Nasya's POV
"Matilda! Toss me the rope!"
Matilda held the rope between her teeth, shaking her head from side to side before flinging it toward me. I caught it midair and immediately began tying up the freshly chopped branches.
The frigid air stung my nostrils, and my hands had turned stiff and red from the winter cold. I exhaled sharply, watching my breath form a white cloud in front of me, then quickened my movements.
I need to hurry home, or Orion will go hungry.
"Honestly, you never should've picked up that brat in the first place. Then we wouldn't have to be out here chopping wood in the dead of winter," Matilda grumbled, her voice laced with irritation as she gripped the sled's rope between her teeth.
I couldn't help but smile at her antics. Matilda was always like this—sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. No matter how much she complained about Orion, she still came out here with me to gather firewood, and she hadn't even let me pull the sled.
