Chapter Seven #2
Finally, the GPS told me to turn again, and I found a long driveway that I followed up a small hill and around a curve.
At first, I didn’t see a house at all. It was just more trees and snow all over the place. But as I pulled up closer, the structure finally showed itself, and I couldn’t help but gasp.
It looked as if the trees themselves, along with a shit-ton of ice and snow, formed a large home in the side of a… mountain? A hill or a cave, maybe?
Or was that just all… house?
The whole thing was covered in sparkling snow, making it feel even more majestic.
It looked like someone decided to put a house in the middle of a copse of trees but didn’t want to cut any down, so they built around them…
incorporated them into the structure. The walls were glistening, and I couldn’t tell if they were actually made out of packed snow and ice or wood and plaster or something.
I had a feeling it was all ice, shaped and held strong from Lanche’s magic.
The glass windows were about the only things I could tell were definitely man-made, and those were partially hidden because of the icicles hanging off the top ledges.
It was so cold here that everything had icicles.
This house was like something out of an ice princess fairytale story.
I squinted at the very top of the house before my eyes widened. It wasn’t a house at all. It was a damn castle. Maybe on the smaller side as far as castles went, but definitely still a castle.
In the center of the house—castle—there was a large tower sticking up high above the trees—what was that called?
A keep? Or something like that? There were two smaller towers on either side, really bringing home the castle feel.
And all of them were glistening and blending in so well with their surroundings that I’d nearly missed them altogether.
It was honestly one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen. The blend of nature and… his obvious ice and snow magic was… magnificent. Stunning.
I must’ve been standing there, gaping at the castle for much longer than I realized because Lanche came out of his home, wearing a sheepish smile on his handsome face and carrying a large duffel bag over his shoulder.
He was dressed in a long pea coat, buttoned up tight with a rainbow-colored scarf wrapped around his neck with the ends under the front of his coat.
His jeans were tucked into his snow boots, and the beanie on top of his head covered his white hair.
He looked utterly adorable. And super huggable.
Not that I was about to greet him with a hug or anything, no matter how much I wanted to.
And I definitely wouldn’t be admitting that out loud anytime soon.
Lanche gave me a small wave as he stepped closer, saying, “Hey, Dain. Thanks for picking me up.”
I blurted, “Your house is fucking amazing.”
His cheeks turned pink, and it definitely wasn’t from the cold. “Thank you.”
“You made it yourself, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “The trees helped, but yes. I used my magic.”
I wasn’t sure why he sounded so shy about it, but it only made him more adorable. But also, how did the trees help him? I’d have to ask for more details on that later. “It’s gorgeous.”
“Thank you.” He smiled shyly, and I had to turn away to stop myself from tasting that smile on my lips.
“Come on, then. Where are we going?”
He followed me into the car, setting his bag on the back seat, and even though I’d turned it off when I’d gotten out, the heat was still warm, thank goodness. It was freaking freezing out.
“You wore layers, right?” he asked as he buckled his seatbelt.
“I did, yeah.”
“Good. I’m taking you ice skating. There’s a lake nearby that’s one of my favorite places in Sedoba. I thought I could show you.”
Being isolated at some random lake in the woods didn’t sound like a good idea to me, but… Lanche was just so… innocent. I couldn’t help but trust him enough to give it a shot. So I gathered up my nerves, nodded, and let him give me directions.
It wasn’t far from his house, and it wasn’t over the border, so I deemed it acceptable as I parked.
“Are you alright?” Lanche asked me before I could get out.
I turned to look him in the eye. For a moment, I thought about lying and saying the typical I’m fine response I usually gave everyone, but he was so earnest that I found myself speaking the truth before I really meant to. “I didn’t know we’d be so secluded.”
His brow furrowed, and he glanced out the window for a moment, taking his lake in, before he faced me again. “We can go somewhere else. There’s a popular ice skating rink near the Tower, if you want to go there? Or we can skip the ice skating altogether and just go to dinner.”
Ugh. Why was he so gosh darn sweet? “Nah, I’m good.”
I went to get out, but Lanche stopped me with his hand on my forearm. “Dain, the last thing I want is for you to be uncomfortable. It’s really okay if we go somewhere else. We can come back here another time, once we know each other better.”
After staring into his sincere eyes for another long moment, I nodded. “Nope, I’m good.”
“Are you sure?”
I awkwardly patted his hand. “Yep, I’m sure. Let’s go.” I got out, then popped my head back inside. “Wait. Did you bring skates?”
He smiled at me. “Sure did.” He got out, grabbed his bag from the backseat, and came around to the front of the car, staring at the lake.
I really needed to break the tension I’d started. Of course, I was the one who had to make things uncomfortable. I really didn’t want him to think I didn’t want to be around him, though. Because I did.
I really, really did.
Being around Lanche felt almost like a balm to my soul after missing him so much last night—although that wasn’t something I’d be sharing with him either. Not with anyone.
I wasn’t sure what possessed me to do it, but I found myself bending down and scooping up some snow while Lanche was looking away. Quickly, I formed it into a ball and threw it at his back.
Lanche jumped in surprise and turned to me. As soon as he did, I scooped up more snow and lopped it at him.
He jumped out of the way so the snowball went flying past him, then he faced me with a grin. “You really wanna start a snowball fight with a snow yeti?”
“Yep!” I ran around to the side of the car so I could use it as a shield, and a volley of snowballs followed me, some flying past, others hitting me in the legs, butt, and back.
Lanche laughed, and I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh myself.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d let myself just… play around like this. Usually I’d be the one sitting on the sidelines like an absolute curmudgeon. But for whatever reason, playing around with Lanche felt… natural.
I quickly formed an arsenal of snowballs so I could throw a bunch in a row, then stood with half of them cradled in one arm and the other locked and loaded. But when I peeked over the top of the car’s roof, Lanche was nowhere to be seen.
What the…
A snowball hit me in the back of the head, and I gasped, turning around to find where the giant man could possibly be hiding.
It took me a few seconds to find him. He’d somehow moved all the way across the clearing and was hiding in the tree line. How the hell did he even throw a snowball that far?
I watched in fascination as he chucked another snowball at me. It looked like he didn’t even use any effort either, and yet, the thing came flying right at me. I moved to the left, and the snowball course corrected, still aiming for my chest. I moved to the right, and the thing followed me.
I only had a few seconds to trick him—trick it?—so I waited until it was only a foot away, then jumped to the side.
Somehow, the thing still hit me square in the chest.
That damn snow yeti’s using his magic!
“Cheater!” I yelled, but my voice sounded amused rather than annoyed, and I couldn’t help but feel a small amount of warmth growing in my chest as we played in the snow. Which was weird. Shouldn’t I be getting colder? It was absolutely freezing out.
“How is that cheating?” he called back with a laugh.
“You can’t use magic in a snowball fight!”
“Says who?” He slipped behind a tree so I couldn’t see him anymore.
“The rulebook!” I rushed closer to him, keeping my eyes peeled.
He barked out a laugh. “What rulebook?”
“You know… the snowball fight rulebook.”
He laughed again. “I want to see this rulebook.”
“Uh-huh. I’ll have to show it to you later.”
I ran straight into the trees where I’d last seen him, still carrying my snowballs as I searched.
He wasn’t there.
I crept forward, not wanting to give my location away.
I searched for a good two minutes, not finding a single clue to where he’d gone.
“Boo.”
I whipped around to face the voice behind me. And there he stood. Tall and muscular and almost scary-looking. But there was no way in the world I could ever be scared of Lanche. He was just too innocent.
He grinned at me, and before I could say anything, he splatted a snowball right in my face.
I spluttered and backed up a step before a laugh came out of my lips. “You cheater!”
“How was that cheating? I didn’t use my magic at all that time.”
I laughed harder, dropping one snowball so I could wipe the snow off my face and look at the cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater. “You ass.”
He snorted. “You started it.”
I shook my head, then grabbed a snowball from the pile in my other arm and threw it at him. I must’ve surprised him because he didn’t move, and it hit him right in the shoulder. He gaped, and I quickly threw the rest of my pile right at him in one big heap.
Most of the snowballs hit him and sprayed snow everywhere.
Our eyes met.
A crinkle appeared in the corner of his eyes, and I couldn’t help but laugh. And then we were both cracking up.
As we both calmed down, I caught his attention again, and it felt like I fell right into those pretty reddish-brown orbs. Like I could get lost in them. Lost in him.