The quiet stillness of the late evening had finally settled over the grand palace guest wing, blanketing the bustling capital in a rare, peaceful hush. Inside her private chambers, Iryna sat near the ambient glow of the fireplace, the soft crackle of the fireplace offering a comforting warmth after another long day of exhausting royal pleasantries.

The heavy, gold-trimmed doors to her room creaked open slightly, and Gillian slipped inside. He scanned the room quickly, ensuring the palace servants and ever-watchful capital advisors had truly retired for the night before closing the doors behind him.

"I wanted to check in on you," Gillian said softly, walking over to join his sister by the fire. He looked at her quiet posture, his voice carrying a note of genuine care. "Tell me honestly, Iryna, do you have any regrets about coming with me here to Auzelian?"

Iryna looked up, a gentle, reassured smile instantly gracing her lips as she shook her head. "No, of course not. I don’t regret it at all. I had never been to this kingdom before anyway, and it really is a refreshing change of scenery. It’s quite fun to experience something completely new."

Gillian smiled, leaning his shoulder casually against the stone mantelpiece of the fireplace as he looked down at her. "Is that so? And what do you think of it so far?"

Iryna let out a soft, amused chuckle, her gaze drifting toward the dancing flames. "Well, to be completely honest, it’s great. It is not nearly as scary as I thought it would be. Back home, with all the wild rumors about them, I half-expected to see ferocious werewolves just wandering around the streets, picking fights at every corner."

Gillian burst into a warm, hearty chuckle at her vivid imagination. Reaching over, he affectionately ruffled his sister’s hair. While Gillian’s hair was a deep, striking shade of blue, Iryna’s long tresses were a much lighter, distinct ice-blue that caught the firelight in a soft, delicate way. "You shouldn’t believe every far-fetched tale the bards spin back in Solaric. They love to exaggerate for the sake of a good story."

"I see that now," Iryna replied, smoothing down her ruffled hair with a playful pout. "The people here really aren’t that bad. But then again, it’s probably because our kingdoms are actively on our way to achieving a lasting peace anyway. Everyone seems to be on their best behavior."

Gillian watched his sister for a moment, his expression turning slightly mischievous. "The capital people might be polite, but the political undercurrents here are thick. Tell me, are you not even a little bit afraid that someone might try to pull a fast one on us while we are away from home?"

Iryna lifted her chin, a sudden flash of playful defiance gleaming in her bright eyes. "Afraid? Of them? Please. If any of them dare to try anything funny against us, I won’t even waste my breath arguing. I’ll just use my elemental magic to freeze them solid right where they stand." She giggled, leaning forward with a conspiratorial grin. "Then, I’ll pack them up, take them back to Solaric, and give them to Tophie as a treat. A nice, oversized chew toy."

Gillian laughed out loud, the image of a pompous capital official turned into a frozen block for their beloved family dog entirely breaking the remaining tension in the room. "Well, thank god so far no one has been foolish enough to mess with you. I almost feel sorry for anyone who tries."

The laughter faded back into the quiet hum of the crackling fire.

"What did you think of Lord Philia?"

Iryna leaned her head back against her chair, her gaze drifting back to the dancing flames as she pondered the question. "The love story he shared earlier was quite amusing, I must admit. It certainly makes for a dramatic tale."

Gillian raised an eyebrow. " And what about the person who told it?"

Iryna’s smile shifted into something completely devoid of the polite warmth she had shown in the gazebo. "Not so much."

Smiling, He walked slowly across the room toward the grand balcony window. Stepping behind the heavy, sweeping velvet curtains, he prepared to look out at the moonlit capital skyline. Instead, his eyes caught a glint of beautifully refracted light resting right on the wooden sill.

He leaned closer, squinting at the small, intricate object. "Oh? What’s this little thing?"

Panic instantly struck Iryna. Her eyes widened, and she bolted across the room in a frantic, uncharacteristic rush, desperate to cover the object from his view. But she was a second too late. Gillian reached out, his fingers hovering just above the small, exquisitely detailed sculpture. It was a miniature wolf, crafted entirely out of pure, shimmering ice that didn’t seem to melt despite the warmth of the room. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Before Gillian could pick it up, Iryna threw her hands forward, firmly holding his wrists back. Her face had flushed a brilliant, burning crimson that clashed spectacularly with her light blue hair. "Don’t touch it!" she gasped, her voice laced with breathless panic. "You will melt it! Your fire will ruin the details!"

Gillian raised an eyebrow, a massive, knowing grin spreading across his face as he looked down at his flustered sister. He didn’t pull away, but he didn’t touch the sculpture either. "And so what if I do? You can always just make it again in a matter of seconds. Why are you acting so overly protective of a tiny trinket anyway? What do you even want with this?"

Iryna’s gaze darted away, completely unable to look her brother in the eye. She puffed her cheeks out to their absolute limit, her hands trembling slightly as she held his wrists away from her masterpiece. For a long moment, she stubbornly remained silent, but seeing Gillian’s unshakeable, teasing stare, she finally cracked.

"I... I want to give this to Duke Valtrane," she confessed in a tiny, incredibly shy voice, her cheeks puffing out even further. She looked down at her slippers, murmuring softly, "As a thanks gift. For saving me during the journey. It’s just proper manners."

Gillian let out a low, dramatic whistle, his eyes dancing with pure amusement. "A secret thank-you gift, huh? Well, isn’t it a little bit too stingy to make a single, tiny sculpture for the Duke? If it’s truly just about manners and expressing gratitude for our safe arrival, why make it only for Zarius and not the whole accompanying troop? Surely the other guards deserve a frozen token of your appreciation too."

Iryna snapped her head up, her face completely red as she let out an indignant huff, refusing to dignify his teasing question with an answer. She simply turned her back to him, shielding her precious ice wolf with her own body.

Watching her fiercely flustered, stubborn reaction, Gillian’s teasing smirk slowly softened into a deeply fond, proud smile. He stepped back out from behind the curtain, looking at his sister with a sudden, serious glint of respect in his eyes.

"Well, well," Gillian murmured, his voice carrying a heavy, meaningful weight as he looked out toward the dark expanse of the capital city. "It seems like there is at least one in Auzelian that you have grown to really like."

He paused briefly, then gave a smile.

"Because I do too."