The snow had fallen thicker than usual this year, blanketing the rooftops in white and wrapping the Emberfang territory in a cold hush.
It was Lunar Solstice Eve. Everything felt warm and cosy inside. It was perfect.
For the first time, I wasn’t in the kitchen peeling potatoes or scrubbing silverware till my fingers cracked. For a change, I was up here, with Liam and Levi. My mates refused to let me lift a finger.
“You’re not a maid anymore,” Liam had whispered, stealing a kiss from my lips as I tried to polish the hallway vases.
So, I stopped working. I stopped being a maid. I was now their mate and I wanted to do something special for them.
I sat cross-legged on the floor of my bedroom, a faded shoebox of savings scattered in front of me. Coins. A few crumpled bills. Tips from past part-time work. I bit my lip, counting them again. Not much, but maybe enough.
