“The Yesters’ territory is at the edge of winter’s north,” he said, daring to still brush her soft hair as he spoke. “What do you think will be there at the end of winter region’s north?”

“I don’t know,” Ilyin said, cocking her head thoughtfully. She had never thought of what would be at the end of the territory. The sea, she imagined – what else could there be at the edge of a continent? But was there more? His tone made her wonder – what more lay at the end of Biflten’s territory?

“Let’s go there together, and see,” he said, and kissed her neck. “January is coming, and the weather will get better quickly.”

Better, but not like the warm region, she thought.

Aden’s hand glided through Ilyin’s hair, then slowly moved downward, along her cheek, her neck, and down to her shoulder. As it slid over the curve of her shoulder, his fingertips caught in the fabric of her chemise and slid it down onto her upper arm. He set his hand flat upon her skin, rubbing the bare shoulder gently so it didn’t get cold. Ilyin brought up her own hand and set it on his.

“Bad hand, again,” she said.  Aden responded by braving another kiss on her cheek, then pulled his hand away again, looking unsatisfied.

“Fine,” he sighed. “Then tell me a story.”

“First . . .,” she said, trapping his hand that had been moving freely upon the shoulder and bringing it to her heart. “I remember that Yesters and Molly combined their forces.”

Aden felt her heart thumping hard under his hand. Just why are you so nervous, he thought. Are you excited and flustered for the same reasons I am? His breath caught for a moment before he could answer.

“Yes, correct.”

Ilyin continued to stroke the back of his hand as she spoke.

“From what I know now, only Yesters can move quickly with the northern wind.”

“Yes,” he said. With his free hand he drew a finger along the edge of her ear. She had it all correct, as he had imagined she would, his lovely person. She laughed softly at the tickle of his touch, then continued.

“The Yesters lost their main army as well as their reinforcement. Their remaining forces must be small. As it stands, if we hit the Yesters’ base now, they would run rather than fight.”

Especially when the house attacking them was Delrose, a source of terror to the different monsters of the winter region. Or more precisely, Aden de Biflten, Master of Winter, was a source of terror. The Duke with a power stronger than the Duke of any other generation, stronger than all of them combined. The monsters had no choice but to fear Delrose when he was leading them.

“They’ll run if they don’t want to be extinct,” Aden interjected.

Monsters in the warm region were senseless, mere beasts. Those of the winter region, however, they most definitely had logic and intelligence. They knew when to fight, and when to run.

“The Molly can’t keep up with them, and only they will be left,” she said. “The Molly were also almost extinct. They probably allied with the Yesters for a chance to increase their numbers.”

Which meant it was likely that all the Molly were in the Yesters’ base. There was nowhere else they could be – the Yesters had no other strongholds.

“So, what you’re aiming for at least,” she said, fixing Aden with her eyes, “are Molly, not Yesters.”

And there was the answer. Aden stretched out his arm, pretending to fix the pillow she was leaning upon, and instead leaning against her and kissing her quickly.

The faint lamplight hid her face. Aden stretched out his hand and darkened it a bit more. But even with the light gone, Ilyin’s silver hair and twinkling eyes shone.

“As you guessed,” he said, and leaned in to kiss her again, longer this time.

Ilyin felt warmth rush into her lips. Aden’s lips massaged hers, and he held her close for a long time, floating in a dark space with only the two of them. When he finally pulled away, he spoke softly in the darkness.

“There are many places that are bloody in winter,” he said. It was a land full of blood and battles, and Aden was sorry that Ilyin had found herself in such an ill-fitting place.

But I want you to love this place . . . and love me. I don’t want you to leave. Rather I want to be the reason you don’t want to leave.

So, I will give you the whole and beautiful winter region. It will be my gift to you, my gift to give as the Duke of winter.

“But the places untouched by either humans or monsters are beautiful,” he continued, “The end of north is like that.”

He lay her down on the bed, his voice barely a whisper.

“And the first person to enjoy that beautiful place will be you.”