The living room had never been particularly large, but it suddenly seemed tiny beneath the bodies that had gathered and the two small mountains of brightly wrapped gifts. Clarke and Cyrus sat on the couch. Clarke was all but bouncing, sporting a grin so wide that the Chesire cat would have tipped his head in respect, and Cyrus was sprawled out, his eyes closed. They cracked as we entered, the minty green of them flickering over us. They settled on Sterling, before he offered us all a small smile.

Ember's presents had been wrapped in shiny blue snowman paper, stacked beside the fireplace. Axe was already sat there, Ember in...