Page 6 of Of Snow and Sapphire

“You are not fooling anyone with that lie.”

“You want the truth?”

“We have always been honest with each other, Zimyn.” Something about her response seemed accusatory, but he continued because they did prefer honesty, even if he was a liar. Guilt coated his stomach at keeping the truth from her, but he knew it was best that she didn’t know that he would leave. He couldn’t distract her from successfully accomplishing her Undertaking with such an admission.

“I lost a game of cards to my guards. My losing hand earned me a chug of five drinks in under five minutes.” It had taken all his effort to not vomit the contents back up. Waking up this morning had been even harder.

“Ah. A very proper way to spend the night, I am sure.”

He rubbed his temple. “Proper would not be the way I’d put it.”

“And if the castle had been attacked?” she challenged. “How would my drunk Captain of the Guard protect me then?”

He knew it to be a joke, a taunt. They played with each other that way. Throwing their position at each other, a way to tease each other. Zimyn also guessed they used it to keep each other in line. Today, her teasing didn’t hit the same.

“We haven’t been attacked in centuries.”

“Not the point,” she shot back as she stabbed her fork tongs through a piece of sausage.

If she wanted to play, then he could, too. He stepped away from his station at the dining room door and walked closer, one foot in front of the other, not a blip off balance. “Then I would splash some cold water on my face and drag myself to you no matter how much my body fought against it.” His voice lowered, turning rougher. “I’d cut down anyone in my way, ripping each icy scale off my body and throwing them at the enemy until I was just flesh, again, to save you. I’d show everyone in my path exactly why I earned the title of your Captain of the Guard. Then I’d have you freeze their blood as trophies so it would serve as a reminder to everyone roaming these halls of what we are capable of.”

He was now directly on the opposite side of the table, his hands pressing hard into the metal, the cold biting his skin. Ludelle stared him down. Even though she was sitting and he was standing, she still held dominance. A true Queen holding court. Except for the tinge of blue blush on her face.

“Good,” she said simply, going back to her breakfast, but he could tell that his words had rattled her. He meant every syllable. He would fight to the death to ensure her safety. She was his to protect, and no marriage, no distance between them, would ever change that. He would always have ears on the inside of the castle ensuring it.

“Glad we could clear that up.”

“I take it you’re too tired for our training today, then?”

He laughed. “Now you’re just looking for excuses. I am perfectly capable of commanding you around for an hour.”

She grumbled, but didn’t let her annoyance show any further. Ludelle hated training with him just as much as she hated having to choose a husband. Every time she prayed to the Weather Gods, she informed him that she begged for a challenge of the mind as her Undertaking instead of a physical one.

He hoped it, too. That’s where her strengths were. She could run circles around others in any mental game, but a fight of strength would be her doom if she didn’t train for it. Hence the almost-daily training with him. She needed to be equipped to use any weapon: her fists, her surroundings, and anything in between.

She had improved greatly in the years that he’d taken her under his wing, but one could never be over-prepared in these matters. So he pushed her and she let him because she understood the importance of it.

“You have always liked being in control,” she said, her tone turning sultry. Or maybe he was just imagining it, the alcohol still in his head, but the way her eyes had narrowed and honed in on his body made it tighten. “Bossing people around.”

“It makes me good at my job,” he choked out, trying to calm his racing heart.

She hummed. “But what will people think of me when they hear that you ordered around a Queen?”

“The people wouldn’t believe it.”

“Oh?” Her brow arched.

He wouldn’t say it, even if she was goading him. The court knew that she had him wrapped around her sharp fingers, those claws latched onto him years ago. Rumors spread about how deep their relationship ran. He worked overtime to quell them, but Ludelle wasn’t oblivious.

“You should finish your breakfast.” He cleared his throat. They needed to end this before they went too far. “Balvan is waiting for you.”

He could have sworn her shoulders deflated a bit, but she quickly recovered, her disappointment gone in a flash. Her lips tightened and back straightened, her cold front back on.

He opened the door for her, and she didn’t hesitate as she passed through, but the smell of winter honeysuckle and pine lingered in her absence.

Four

“You must be excited,” Liatris said cheerily. Her pale skin, though not as white as Ludelle’s, turned flush with glee. Kotyn shook awake from her spot near the window, yawning and showing her sharp teeth in protest of the disturbance to her slumber. Ludelle liked to think that Kotyn learned that maneuver from her.