‘Famished,’ the princess confirmed.
‘I’ll have Nanna take care of your retinue,’ said Valeska, sweeping away.
‘Come,’ said Alarik, offering his arm to Elva in a bid to outrun all the eyes trained on them. She took it eagerly, and they hurried out of the atrium without so much as a backward glance.
‘You should know I have no plans to fall in love with you,’ Princess Elva said between sips of cinnamon and apple tea. ‘And I won’t be persuaded otherwise.’
Alarik’s brows rose, her candour so refreshingly unexpected that he almost laughed. ‘Trust me, Princess, I have no plans to seduce you.’
‘Good. Because you will not succeed.’
‘Consider my ego sufficiently dented.’
‘You’re not my type,’ she amended, a touch more tactfully. ‘No offence.’
Alarik stared at the princess as she reached for a sliver of salmon rolled with cream cheese and chives. They were seated across from each other in the cedar lounge in the south wing, a decadent tea room warmly lit by two fireplaces and decorated with rich furs and accents of forest green. The candles here all smelled like pine, and the draped furniture was made of pale oak.
‘Now that we’ve got your revulsion for me out of the way, what else do I need to know about you?’ said Alarik, refilling his coffee cup. ‘Are you interested in this marriage?’
She swallowed her mouthful. ‘Are you?’
‘Not remotely,’ he said, matching her candour with his own.He sat back in his chair, kicking one leg over the other. ‘Does that offend you?’
‘Mortally. Considermyego sufficiently dented.’ Her smile curled. ‘I don’t care for marriage one way or another. It’s the alliance my father favours.’
‘And you?’ said Alarik. ‘What do you favour?’
She leaned forward, brown eyes wide with wonder. ‘I favour adventure,’ she whispered, as though telling him a secret. ‘And Gevra is a great adventure. Your mountains. Your glaciers. Your beasts. Your endless snow.’ She spoke with such awe, it softened Alarik’s mood. At least Elva recognized the worth of his country, if not its king. ‘So, I intend to stay a while and try it out. We can endure each other.’
‘Endure?’ Alarik arched a brow. ‘For all you know, I might be great company.’
She canted her head. ‘Is any king on the verge of war great company?’
‘So, you know about that.’
‘Everyone on the northern continent knows of Queen Regna’s ambitions,’ she said, with a snort. ‘Secrecy is a foreign concept to her.’
‘And you are not frightened?’
‘Why would I be frightened of your war? We may lend you our soldiers, but I certainly do not plan to fight in it. If I wanted to get my head lopped off, I’d think of something more original.’
‘If you like, I can have my ice bear eat you once he comes out of hibernation,’ offered Alarik.
Her eyes danced. ‘I cannot wait to meet your beasts.’
As though she had willed it with her excitement, the door to the cedar lounge swung open and Captain Vine appeared in a swell of panic.‘Sorry to interrupt,’ she said, eyes darting between them and lingering for a moment on the princess. ‘There’s been an, uh, incident out back.’
Alarik set his cup down. ‘What kind of incident?’
A ragged scream rang out.
‘That kind,’ said Vine, grimly. ‘One of the beasts has turned.’
Alarik shot to his feet. ‘Where’s the wrangler?’
‘I have no idea.’
Alarik was already stalking to the door. ‘Wait here, Princess. You’ll be—’
