In a land of hulking fae males and females, Lunara Mistwhisper was considered a bit of a runt. She stood at least a head taller than the shortest fae in her village, but tonight she meant to win a seat at the Winter Court. She had spent a year practicing for the frost gala. She would dance among nobles twice her height and prove a small fae could outshine them all. She smoothed her pale blue cloak and stepped through the crowd of towering courtiers. Then a broad-shouldered noble laughed above her. "Careful, everyone. Don't step on the little one." He held a wine cup and looked down at her like a bug on the floor. "Did a doll wander in from a child's shelf?" The hall laughed with him. A few courtiers pointed. Lunara felt her face burn. She knew the rule of this court well. An insult left unanswered marked you forever. If she stayed silent, every noble here would treat her as a joke, and no seat would ever open for her. Her ferret shifted on her shoulder. His white fur caught the candlelight and threw tiny sparks of color across the marble. His blush-pink eyes fixed on the noble's cup. Lunara knew that look. It meant mischief. She made her plan in a breath. She could not shout the noble down. She could not match his size. But she could make the whole room laugh at him instead of her. "You're right, my lord," Lunara called up, sweet and clear. "I am small. Small enough to reach places you never could." She snapped her fingers. The ferret leapt. He ran down her arm, sprang to the noble's sleeve, and darted up to his tall collar. In a blink the little creature snatched something bright from the man's lapel and dropped it into Lunara's open palm. It was a frost-kissed bloom, its crystal petals shining with pale blue light. The noble had worn it as his badge of rank. The noble grabbed at his empty collar. His face went red. "Give that back, you—" "You didn't even feel me take it," Lunara said. She held the icy bloom high so all could see. "Perhaps the little one belongs at this court after all." The hall roared. This time the laughter fell on the noble. Courtiers who had pointed at Lunara now turned their backs on him. He snatched his bloom from her hand and pushed through the crowd, gone. Lunara let out a slow breath. The ferret curled around her neck, pleased with himself. She had answered the insult. No one would call her a joke now. But a hush spread near the tall doors. An older woman in silver had watched the whole trick. She wore the crest of the Winter Court itself. She studied Lunara with sharp, unsmiling eyes. "Clever," the woman said. "But cleverness humiliated one of my sponsors tonight. If you want his seat, little fae, you will earn it before me. Come."