there.
He was practicing with his sword.
His movements were clean and sharp.
*Swish.
Thud.
Swish.*
Ace picked up a wooden practice sword.
He started hitting a training post.
*Whack.
Whack.
Whack.*
“You’re hitting it like it owes you money,” Alex said.
He didn’t stop moving.
“Maybe it does,” Ace grumbled.
He hit the post harder.
They practiced in silence for a while.
The only sounds were their breathing and the *thwack* of wood.
“Did you see him this morning?” Ace asked suddenly.
He didn’t look at Alex.
“Who?”
“Jade.”
Alex stopped.
He lowered his sword.
“No.
Why?”
Ace shrugged.
He kept hitting the post.
“No reason.
He was just… in the garden.
Without a coat.
Like an idiot.”
“He’s from the south.
He probably doesn’t own a good coat,” Alex said.
He sounded like he was thinking.
“Mother noticed.
She had the maids take some of my old winter clothes to his room this morning.”
Ace stopped hitting.
He turned to look at Alex.
“She did?”
Alex nodded.
He wiped sweat from his forehead.
“She said it was basic hospitality.
That we are not animals, to let a guest freeze.”
Ace looked back at the post.
He thought about Jade in the snow, hugging himself.
He thought about his mother’s kindness.
It made him feel mixed up.
He was supposed to hate Jade.
His family was supposed to hate Jade.
But his mother was giving him clothes.
His brother had bowed for him.
And last night, Ace had danced with him.
“He drew in the snow,” Ace said quietly.
“What?”
“This morning.
In the garden.
He drew a wolf.
And he wrote…” Ace trailed off.
He couldn’t say the word.
Alex waited.
His blue eyes were calm.
“He wrote ‘brother,'” Ace finally said.
He kicked the base of the training post.
“Then he wiped it away.”
Alex was silent for a long moment.
The wind blew through the yard.
“He is alone here, Ace,” Alex said finally.
His voice was quiet.
“He has no one.
The Emperor sent him like a package.
Our people either want to use him or hurt him.
He is in a cage made of snow and stone.”
“So?” Ace said, but his voice didn’t sound mean.
It just sounded tired.
“So,” Alex said, sheathing his practice sword.
“Even a prisoner looks for a friendly face.
Even if it’s just a drawing in the snow.”
Ace didn’t know what to say.
He felt that twist in his stomach again.
Just then, a servant boy ran into the yard.
He was out of breath.
“Prince Alex!
Prince Ace!” the boy panted.
“You’re needed in the Duke’s study.
Right away!”
Alex and Ace looked at each other.
Trouble.
They dropped their practice swords and followed the boy inside.
The halls of the keep felt darker suddenly.
Colder.
Whatever was coming, the morning’s quiet was over.