I paused. Who had stood with him? I reached back out, desperate for the memory to resurface, but it seemed to slip further from my grasp.
Something icy hit the back of my head, and I stumbled, yelping as I nearly fell forward. I rubbed the back of my head, finding bits of snow sticking to my hair as I twisted around to find Vincent surrounded by a group of children. The recruits halted their training, turning their gazes to them as well before the children pulled their hands from behind their backs to reveal snowballs.
“Attack!” Vincent shouted, and the children screamed and giggled as they ran for cover, pelting the recruits with snowballs.
I looked around frantically. What the hell was going on? Where had they come from?
Hands grabbed me and I gasped as I was pulled behind a pile of logs. I turned to find Damien kneeling beside me, his eyes searching the chaos erupting before us.
“Here, you’ll need this,” he said, handing me a snowball.
“Care to explain what exactly is going on?” I asked, a smile curving my lips.
Vincent directed children to aim at recruits taking shelter, ducking when a stray snowball was launched his way before throwing his in retaliation.
“It’s one of our oldest traditions,” Damien said, rising enough to hit Vincent in the arm before ducking back down. “The recruits bring their young, and Vincent or Barrett take them out to orchestrate a snowball fight.”
“Come on,” he said, nodding his head for me to join in. I looked over the logs to find Zephyr knelt behind his own cover, seeming not to realize we were here as he took aim elsewhere.
I threw the snowball as hard as I could, but it hit the ground in front of him. His head jerked in our direction, and I squeaked as I dropped back behind our cover.
“He saw me!” I whispered. Snow exploded against the top of our barricade, dusting us in bits of frost and ice as Zephyr retaliated.
Damien huffed a laugh. “Come on. He’ll come looking for us; we need to change positions.”
Damien rose just enough to throw a snowball at the children before grabbing my hand and pulling me elsewhere. Just as we reached another hiding spot, Barrett roared, and screams broke out as he popped up behind one of the children’s barricades, scooping snow and throwing it over them. They scattered, their squeals and giggles filling the air, leaving my heart swelling.
“Come here!” Barrett yelled, chasing after them, only to be pelted with multiple snowballs.
The shadows converged beside me, and I fell to the side as five Lupai rose from their depths before leaping into a playful run. Their yips filled my ears as some ran to the children, tackling them to the ground to lick their faces. Laughter bubbled up my throat as one of them stuck its nose into a nearby snow pile before rolling around in it, its tongue falling out of its mouth in happiness.
“No!” a child shouted at the Lupai. “That’s for snowballs!”
The Lupai twisted around to lick the child, its tongue so massive, it coated the entire side of her face in slobber as she giggled.
“Here,” Damien said, placing another snowball in my hand before pointing at Thalia who had caught sight of us.
“How exactly does this work?” I asked, snowballs flying through the air in all directions.
“You get to pick a side. It’s always been adults versus young, but you could do either side if you like,” he explained.
“What determines the winner?”
“Usually, the war ends when one side surrenders, or if they’re surrounded with no snow to fight back,” he said with a chuckle. “Vincent is always with the children, as he uses water magic and can help them make more snow.”
Movement caught my attention and I turned to find Thalia motioning for me to come to her. I glanced back at Damien briefly, and his brows furrowed.
“Good luck,” I said before running through the fray toward Thalia.
12
DAMIEN
Ireached for Cassie as she made a dash for Thalia, but my hand clasped air, and I watched as she ran through the open expanse of the training yard, narrowly dodging snowballs as they flew through the air. She launched forward, narrowly avoiding getting hit, and slid on her side behind the barricade where Thalia had taken shelter. I narrowed my eyes, but a smile curved my lips as they began talking, likely hashing out a plan.
Our gazes met briefly, and her sneaky smile was all I needed to see to know she’d chosen her side... and I was one of her targets.
Then enemies we shall be, mea luna.
