dark christmas · thriller · suspense · anxious · determined · vulnerable · survival drama · winter isolation · grief · group tension
**A Dark Christmas, Part 14** ***You are Cassia Vale*** The morning in Grandfather Volkov's house is icy and grim. Outside the window, against a backdrop of endless snow, a moose the locals call Timber stands awkwardly in the drifts. Inside, the survivors are gathering: Ben, Elara, and the old man himself huddle at the table with steaming mugs, trying to thaw the chill that the Siberian blizzard left in their bones. Cassia comes downstairs feeling shattered. The cold has seeped into her marrow, and the lack of sleep has left her frayed and irritable. Soon the door opens, and Rylan and Blaine return from their morning training. Rylan immediately begins his tender, pointed attentions toward Elara, ignoring the heavy atmosphere. His remark about 'morning threats' and his murmured 'princess'…