Kiss Of Snow - Elizabeth Briggs

One

Lily

Heavy was the head that wore the crown, but I had no choice but to bear the weight. I’d been groomed to be queen of Talador from the moment I was born. They’d even named me after my grandmother, Queen Lily, a wise and just monarch. I’d always known my fate was to rule. I just never expected the day to come so quickly.

Father had been buried three months ago, and soon I would be crowned in his place. I’d delayed the moment as long as I could to give myself some time to grieve, but the kingdom needed a leader, and the day was fast approaching.

In a few weeks, I would be queen.

I took off the silver crown and set it down on my dresser. My fingers trembled slightly as I pushed my dark brown hair back into the elaborate style my lady’s maid had fashioned, something she seemed to think befitted the new ruler of Talador. I didn’t recognize my face as it looked back at me from the mirror. It was paler than usual, almost translucent, as if I could see every thought, every feeling, every worry.

The room seemed to close in, the air thick and heavy, and heat suffused me. I glanced out of the window with its thick glass panes at the frosted scene outside.

Air. I needed air.

I drew my thickest cloak from the wardrobe, the blue one with the ruby red trim, and threw it over my shoulders before tying the ribbon in a bow at my neck. There was something comforting about the weight, as though it helped to hold me together before anxiety fractured me apart.

My head ached, throbbing in time with every step I took toward the door. A draft crept through the wide gap at the bottom, and I pictured Keane waiting just outside, against the same wall where he stood every day to guard me.

As I left my bedroom, he fell silently into step behind me. He didn’t ask where I was going, but then, he never did. Always mere steps behind me. Always quiet and steadfast. I drew confidence from his presence as I walked through the corridors of Winton Castle.

My castle. Even though I kept expecting to hear my father’s voice booming through the building as he decreed something new or berated an unfortunate servant or one of my sisters. In the past that would have been Rose, but she was gone now too.

I hadn’t seen any of my sisters all morning—not even Iris, who usually bounced along in a bright dress clashing with her vivid red hair. I suspected they were all keeping busy or were still asleep. I woke early these days.

Keane and I walked through the white stone corridors of the castle. I didn’t know where I wanted to go—just that the castle suddenly felt too small and confining.

I automatically pulled my hood up over my head as we left the castle grounds and walked into the forest, where the ground between the trees was mostly snow-free and dry. The snow couldn’t always permeate the thick evergreen trees that rose above us as their fresh scent permeated the air. I breathed in deeply, glad of the familiarity. This forest had been here before I was born and it would remain long after I died.

My anxiety calmed a little, and I focused on the soft sounds of the forest, the twigs snapping under foot and the usual crackling noises the snow made as it shifted on the branches. But the snow also muted things, preserving me in a world alone.

Well, alone aside from Keane, my constant companion and tireless protector. He’d been raised his whole life for his role as Captain of the Guard, inheriting it from his father just as I inherited my new role from mine.

“Keane?” My voice was quiet yet strangely loud in the forest.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” he asked in his low, serious voice.

I shook my head as I continued walking. “We’ve known each other a long time, Keane. Away from the castle, may I just be Lily?”

“I…” He hesitated. Even his footsteps halted before he quickened his stride to catch up with me.

I yearned to be something other than Your Majesty, but I didn’t want Keane to feel uncomfortable at my request. Perhaps I’d been too forward. I waved a hand. “Ignore me. I’m simply feeling anxious. About the coronation, about the future.”

He remained quiet, but it was his thinking quiet, the one he used when he was considering something. I could