Champion of Fire & Ice - Megan Derr Page 0,24

woman who'd delivered the peregrine, Lady Aliara. She was beautiful enough she stood out in a castle filled with beautiful people. She had a sturdy body, the sort that lent itself well to combat, carrying the weight of armor. Her skin was a warm, yellow-toned brown, with freckles across her cheeks and broad nose that added a winsomeness to her stern demeanor. In another life, she might have been a general or queen. Her black hair was woven into several medium-sized braids that were then pulled back into an intricate knot, secured with an ornate gold hairpin decorated with rubies that matched her scarlet gown and the chatelaine affixed to her girdle. "Good afternoon, my lord."

"My lady."

She smiled faintly and motioned for him to follow. Bemused, he climbed the steep step up into what proved to be a narrow hallway, lit only by the light spilling from the room at the far end. As she closed the door to the receiving room, it grew darker still. Probably for the best he could see next to nothing, given his strong aversion to the sorts of things that liked to creepy around in dark, damp places.

He shuddered as what was unmistakably a spiderweb brushed his cheek and frantically brushed it and any possible spiders away. Ahead of him, Aliara walked in a way that said spiders were of no concern. Davrin was envious.

Though the tunnel was short, it felt like they walked for ages, until they spilled out of a door that proved to be hidden by a tapestry this time. From there, she led him through what seemed to be the front room of Korena's private chambers to a small, private library, though currently it was overtaken by the embroidery project she and probably several others were working on, a vibrant blue gown clearly intended for some formal occasion.

Aliara took her seat and resumed her work as Korena set her own section of the gown aside. Her eyes fell to Davrin's hands, uncovered and clear of his cloak. Looking up, she smiled, warm and bright and unmistakably relieved. "Good afternoon, dear fiancé. I've just received news you've been wanting to hear."

"Cimar and his squire are all right then?"

She rose and crossed over to him, taking one of his hands and wrapping it reassuringly in her own. "Yes. Your champion is none to be trifled with—we already knew that, but he's set to become legend. According to the lad who came bearing the message, they will be here by nightfall, weather permitting, along with a cart carrying the lindworm's skin."

"What!"

Korena laughed and let go of his hand.

"That is precisely what Her Highness said when the messenger first told us."

Korena shot Aliara a playfully reprimanding look. "You stop it."

Aliara grinned before turning her focus back to her sewing.

"Walk with me?" Korena asked.

"My honor," Davrin replied, and offered his arm.

She led him out of the library and out a door to what proved to be her private garden, covered in expensive glass and kept warm so herbs and other necessaries could be grown throughout the year. She could have easily filled it with roses and other indulgent plants to enjoy, but he wasn't surprised she instead put it to practical use. Korena had always put others before herself, the very opposite of her father.

Even in looks, they were disparate, for Korena had gotten all of hers from her mother: the light brown skin and dark, red-brown hair bound in twin plaits pinned up in knots, and the full, generous figure that men loved to speak crudely of when they thought no one of importance could overhear them, along with all the ways they'd love to 'make a real woman' of her.

Davrin had always kept his mouth tactfully shut, but the sudden realization that as prince consort he could finally put them in their place was delightful.

They came to a stop near a worktable, where someone had recently been cutting and bundling herbs and turning others into powder or paste. She let go of his arm and turned to face him. "What decided you?"

"Well, it's hard to complain about being offered such a position," he replied wryly. "More sincerely, it seemed like the right thing to do. You enumerated the reasons. Even after much careful contemplation, I can find no flaw. If you trust me to be your prince consort, then I am happy to be so, or at least try my very best."

She smiled, that warm, bright smile again that showed something—much—of the person