Page 34 of Court of Winter
But my pleas didn’t stop even when my parents’ vacant eyes gazed skyward from the cold stone floor.
“Please, don’t let it be true. Please, no.”
“Shh,” a deep voice whispered in my ear. Strong arms lifted me from the cold floor, then I was moving out of the throne room as the scent of cedar and snow drifted around me.
“But they’re dead. They can’t be dead.” Another sob shook my chest, and the strong arms slowly lowered me.
Then I was lying on a cloud of warmth as softness settled over my skin, and a hard and heated slab nestled against my back.
I cried harder as the throne room around me faded, and then all I felt was warmth, a slight stroking of fingers untangling the hair from my face, and a deep voice that shushed me to sleep.
* * *
My eyes fluttered openwhen a knocking sound roused me, but I wanted to keep sleeping and stay buried in the mountain of warmth that encased me.
I snuggled deeper into the bed, loving the feel of the soft mattress and the thick covers keeping me warm. This was heaven. A true luxury. Like no bed I’d ever slept in before.
Wait. A bed?
My eyes flew open.
I bolted upright in an actualbedjust as a knock came again. A young female was calling through the door, telling me that it was time to get dressed.
All I could do was stare at the sea of pillows, sheets, and thick soft blankets surrounding me.
I was in the prince’s bed, when I specifically remembered going to sleep on the floor. My attention snapped to where Prince Norivun had slept.
He was gone. The bed was entirely empty save me. I reached a hand across the mattress. Cold sheets slid beneath my fingers.
“Thank the Mother,” I whispered. I must have crept into the bed after he’d left, probably when I’d grown too frigid on the hard floor.
“Lady Seary!” the female outside of the room called again when I continued to sit there.
“I’m up!” I finally called. “And I don’t need assistance. I’ll get dressed!”
Another knock came. “Apologies, but the prince insists.”
I grumbled as I rubbed my eyes, and then a flash of a dream came to me. My parents. The Winter Court. Strong arms around me.
I frowned as the knocking resumed. “Please, he said I must assist you.”
The foggy dream vanished as I processed her words. Reluctantly, I pushed the covers back, then padded to the door and opened it. A young timid-looking female stood in the hallway beside Haxil. The guard gave me a nod, a slight smile curving his lips.
I returned the greeting, then shifted my attention back to the young servant. She was probably less than twenty winters, and she bobbed her head multiple times as she held out an armload of folded clothing. “These are for you. I’m to help you change into them.”
My confusion grew as I stared at her, then I looked to Haxil for answers, but he just shrugged.
“But I have my own clothes.” I opened the door wider to let the girl inside, then shut it behind us.
She didn’t waste any time smoothing the rumpled bedsheets before holding out her hands to assist me out of the sleepwear Milis had provided. “I’m afraid you can’t wear your own clothing.”
“Why not?”
She wouldn’t meet my gaze as she lifted my shirt. “I’m sorry, my lady. The prince said we were to burn them, not wash them.”
My hair—still silver from the prince’s illusion—brushed my shoulders when I spun to face her. “He did? And is that what was done? They’re gone?”
The young servant’s eyes widened. “Yes, ‘tis correct. I’m very sorry. I was simply following orders. The prince gave me your clothing this morning and said to destroy it.”