The younger girl blinked but the tears kept coming. Her blue lips trembled.
“You have one month, Sevii,” Lannahi said, wishing to return to her chamber. “If I don’t hear an oath from you within a month, you will be banished from Goldfrost. Attack me again and it won’t end with exile.”
Lannahi moved toward the city gate without looking at Ashared. She knew that the man would cut Sevii free. That he would wrap her in his cloak and take her in his arms. That he would carry her somewhere warm.
That he would be her light in the dark.
Chapter 22
When Lannahi returned to the palace, Souhi handed her another letter from her mother.
Daughter,
Your letter brought us much relief, but the fae around us still pester us with questions we don’t know the answers to. Musicians, for example, are enraptured by the vision of the winter forests and ask if they can visit you. How shall we answer them? Do you think your new home is warm enough not to cause problems? Will their visit make you happy?
Asirri
Considering recent events, Lannahi wasn’t sure that inviting the enchanters from Goldenshadows, whom the landshapers might—rightly so—suspect of spying, was a good idea, but at the memory of the palace musicians in whose company she’d spent countless hours, longing washed the shores of her heart like a wave. She wanted to sing, dance, and laugh. She wanted to forget that she was a king’s daughter, a queen, or even a singer.
She wanted to have fun.
After weighing the pros and cons, she wrote back:
Mother,
I think the musicians will enjoy the winter forest and, more so, that I will enjoy their visit. If they wish to brighten my new home with their presence, I will be happy to host them, but I suggest that their first stay here should not last more than two days. Most of the fae seem honorable, but few smile here. Please advise the musicians to arm themselves with jokes and ask if their duties will allow them to travel on the fourth day of this week.
Lannahi
When Lannahi received her mother’s reply, she informed the landshapers of the upcoming visit. As expected, their reaction was far from enthusiastic, but the collar around Lizaar’s neck, which the woman had taken to hide under a high-necked shirt, effectively discouraged everyone from discussing it.
The musicians arrived via the morning Post Trail. Neilari and Tallahi, twins with faces of innocents and eyes that claimed the opposite, were accompanied by men devoid of such contrasts—Lemil was as sensual and Asal as sensitive as they looked. Lannahi sent Souhi and Erril after them with a sleigh and when they landed in the courtyard she was rewarded with broad smiles.
“We heard it was gloomy here,” Tallahi spoke up. “We came to help.”
“I think it’s a hopeless case,” Lannahi said with amusement, having caught the look Neilari threw at Kalahadd.
“Difficulties are like spices.” There was a challenging glint in Neilari’s eyes. “They add flavor to life.”
Lannahi chuckled. She genuinely doubted that the woman would succeed in seducing the guardsman, but she didn’t mind watching her try.
Because the day was short, after light refreshments and even lighter conversation oriented mainly on the palace’s decor and insignificant gossip from Goldenshadows, Lannahi invited her guests for a walk in the forest, where the sight of the giant trees left even the most talkative artists speechless. Since they were close to the city, and the shifter soldiers were scouring the area within the perimeter of a few rainbows, she wasn’t expecting trouble. When the silence was suddenly broken by a wolf’s howl, she was no less surprised than her guests. When the guards closest to her howled in response, unease squeezed her stomach.
“What does that mean?” Asal asked. Like the rest of the artists, he tried not to pay attention to the oversized wolves accompanying them.
Roshanak, a guard in the form of a red wolf, turned toward them.
Friend, she informed them with a throaty murmur.
“Then we can continue?” Lannahi asked, ensuring that her tone was steady.
When Roshanak nodded, Lannahi sent the enchanters a smile and took up the slow walk amongst the trees. The knot in stomach remained, but for another reason. She suspected who the friend Roshanak was talking about could be.
Three days had passed since granting Sevii a temporary pardon and Lannahi had hardly seen Ashared. She ate her evening meals in her chambers, and if they met fleetingly in the corridor, she nodded politely and moved past him. The man understood and made no attempt to speak to her.
Then if we were even, would you be able to trust me enough to let me get close to you?
This question hung between them like a thin spider web stretched between the trees. When Ashared had asked, she’d agreed, and some part of her felt disgusted at the thought that she was now acting as if she’d lied, but Lannahi couldn’t bring herself to break the silence between them. Ashared was the nephew of the king of Winterfort. He might not be his spy, he might not even feel a familial connection to him, but how could she be sure he wouldn’t act in his favor over hers? That he wouldn’t try to discover and exploit her weaknesses and influence her decisions as he had done in Sevii’s case? Letiri would be able to separate physical pleasure from other issues, but for Lannahi, it wasn’t so simple. If it was difficult to make a clear judgment now, she couldn’t count on it being any easier once she was in Ashared’s arms, could she?
