“Yes, come out!” I call, the fire blazing cheerfully behind me. Mom dashes into the room, coming over and giving us all Midwinter hugs and kisses as my dad, wearing pajamas for the one day a year when he actually lets anyone see him pajamas, comes out behind her. “I held her back as long as I coul
When mom tries to come over with more presents, I give her a little frown and shake my head, mouthing “give us a minute.” When she sees my reason why I think it takes mom every bit of strength she’s got to not come rushing to Jackson’s side and fuss over him. But, knowing that would be too much, s
“As is our right, as royal ladies,” Juniper says, flicking her hair back over her shoulder. “Not yours,” I say, laughing and flicking her nose when I stand up straight. “Underage!” “Ariel!” Juniper groans, following me as I tug Jackson eagerly towards the door. “Come on! I thought we were finall
“I don’t know yet,” Juniper murmurs, her eyes going distant as she stares off into space. “But…something big. I want to do all of it. I want…I want to do everything, feel everything. See…the whole world.” Cora lets her hand drift away from Juniper and both she and my mom look at my little sister w
“Never bet against me, Sinclair,” Jackson says with a sigh, flashing my brother a beautiful grin. “Yeah well, next year,” Rafe grumbles, narrowing his eyes. I laugh, pleased to see my brother have to deal with losing – it’s not something that happens often to him. “You’re on my team. Jesse, you’re
Around midnight, the family starts to fade. “Actually,” Rafe murmurs at my side, looking around the room as mom and dad herd a sleepy Mark off to his bedroom, Juniper following close behind, and Roger and Cora bid their farewells to their oldest son, who is staying overnight here so that he can go
Jesse nods once, agreeing to it, and I make the squeaking noise again, needing to know what’s going on. Rafe laughs and squares his shoulders, nodding to me and getting started. “Look, it’s not a big deal, I just…I wanted to take a minute with the two of you alone. Because…because you two mean a l
We don’t stay long on the roof – we don’t need to. After all, tomorrow night we’ll be together again, all sleeping in the same room at the Academy. There may be other nights, in the future, where we greet the dawn after our midnight toast – needing to talk for hours, to catch up, to laugh, to cry.