“Like them? I bleedinglovemine,” Caelo said.
“And which is yours?” I teased and held the package out to him, offering him the first choice.
“This one.” He plucked one off the wrappings, eyes alight. “Thank you, King Tholin and Queen Deseana.”
The royals smiled at him, and after giving her own thanks, I offered the next choice of blade to Anna. Neve plucked up the third dagger, and I took the last, slipping it through my sword belt.
“I’ll treasure this blade, always,” I said to the royals as I bowed.
King Tholin stepped forward. “I have something else for Princess Neve. Might I present it in private?”
The others, save for the Queen of Dergia, left and continued preparations. I remained with my mate, which the king did not question. He raised a hand and a servant who had to have been waiting at the gate came running our way, a wrapped item in hand.
The servant presented the item, and King Tholin unwrapped it to reveal a small, silver mirror with a short handle glinted in the light of nearby torches.
“This,” King Tholin passed the mirror to Neve, “is a special piece. Dwarven kings once used mirrors like these to communicate with each other, but since the four kingdoms are no longer, I have acquired two extra mirrors. I’d like to present you with this mirror.”
Neve’s violet eyes widened.
“You need only speak my name into it, and my mirror will activate. Unless I hear otherwise from you, I will keep it nearby.”
“Thank you, King Tholin, but I’m not sure I can accept such a valuable item steeped in the history of your people.”
“You can, and you should,” the king replied. “For if you’re in danger, you’ll need a way to get in touch, will you not?”
His question shook me to my core. My mate had not yet claimed her birthright publicly. Nor had I pushed her to do so. She struggled with the idea—with the repercussions. With the loss of what could have been her first days of true freedom, a life where no one expected much of you, balanced against helping all those of the realm.
And war, for once word spread that a trueborn Falk was alive and wished to challenge the king, blood would stain the snow of the realm.
That blood would be noble and commonborn alike, though it was often the commoners who suffered most when high houses fought. As Neve was nothing if not a fae of the people, she hesitated, which I suspected only caused her more pain because she understood that her hesitation was in turn causing all of Winter’s Realm to—the lands and the people—to suffer.
Neve cleared her throat. “I fear asking too much of you, especially after all this kindness.”
The king’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “I knew upon meeting you that you were different from other rulers. They would not have cared for humans as you do, aswedo. The way you were loyal to them, is the same way we dwarves willbe loyal to you, and you should never underestimate dwarven loyalty, Princess Neve. It’s stronger than the bones of the earth and stretches beyond the soil and rock of this realm.”
My mate sniffed. “I’ve not spent a lot of time with your people, but I do understand that much. Still, you are quite far from the places I may eventually be fighting.”
The king took her free hand in his, softly, like a father figure, and stared my mate in the eyes. “I will employ any means necessary to help an ally.”
There was that word again, straight from the king’s lips.Ally.He’d not spoken the word since we’d supped the first night, but the king had not forgotten that he wanted more than friendship.
My mate stared at the mirror, a work of art, like so much in this kingdom. Seconds passed like turns and still no one in our quartet spoke, though I felt the king’s gaze on Neve and thought the queen—unusually quiet through this all—might be watching me with equal interest. Did she believe I would intervene? To try to sway Neve one way or the other?
I’d never. This was her battle to overcome, and while I’d not make a choice for her, I’d support whatever she decided.
An exhale parted those sweet lips as Neve looked up at the King of Dergia.
“I’m honored by the gesture of friendship, King Tholin. Just as House Falk is honored to call House Fellhelm an ally.”
Chapter 13
NEVE
“This is the final water refill location within the tunnels,” Prince Thordur informed us as he stopped at a branch in the passage we’d been traveling. “If your skins need filling, do it now.”
I dismounted, needing both water and to get blood moving in my legs. Traveling the dwarven tunnels through the mountain passages had been a novel experience and for the first hour, I’d been captivated by the idea of where we were and how much work went into creating the web of tunnels. But when things began to look the same, my mind wandered.
We had some semblance of a plan: Aim for Riis Tower. From there, learn what was occurring in the kingdom and seek information on the Ice Scepter. Despite knowing what we were doing, foreboding threatened me.
