The frost came early that year.
Not the thin, silver whisper of frost you brushed from a windowsill in the morning, but a deeper kind — a quiet that sank into the bones, holding the world still. The air was so sharp it seemed to chime when you breathed, every exhale trailing in pale ribbons that drifted into the dark. Lanterns trembled on their hooks, halos of gold struggling against the blue hush of night. It was Moonfrost Eve. The old turning-night, when the Empire lit its lanterns to welcome winter's first breath, and folded the year's last page shut beneath the eyes of the watching stars.
The night sky was the color of deep ink, its stillness broken only by the slow drift of pale clouds. The moon itself hung low and swollen, so bright it seemed to press against the rooftops, its light spilling across the academy's courtyards like molten silver. Each breath of wind carried the bite of winter's first true claim, crisp and clean, tasting faintly of pine and distant snowmelt.
Beneath that cold beauty, the lanterns had already been lit. Hundreds of them. Hanging from every wrought-iron post, from branches heavy with frost, and from lines strung between dormitories. They were small glass globes of warm amber fire, swaying gently, casting rippling light over the cobblestones dusted with the evening's thin, glittering frost.
It was Moonfrost Eve — the old turning-night.
In the lore of Aena, it was said that Moonfrost Eve marked the breath between the year's last heartbeat and the first inhale of the one to come. The oldest stories spoke of a night when the frost's first breath touched the land, and the people lit lanterns not to chase it away, but to welcome it — for frost was not an ending, but the folding of the year's last page beneath the eyes of the watching stars. On this night, light and cold walked together, and the river ran its final length before silence claimed it.
To stand beneath the Moonfrost was to stand in the place between — a moment out of time, where regrets might be set down, wishes freed into the dark, and the heart readied for what came next.
◈◈◈
The duel with Dessie still lived in Irna's body.
Her steps slowed as she climbed the last stair. The duel's weight hadn't left her — not in the ache along her ribs, nor in the half-healed scrape burning across her cheek. She had won… but not without cost. And tonight, for the first time since she'd drawn her bow against Dessie, she would have to smile through it.
Kaiden would be there. That was reason enough to stand straighter, even if her legs ached with every step.
Each movement sent small aches spiraling through her shoulders and ribs. Her bow arm throbbed from strain, and though she'd washed her face in the cold basin water, she could still feel the phantom heat of Sagitan's arrow grazing her aura.
Her mind was no less battered. Dessie's words had carved deeper than she'd let on — and though pride and relief twisted together in her chest, they also left behind the heavy echo of what had just been admitted.
But even bruised, even with the duel's weight still on her, Irna refused to show it tonight.
She paused at the dormitory's mirror — a narrow, slightly warped pane set into the wall — and took a slow, steadying breath. Her fingers moved with practiced care: smoothing the stray strands of hair the wind had tugged loose, tightening the braid over her shoulder, and adjusting the pale ribbon at its end.
A touch of gloss to her lips, a faint dusting of powder to hide the worst of the shadows beneath her eyes. She pinched her cheeks for warmth. The effort hurt — but she smiled anyway, testing the shape of it in the glass.
The door to the shared room swung open before Irna could fix the clasp of her cloak.
[ Peggy ]
"There you are!"
"I was two seconds from sending a search party."
Peggy stepped in, wrapped in a winter dress of deep green that shimmered under the lamplight, her hair pinned up with silver leaves. The excitement in her voice was almost physical — a bubbling energy that seemed ready to lift her off the floor.
[ Peggy ]
"Well, don't just stand there!"
"We're going to be late for the Moonfrost Eve."
"Everyone's gonna be there."
"Hurry!"
[ Irna (softly) ]
"I'm ready."
Irna muttered, fastening the clasp.
Peggy paused mid-breath, her eyes narrowing in that way only an older sister might — even if not by blood.
[ Peggy ]
"You sure?"
"You look like you…"
She hesitated, studying the faint tension in Irna's shoulders.
"…never mind."
"You look beautiful."
It was said quickly, but meant fully.
Irna only nodded, gathering her gloves.
◈◈◈
Over on the other side, in the boys' dormitory, the scene was…
Different.
[ Rio ]
"You're worse than Peggy, you know that?"
Rio was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching Kaiden adjust his shirt collar for what had to be the fifth time.
[ Nerim ]
"Sixth."
"And he's checked his hair four times..."
"Per minute."
[ Kaiden ]
"It's called..."
"Preparation."
Kaiden replied without looking up, tugging his dark coat into place. The coat was simple but well-cut, the kind that hinted more at quiet confidence than any flashy display.
Nerim made a show of rolling his eyes.
[ Nerim ]
"Preparation for what, exactly?"
"You planning to duel someone with your jawline?"
Rio smirked, tossing a scarf at Kaiden.
[ Rio ]
"Just admit it, Kaid..."
"You're taking longer than usual because of her, right?"
[ Kaiden ]
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Kaiden said it flatly, but the corner of his mouth betrayed him.
[ Rio ]
"Yeah, right."
When he finally turned from the mirror, both Rio and Nerim groaned in mock defeat. Nerim threw a plushie, aiming to mess Kaiden's hair up, but was casually caught by him.
[ Kaiden ]
"Nice try."
[ Nerim ]
"Ugh, disgusting."
"You actually look handsome tonight."
[ Rio ]
"Yeah, now I'm going to have to try just to avoid standing next to you."
Kaiden slipped a handkerchief into his pocket and grabbed his gloves from the dressing table.
[ Kaiden ]
"Now I'm ready."
The boys reached the meet-up point first, waiting under the great frost-laden tree by the bridge, in front of the dorm's entrance. The branches above were strung with lanterns, their golden light pooling on the snow-dusted ground, catching in the drifting mist from the half-frozen stream below.
The sound of approaching steps drew their attention. Peggy came first, her dark purple dress swaying in rhythm with her strides, her eyes sparkling under the lamplight. And beside her —
Kaiden's breath hitched before he could stop it.
Irna walked with measured grace, her winter cloak of deep midnight-blue falling around her like a shadow edged in starlight. Her braid lay neatly over her shoulder, the pale ribbon catching the light each time she moved.
Irna smiled — a small, warm curve of her lips that made the frost in the air feel a little less sharp.
[ Nerim ]
"Yup."
"Disgusting."
Nerim looked at Kaiden and Rio, alternating between the two of them.
[ Rio ]
"Agreed."
Peggy wasted no time, linking arms with Rio as if to drag the group into motion. Nerim followed, giving Kaiden a look that was almost comically exaggerated in its "good luck" energy.
[ Peggy ]
"Hurry up, guys..."
"The celebration is starting."
"I don't wanna miss it."
[ Rio ]
"Whoa..."
"Hold your horses, will ya?"
[ Nerim ]
"Nope."
"There's no stopping that horsie..."
"Hahaha."
Kaiden stepped towards Irna, softly reaching for her hand.
[ Kaiden ]
"Well..."
"Shall we?"
[ Irna ]
"Yes."
"Let's go."
◈◈◈
The crowd had thinned along the riverbank, leaving behind scattered laughter and the faint smell of candle smoke drifting with the frost. Lanterns bobbed lazily down the slow current, their glow dimming as the water carried them toward the horizon's darkness.
Kaiden and Irna stood a little apart from the others now, just far enough that the muffled sound of celebration became a soft hum. The others — Peggy, Rio, Nerim — had made themselves scarce with such deliberate timing it was almost comical, though neither Kaiden nor Irna pointed it out.
For a moment, they simply stood there, the moonlight spilling across the ice-flecked water, their breaths curling like pale ribbons in the cold air.
[ Kaiden ]
"You look…"
"Different, tonight."
It wasn't said in that careless way boys sometimes throw out a compliment; it carried the quiet awe of someone who was genuinely seeing her anew.
Irna's lips curved, though they trembled faintly.
[ Irna ]
"And you look like you actually tried for once."
[ Kaiden ]
"Hehe..."
Kaiden gave a soft chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. The truth was, he had tried. Maybe more than he'd ever admit.
Silence hung for a beat — the comfortable kind, not heavy, but charged.
Then Kaiden's eyes dipped lower, narrowing. The lantern light shifted over her jawline, catching the faint yellowing of a bruise, the barely-healed scrape at the corner of her lip. His voice dropped.
[ Kaiden ]
"…Irna."
"What happened?"
"Are you hurt?"
She froze, instinct tugging her to turn her face away. But his gaze was steady, and his voice wasn't sharp — it was gentle, the kind of gentle that left no room for evasion.
[ Irna ]
"It's nothing."
"Just..."
"Some extra training."
[ Kaiden ]
"Training doesn't put that look in your eyes."
Her shoulders stiffened, breath frosting the air in short bursts. The truth sat like a stone in her throat.
[ Irna ]
"It was worth it..."
"I finally evolved my Guard."
Kaiden stepped closer, closing the space until she could feel the faint warmth radiating from him even in the winter chill. His hand hovered near her cheek — not touching yet, as if asking permission without words.
[ Kaiden ]
"You don't have to push yourself that far."
"To be honest..."
"Your Guard was always enough."
For a heartbeat, she thought she could answer, but the cold and the closeness tangled her words. She shook her head, a faint smile breaking through.
[ Irna ]
"Maybe I wasn't pushing it to you."
Kaiden's hand finally touched her cheek, feather-light but steady, the way you'd hold something you weren't sure would stay if you gripped too hard.
Somewhere upstream, someone released a fresh paper lantern; it drifted toward them, its flame steady and unafraid.
Kaiden nodded toward it.
[ Kaiden ]
"They say if you let one go on Moonfrost Eve, it carries your wish to the turning sky."
[ Irna ]
"And what would you wish for?"
[ Kaiden ]
"…For you to stop saying 'it's nothing.'"
Her lips parted — whether to argue or to thank him, she wasn't sure. But before she could speak, the lantern passed between them, the glow painting his face gold against the silvered night.
He looked at her one more time, and in that look, she felt something unspoken stretch out across the cold.
Fragile, like ice, but no less real.