Even though Cassandra had assured him that her and John's absence was only temporarily, Gerrit had long stopped believing that either of them would return to Sacramento.
They'd called each other friends, family even. They had sworn to always stick together and have each others back. They had shared their hopes and traumas, ensured each other that they were not alone in this.


Well the stark reality of things had proven him otherwise. They had abandoned him, and despite the Ice Law teaching Winter Courtiers to prepare their goodbyes, his motley mates didn't have the courtesy to fill him in on their plans.
What was worse: it weren't just Cassandra and John who left him. Vivian, Colonel Worm.. they were all further examples of Sacramento just not working out for the Stonebones.


That made him wonder: was staying here the right call? Or was he supposed to take what he had learned here - all the painful lessons and disappointments, all the things he'd experienced and suffered - and try his luck somewhere else? He certainly wasn't the same man he was two years ago. Maybe there was merit to the idea.


Gerrit thought of those he would leave behind. His mantle cracked and heightened the contrasts around him, a biting cold snap made his skin burn. Contacting anyone and talk about his decision would only complicate things.


Once again, Gerrit learned another nuance of the Ice Law: those goodbyes that needed to be prepared? They weren't for anyone else - that was something only he had to accept. And once he grasped that thought everything else came easily.