Off the Ice
There were no contrails in the sky, no hum of traffic, no human footprint visible anywhere across the blinding white expanse.
It was a sheet of ice larger than any stadium rink in the world, stretching out into the wilderness without a single judge, a single camera, or a single spectator in sight.
Liam leaned his forearms against the wooden sill, breathing deeply, letting the cold air fill his lungs. He felt a sudden, strange lightness in his chest—not the hollow ache of loss, but the expansion of space where anxiety used to live.
"You're going to freeze your lungs out, pixie."