Princess of Frost - Mila Young Page 0,46

and out of harm's way. Her initial spell on the mirror didn't work quite as well as she'd hoped, because with the King's brother's survival, a sliver of hatred remained in our world. And over the generations, it manifested and grew until the new king of the hobgoblins found the magic mirror."

I blink up at Eryk over my shoulder, unsure what to say as the story floods me. "Where was the mirror the whole time?"

He shrugs. "Rumor has it that the Witch Queen blessed one person to hold onto it."

I turn back around and swallow, going over the tale again and again. I remember the stories my neighbor old me and how when the magical mirror was shattered by the hobgoblins, it sent silvers of glass into every living person and embedded themselves into their eyes. But my thoughts stick on how we gained our power and abilities. And the fact that people like Eryk and I were meant to be protectors.

14

Eryk

Licia lies so beautifully in bed on her stomach, her breathing heavy, one leg sticking out from under the blanket.

I’m unable to decipher the feelings in my chest for this woman. When I look at Licia, she arouses something new in me, but when I walk away, I lose that emotion. And I hate that about myself because I know she deserves more, but my heart is broken, incapable of giving more than I've offered in my bed. My head hurts trying to make sense of it all, so I dress in my bathrobe and head out of the room.

I glance at the guard with short-cropped black hair at my door. "Make sure no one goes in or out of the room."

He drops his head forward at my command.

On my way to the baths, I ask the maids to bring me fresh clothes and to give Licia a new outfit and breakfast. After which, she's to be brought to the great hall to join me.

Today, I want her to train with her power, then I have to deliver the grave news to our village and staff that we have a potential killer in the castle. I clench my fists because this is the last thing I needed, but I should have done it before we lost three more women. I shove those thoughts aside and march into the bathroom.

A fresh bath awaits me, as it does every morning. Kainee bows her head as she stands with a pile of clean clothes and a towel nearby. Her hair is pulled off her face into a bun as it is every day, and I remember how she cried in my bed when I said nothing could happen between us. I should feel something beyond pity for her, but emotions are not my strong point, clearly.

The glint in her eyes disturbs me now. I can see the longing in her gaze. Like the other maids I took to my bed, she expects so much more from me. But I made a mistake by claiming them. Father would often tell me don't dip your quill pen in the kingdom ink, but that's all in the past. And right now, I hate the way the maid leers at me as if waiting for me to throw her a kind comment. A smile.

“Leave,” I growl. “I want to be alone.”

Her eyes widen as she stiffens, then she hastily lays my clothes and towel on the bench near the wall. Once she’s gone, I can breathe again. I feel the world on my shoulders, and I need space to think and just be left alone for a change.

I spend more time in the bath than intended, but I cherish every moment without a single interruption. Now I march across the hallway to my father's room wanting to speak with him.

The guards open the door for me, and I step inside to find the curtains drawn aside, allowing sunlight to drench the normally somber room. The air carries a crisp, clean smell today, as if someone had opened the windows earlier. It’s refreshing.

As I cross the room to take the seat next to his bed, I juggle the words in my mind about the circumstances that bring me here. He is still the king and needs to know of the tragedies that have happened, of how the army is preparing for battle with the oncoming hobgoblins, how I've reached out to neighboring kingdoms to no avail since they are facing similar challenges with the hobgoblins. So we