Princess of Frost - Mila Young Page 0,4
the kingdoms because of his cruelty.
My throat dries, and once they're gone, I dart along several corridors before I lunge into the kitchen. I shut the door and lean against it, my breaths racing. I can't stop picturing his eyes and how true the rumors are about the prince being so captivating.
I understand now why everyone talks about his handsome looks all the time. Why they speculate on why he hasn't selected a princess from a neighboring kingdom to rule by his side.
I clear my mind and look around to find I'm completely alone in the kitchen. When I glance over to the sink, the stack of plates to wash has doubled, and I sigh. I hurry over there to get this done so I can leave this place before the guards come and find me. For the first time, I want Warrick to return to the kitchen so I'm not alone. I reach down into the soapy water and wash my busted lip first. It stings. At least it’s no longer bleeding, but my eyes burn with the memory.
By the time I'm finished washing everything, my fingers resemble prunes. I take off my apron and hang it on one of the hooks along the back wall. Nearby are wooden cabinets, and from the bottom compartment, I grab my bag and coat. Dressed up to keep warm, I hurry across the room when the basket of unused bread grabs my attention. There are five loaves, and they are usually fed to the pigs and chickens.
All I have left for dinner is a small amount of vegetable soup to share with the two others who I live with, and bread would help fill us up. Before I think about it too much, I hurry across the room and grab a loaf, stuffing it into my bag.
Footsteps come from outside, and my heart hits the back of my throat. I lower my head and charge to the door just as Warrick walks in.
"You finished all the dishes?" he snaps.
I nod and hold my bag tightly under my arm. "All done." First thing in the morning, I’ll collect the trolley and dirty dishes from the stables before the guards wake up.
He steps into the kitchen, studying the clean sink. "Good night, Licia."
"Good night," I repeat and rush out. I check the door when I reach the end of the corridor, but he isn't coming after me, so he hasn’t noticed a loaf of bread missing.
Quickly, I make my way for the rear door when something hits the floor behind me with a thump. I spin around and find the bread, along with my tissues and house keys, on the floor. I lift my bag and find a great hole ripped open at the base.
The earlier panic rises through me as I look behind me, expecting Warrick to walk out any moment. I scramble to pick it all up and stuff it back inside. Holding the base with one hand, I keep it tucked against me and run out of the castle.
2
Eryk
"Are we finished?" my roar rebounds from the walls of the war room.
Everyone's attention shoots to me. Around the table sits the general of my army, advisor, spy master, trade master, seneschal, and others I don't have time for today. "We're going in circles. We all know the chaos we're facing."
"Your Highness," Tielo, the General of Strategic Planning, pleads. He clicks his fingers at the servant holding an armful of maps. "Let's move to tactics to mitigate the goblin attacks."
The young man in brown, leather breeches and a white tunic scrambles forward, juggling the rolled up maps of my land, then proceeds to open them to check which is which.
"Just a bit more of your time," Tielo implores as he pushes the loose gray hair falling over his brow.
I sigh heavily, tired of waiting. My second, Kade, clears his throat and I look across to where he sits next to me, his brow raising impatiently at my behavior.
If there's one person I trust, it's him. He's all I have left after my mother was killed by the goblins and my father fell gravely ill, barely holding onto life. Kade is the only person who has never steered me wrong. All the others that surround me are puppets, doing what they think I want as long as it advances them. Sometimes I'm so fucking exhausted of the politics and drama in this place, I want to walk out.
But there's a reason I stick it