Chapter 1

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The winter air was a frigid monster chewing at my sleeve. I stood at the platform, hands buried deep in the pockets of my coat, and wished that I'd had the foresight to bring gloves – maybe even a scarf or two. The snowflakes were dancing a chilly journey from the sky enroute the ground, many taking a detour and ending up on my eyelashes and in my hair. I shook my head in a failed attempt to dislodge them, mentally cursing open-air train stations. Then I remembered Nik was the reason I was here this cold winter's night and cursed him instead.

"It's so cold," Lux whined, giving voice to the single thought in all of our heads. She was huddled behind Ansel, using him as a barrier against the wind. All things considered, she should have been the warmest out of the five of us. She was all decked out in her fur coat, the hood pulled low over her eyes and complete with earmuffs, a thick long scarf, mittens and fur-lined boots. I could barely see her face – her ensemble had all but swallowed her up. With her short stature, she looked somewhat like a mummified dwarf.

"Where the hell is that train?" Ansel groused, not for the first time. He was stamping lightly on the ground, probably in an attempt to dispel the numbness of his feet. I knew how he felt – we were both wearing Converse shoes and I could no longer feel my toes. I chanced a glance at the digital signboard anchored to the ceiling jutting out above, covering half of the platform – the half we were not standing in. The scrolling words above the train details announced that the train had been delayed for yet another five minutes.

"This is ridiculous," Nadine muttered from her position from the bench directly behind me. She was sitting with her knees drawn up, trying to preserve body heat. "It's been, what, an hour? How many five-minute delays are there going to be?"

I did a 360-degree turn on the spot, looking at all of them in turn – including Wolf, who was standing silently beside the vending machine a little distance away from the rest of us. "Maybe I should go," I finally said.

Nadine jumped up, glaring fiercely. "Don't be so selfish!"

I stabbed my hands deeper into my pockets, glaring back.

Ansel stepped in between us. "Hey."

Nadine's lip curled, before she plonked back onto the bench. She crossed her arms and shifted her glare to encompass Ansel as well. "Of course you'd stick up for her."

The tick at Ansel's jaw revealed his annoyance, but his tone was calm. "That's not the issue here, okay?"

"Would you guys stop?" Lux cried out in exasperation. The hood of her coat had slipped lower over her eyes and she pushed it back up irritably. Now some of her golden curls were visible in the dim light. "This isn't about your problems with each other, okay? We're here for Nik. He's finally coming home and we're going to welcome him back. All of us." She shot me a little glare. I turned away, clenching my jaw.

A silence descended. Lux shifted slightly, positioning herself behind Ansel again. I moved away until I was halfway between Nadine and where Wolf was standing apart from everyone else. A man of few words, Wolf was. He'd always been the quietest, even back then when everything had been fine and dandy. And over the last four years, since Nik had been gone, his reticence had increased in proportion to our problems. He was smart – he'd stayed out of all the drama. I wished I could've been like him, but that had been impossible. I'd been the instigator of the aforementioned drama, after all.

I leaned against the pillar, keeping my eyes glued to the sign. The rest of the group seemed to have the same idea in mind, since nobody said a word more. Time ticked past on the large clock hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the station, until the rattling noise of metal against metal declared that the train had finally arrived.

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