Shades of Gray by Lisanne Norman

ability—though he knew his daughter hadn’t been invading his privacy.

Zhal-Arema, 4th day, (March) Winter’s Realm
    Kuushoi frowned in annoyance as she felt a warm breeze stir the blue-white draperies in her Viewing Hall.The distant sound of leaves soughing in a breeze gently filled the chamber.
    “Lady, Vartra comes,” said her dzinae Nefae, coming over to join her and bowing low. “It’s time.”
    “Ghyakulla’s Realm is close,” said Rojae, lounging against a pillar by the doorway.
    “I’m aware of that,” she said testily, swinging away from the huge ice crystal set in the center of the viewing table where she watched the many mortal worlds to face him. “We have a few days left. Why are you lounging in here, Rojae? You still have work to do!”
    Rojae flicked imaginary specks off his spotless white tunic before answering her. “The air is warming, Lady, as you can feel. There’s little I can do during daylight. I can only bring frost for you when dark falls.” His handsome face, with its soft gray pelt and pale blue eyes, was a study in polite boredom.
    “Insolent dzinae!” Kuushoi hissed, clutching her robes as she took a step toward him. “You sprites are getting above yourselves!”
    He straightened up, smiling provocatively. “Will you accompany me, tonight, Lady? Spreading frost over the land would help ease your loneliness tonight.”
    His tone was soft and persuasive, and for a moment Kuushoi considered it, but only for a moment. “Don’t try to distract me,” she said petulantly, turning away from him to Nefae. She hated this time of year when her reign on Shola was over except for the high mountain ranges, where she ruled perpetually. She hated more that Ghyakulla was calling for Vartra.
    “Are we ready, Nefae? Is Winter’s growth waiting for the first thaw?”
    “It is, Lady,” said her dzinae respectfully. “Even in the desert where no snows can reach, only Rojae’s frost, all is waiting for your sister.”
    Her lips thinned and her ears flicked sideways in anger. “There’s no need to remind me,” she snapped.
    Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside, and Vartra, dressed already in the subtle green robes of Spring, entered, followed by Gihaf.
    “I’ve been called,” he said awkwardly, stopping just inside the chamber.
    “I know you have! Do you think I’m deaf?”
    He remained silent, watching her.
    “One day, Vartra, you will have to choose between us,” she said, her voice brittle. “I know you’ll always have to serve your time with her, but you must choose which of us you love!”
    “I can’t,” he said, clasping his hands in front of him. “It’s no easy choice to give one who was once a mere mortal, Kuushoi. How can I choose between you? You are both Goddesses.”
    “Won’t, you mean,” she said spitefully.
    “We have this same conversation every year, Kuushoi. Why can’t you be content when I’m with you? You have a husband . . .”
    She laughed, her voice echoing off the ice walls. “L’Shoh? He’s a creature of reason and logic and rules! He has no fire in him!”
    “You chose him, took him when he was promised to Ghyakulla,” he said quietly.
    “I know what I did, thank you! Go to her, and be damned to you,” she said, turning her back on him angrily. “Ghyakulla, take him, but return him by morning!”
    “As you wish,” he said.
    She smelled the sweet scent of nung flowers as Ghyakulla’s realm opened up to let him walk through; then, as suddenly as they had come, the nung blossoms, warm breeze, and Vartra were gone.
    Gihaf was coming closer, she could smell its scent as it approached, so it was no surprise when it touched her on the arm.
    “Lady, you should rest,” it said in its soft voice. “Let me take you to your Spring rooms. I’ve made them ready for you.”
    Its hand stroked her arm gently, urging her to leave the Viewing Hall, and before she realized it, she was accompanying Gihaf down the corridor.
    “I know how tiring