Moonlight bathed the freshly fallen snow in a deep blue glow, casting enough light to travel through the night. Zyryxa’s pride demanded she press on, dreading the thought of Pelzyq's smug, ugly face greeting her at Riverwatch.

Her pride was especially sensitive this eve, having been caught off-guard by a dozen snow sprites at dusk, masquerading as ice packed against the mountain’s snow. She slaughtered them with Zyrthalla’s greataxe, turning them into inanimate gems—or as Dryxl would call them, dinner. The drake did the unfathomable, shielding Lexyn from a blast of ice while Zyryxa bore the full brunt of the ambush. Then, the darkscale mustered the courage to devour one of the sprites as it floated through the air toward Lexyn. Zyryxa, on the other hand, finished the fight with frost burns on her cheek.

She massaged her cheek, grateful there was neither swelling nor the threat of scars to mar her perfect face. “Thanks again,” she said.

Lexyn perked up, hugging herself tightly as the wind cut through her layers. “Calidex flower,” her teeth chattered, “purple saxifrage … p-p-perfect for f-f-frost burns.”

Zyryxa fluttered her eyelids. “My hero. You, my Lexyn, are like moonlight breaking through dark clouds. You are the light in my darkness. The—”

“Thank you,” Lexyn said, a sweet blush coloring her lovely cheeks. She was too adorable to tease and too important to freeze. Zyryxa knew Lexyn would stoically march through the night just to keep from letting her down. Zyryxa would not be the one to let her down.

“Brrr,” Zyryxa said, exaggerating a shiver and chattering her teeth “I need to get out of this wind and get a fire going, or I’ll become a snow sprite myself.”

Lexyn pointed north. “I sp-sp-spent a few days hiding in the gelubor over there.”

“Lead the way.”

Lexyn stalked into a gelubor forest on a lower ridge of mighty Monzqora’s east face. After ducking through clusters of low branches and tracing a small trail, she found her old hideaway nestled in a small clearing within the thicker growth. The place looked ransacked—trees torn apart and her old gelubor shelter demolished. Large, frosted, drake tracks and claw marks abundant in the carnage.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Zyryxa put her nose to the ground, sniffing for any trace of scent and measuring how much snow had fallen into the prints. “You left this spot about three days ago?”

“Yes,” Lexyn said, gathering kindling from the remnants of her former shelter.

“A coldscale drake came to make sure your fire stayed dead.”

Lexyn piled the gelubor branches into a small pit. “Creatures of ice tend to feel that way.”

Zyryxa struck sparks with her steel and lit the kindling. “The coldscale might still be near. I’ll keep the first watch.”

Lexyn huddled near the heat. “You sure?”

Zyryxa set a log beside the fire and took her place. “I’m not that tired. Besides,” she leaned forward, “I’m not sure I can trust some sex-deprived half-Leverian to watch over me.”

Lexyn snorted. “I’m afraid I won’t disappoint you there, Zyryxa.”

“Who said I’d be disappointed?”

Lexyn lowered her gaze to the fire. “Leverians believe love is a product of having sex enough times to please their Divine Leverith. The Ice Tribe values outer beauty above all else.” She lifted her gaze. “What’s so wrong with loving people for who they are? I don’t care if the man I love is some well-endowed, perfectly-sculpted hunk. All I care about is if he cares about me and shares my values.”

Zyryxa swallowed, hugging herself. “I’m not disappointed in you, Lexyn.” She forced a smile. “I want a partner who cares about me and isn’t a total piece of Pelzyq.”

Lexyn chortled.

“Besides,” Zyryxa continued, “I wouldn’t want anyone too close to being as pretty as me, so you could count yourself as safe from my advances.”

Lexyn shook her head and laid out her cloak. “Good night, Zyryxa, and thank you.”

“What for, beautiful?”

Lexyn looked up at the moon. “For being moonlight breaking through dark clouds.”

As Lexyn drifted off to sleep, Zyryxa inhaled the moonlight, watching Dryxl curl up beside her. She would have to cuddle herself to sleep for the foreseeable future. Instead of feeling jilted, Zyryxa felt a wave of relief. There was no better moonlight to guide her than having Lexyn as a best friend without the trappings of lust between them. Dryxl, on the other hand, had to be dealt with.

Zyryxa examined the claw marks and footprints left behind by the fire-hating coldscale drake. Qoryxa’s flaming eyes! She was tired of crying, as yet another beloved memory turned to a dagger of ice twisting in her heart…