Odette shivered, pulling her cloak tighter as she walked through the snow-clad gardens. The chandeliers from the ballroom cast dazzling golden light on the frozen fountains and topiaries, shadows darting across the smooth lawns as the dancers whirled inside.

"I thought I'd find you here."

She jumped nearly a foot, her heeled boots skidding on the ice as she turned just in time to watch a shadow detach itself from a clump of drooping willows. Her breath frosted out in a sigh of relief when the light from a nearby window fell on a familiar face.

"Roth," she murmured. "Aren't you supposed to be inside?"

His lips quirked, one dark brow raising as he picked his way toward her. "Aren't you?"

Fair enough. It was, after all, her engagement party.

Odette turned back to the stars glittering overhead. She tensed as the volshe came near, the air suddenly thick with the smell of blood. "You've been casting," she murmured.

He tipped his head back, shoulder-length hair fluttering. "Testing," he replied vaguely. "You should answer my question, lebed'ya."

Odette's skin prickled at the strange current beneath his words. After a moment to prepare herself, she turned to face him. Her breath caught anyway, and she was painfully reminded of why it was best to avoid nighttime walks with the caster.

His dark hair was half up, neatly brushed and dramatically laced with silver beads and chains. His fair skin was milk-white, the crescent scars on his cheeks standing in sharp relief. But it was his eyes that were the most dangerous—gracefully curved and the palest blue.

She told herself she'd forgotten how his eyes turned silver in the starlight.

"It's...I wanted to see the snow," she finally answered. It was partly true. Already she was feeling homesick and she hadn't even left.

Roth gave her a sideways glance, then turned, the chains in his hair jingling. Light flashed on his rings as he lifted his hands to place them on her shoulders, turning her to face him head on. She met his eyes. The volshe gave her a small smile, sharp canines flashing.

"Tell me the truth, Odette." There it was again, that odd undercurrent in his voice.

He rarely used her name. She held very still for a moment. 

He began playing with the long diamond earring she was wearing on her left ear. Shivers that had nothing to do with the cold travelled down her spine. She opened her mouth, closed it, then sighed.

"You don't love him."

The words were like a dash of water in her face. Blunt, cruel, leaving her with an absolute inability to find a response.

Roth leaned closer. "You don't want to marry a man you know doesn't truly love you. Not like..." He cocked his head, measuring his next words. 

She put a hand on his chest. "Roth, stop."

"Why?" The question was plaintive. Curious. Like he truly didn't know.

Odette felt his heart beating beneath her palm, hard and fast. He was...trembling. She tilted her head back sharply, looking at him. His pupils were blown wide, darkness swallowing the light from above. The tips of his ears had blushed red, not just from the cold. He licked his lips, hand coming to hover over hers where it still rested on his chest.

"You dislike change, Roth. You always have." She let her hand drop. "I love him and he loves me."

"I love you."

Another dash of water to the face.

Odette closed her eyes, breathed. Opened her eyes again. He stood there still, her winter boy all wrapped in silver starlight.

"Yes," she said. "But that doesn't matter now."

"He doesn't love you, lebed'ya. Not like I do. His feelings are..." He shook his head, mouth twisting. "Are shallow. Insincere. He loves only your beauty. Nothing else."

Odette sighed, shoulders slumping. She had hoped their last conversation wouldn't be this. Before she could reply, he had grabbed her, pulling her into a tight embrace. The smell of blood intensified.

"I can prove it to you," he whispered, his breath hot and frantic at her ear. "I can prove he'll fall for another. He'll forget you in a matter of moments."

She closed her eyes, resisting the urge to lean against him. To stroke his hair and calm the storm beginning to brew. She stood in the circle of his arms, silent, until he loosened his hold enough for her to lean back and look him in the eye.

"You've always been a bit of a villain, Roth," she said gently. "You can't help it. It's simply your nature. But this will be a step too far."

The volshe went very still, his pale eyes wide. Wounded. 

Odette stood on her toes, brushing a kiss over one of his scars. "Goodbye, Roth. May we meet again."

"No." His arm snaked around her waist, his other hand hard on the back of her neck. Roth stared into her eyes, silver beginning to snap in his irises. A bloody tear leaked from the corner of his eye, more trailing from his nose. "I won't let him do this," the volshe hissed. "I won't let him steal you."

Then his mouth was on hers, making something inside tear loose.

Odette softened against him, lips parting beneath his, even as she knew she shouldn't give in to such temptation. He made a vicious, eager sound, pressing closer. She let him.

He began kissing her neck, his teeth sharp on the delicate skin over her pulse.

"R-Roth," she stammered, the stars overhead spinning as she struggled to regain her composure. As she struggled to tell him to stop.

"Please," he said against her throat. "Please, Odette. You can't love him."

Her heart ached at the lost quality of his voice. This boy all made of ice and darkness, more monster than anything. She knew he loved her. She also knew that love would consume her.

"I'm sorry," she said, because there was nothing else to offer.

His teeth were sharp on her neck, painful as he drew blood. She jerked away from him, hand clapped to her throat. Roth was panting, blood dripping down his chin, leaking from his eyes and nose. He spat the mouthful of her blood into his palm, dropping to his knees in the snow.

"I'm sorry," he growled as his magic began to snap in the air. Silver dust sparkled between them, miniature stars flaring as he bled. Wings ripped from his back, his teeth turning to fangs.

Odette took a step forward as a whimper of pain burst from him.

"I'm sorry, lebed'ya." The words were garbled around his teeth.

The magic was more than she'd ever experienced. Pain and pleasure and stars bursting to life in her veins, turning everything iridescent. In that moment, she saw the world as Roth must, everything vibrant, silver and purple and blue. Glorious and terrifying. She wanted it to end and never wanted it to stop.

Silver bound her, bright white freezing through her muscles as it caged her.

Blood reddened the snow around Roth. Gouts of it. Black feathers rained down as the magic twisted his form, shredding the human into something less so.

Odette wanted to scream. When she could manage it, the sound was the ringing call of a swan. Powerful wings beat at her sides. Horror rose in her. Then, understanding as she looked down and found a girl with her face wearing servant's clothes.

"Please," she cried. "Don't."

Roth looked up at her, his face blood-smeared, his eyes bright red, black wings flared behind him. He closed his eyes, letting the magic claim him, turning completely to the monster—an oversized, raptorial creature with bloodied, blackened feathers. Cruel, sharp talons tore the sullied snow as he flapped his wings, joining her in mid-air.

"Go," he growled, his voice reverberating, inhuman and deadly.

The girl with Odette's face scurried away, stars swirling around her, melting her clothes into red silk embroidered with black gems. 

Roth turned in the air, swooping under and around her, forcing her farther into the air. She wobbled on her new wings, Roth catching her when she began to fall. Pushing her toward one of the giant windows peering into the ballroom.

She didn't want to watch. She didn't want to watch but she couldn't help it as the false Odette stepped back into the ballroom, head slightly bowed, meek and quiet as a church mouse. 

Roth's magic held her aloft, his wings surrounding her, protecting her as she watched.

As she watched the man she'd grown up with, the man she thought knew everything about her, grab the imposter's hand, twirl her into his arms and kiss her. Whisper in her ear, smile as she answered, sweep her toward the dance floor.

How many times had they danced together? How many, since they were children? Seg didn't seem to notice the difference as they waltzed, the court murmuring and glittering around them.

Tears filled her eyes and she beat her wings hard, Roth letting out a startled hiss as she bumped into him. As she flew away from him, winging high into the cold air. Starlight pearled her white feathers, turning her into a beacon Roth could follow all too easily.

She flew over the castle walls, over the city lights, over the countryside. She flew until her heart was ready to burst from her chest and her wings were beginning to falter.

The lake was silver glass, a perfect reflection of the sky above. She soared down, the water a cold embrace as she landed, gliding across its surface. Tears blurred her vision as she cut across a sky full of stars, ripples making the night shimmer beneath her.

She heard as Roth splashed down, inelegant, clumsy.

Magic cracked, lifting her into the air. Ice suddenly sheened the lake, perfectly clear. Those silver chains and white threads of magic tore her back into shape, returning her body and setting her gently on the frozen surface of the water.

Odette collapsed, staring down into the black depths. Staring at the pinpricks of light trapped in the ice beneath her.

There was a thud, then a grunt. The sound of someone struggling to their feet. Odette only looked up when sharp talons gently scraped beneath her chin. His face was human, mostly. Small, downy feathers still clung to his cheeks, fading into his inky hair. His teeth were still sharp, his eyes silvered and weeping blood.

Quietly, she wiped at his face.

Roth grabbed her hands, cradling them in both of his. Leaning over, he kissed her fingers, his shoulders shaking.

"I'm sorry," he choked, blood splashing on her hands as it leaked from him. "I'm so sorry, lebed'ya."

The hardest part was she knew he actually meant it. As much as his betrayal stung, as much as his cruelty ripped teeth into her, as much as she hated him...she knew he was genuinely remorseful.

And that he thought he'd done the right thing, simply because he—in his own, monstrous way—loved her.

Odette looked up, her breath a shaky cloud as she exhaled. Stars were diamond-bright over them and below, turning the world to magic. Turning the world to his magic, beautiful and cold and pure as the light above.

She wondered if Roth's enchantment on the other girl still held, or if the magic had been stripped away, revealing the truth. She wondered how much time would pass before Seg would come looking and retribution would rain down on the volshe.

Her unruly mind conjured the image of Roth dressed all in white, his hair matted and tangled, his blood useless as it evaporated in the flames as he burned at the stake.

"We have to leave," she whispered, shudders making her words unsteady. She struggled to her feet, pulling Roth with her. "We need to find someplace safe until you recover your strength."

His fine clothes were torn at the back where his wings had burst through. He was covered in blood and white as a sheet, knees buckling as he tried to step toward her. Out of instinct, Odette caught him against her.

He was shivering, the blood loss taking its toll as the magic began to wear away. Closing her eyes, she swallowed hard.

That image of Roth burning, of Roth dying, returned. 

Battered and wounded as she was, she couldn't allow that. He was hers to do with as she pleased, and she would punish him for his transgression. But in due time.

For now, it was enough to stand there in his arms, surrounded by the light of magic and cold, winter stars. 

The light that had created her winter boy.

Word Count: 2,079

For Avadel Community's monthly contest. I've been playing with a Swan Lake retelling idea for a while and this month's contest gave me the perfect opportunity to try it out! Swan Lake is one of my favorite ballets and I always tend to watch it around this time of year, don't ask me why. Please let me know what you think and I can't wait to read what the other contestants have come up with this time!

As always, if you're looking for a short story competition, this is absolutely one of the best. Amazing, interesting prompts and truly thoughtful feedback for each and every contestant.