Ardin Snowveil's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Ardin Snowveil walked the cold path toward the storehouse with his tool roll under one arm. He fixed clocks for a living, and he kept people at arm's length the same way. But lately one woman watched him like she had already solved him, and he wanted, for once, to prove there was warmth under his quiet hands. He found Mira alone outside the squat stone building. She had built a bone-framed windbreak with woven hide panels to block the wind. A tall birch post stood near it, strung with bright fur pennants that snapped in the cold air. Beyond that, a driftwood arch carved with seals held her stitched panels in plain sight, every compass mark and signature stitch turned outward for anyone to read. "I'm not leaving," Mira said, before he spoke. "Not until the marshal seals it back to me." Ardin set down his tools. He had nothing here to fix. Instead he pulled a small fur pennant from his coat, one he had cut and hemmed himself on the walk over, and tied it to her post beside the others. He sat down against the windbreak. "Then I'll wait with you," he said. Mira looked at him a long moment, and for the first time her certain gaze flickered into something unfinished.