I all but collided with the Lord Commander as he rounded the corner, and at the sight of me, he knelt, taking the papers I pushed into his hands.
“Please,” I begged. “Hide it!”
“Svana?”he cried. “What is it?” He went for his sword, ready, as the ghoul that chased me caught up to us, only to relax at the sight of her. “...Miss Hellveig?” he asked. He stood. His hand left the hilt to maneuver me behind him.
“For love must hold no place in my future,”she recited.“Our future. Lest Fate herself would have delivered these messages to you by now.”
I had lost a page.
She went on. “Messages;plural. Pray, how often do you write to this boy?”
“What boy?” I asked. “I do not know of what you speak!”
She nodded. “Mmm. So then, whichladyis it that you dream for:iron meeting skin?Is it a lady’s face you so carelessly forget?”
Elías held his hand out. “I’ll handle this. Give me the rest.”
Miss Hellveig knit her brows. “Handle it?” She clawed for the half I held. I fell back onto the floor. At Elías's hand, she stopped from advancing on me. “This is aboveourpositions, Knight,” she spat at him. “Andnother first offense. Coddling her now will only injure her prospects.”
“Give me the letter,” Eli repeated.
She shook her head. “A Prince, you are to marry,” she said to me. “How could you be sofoolish?What if someone from Chalke had intercepted this? You’ve endangered the entirety of our empire’s peace for nonsense! For a boy you can’t even remember! For a boy who is less than a quarter your worth!”
“He isn’t less than anyone!’ I cried.
“So it is a ‘he’ then?” she asked. “A lady does not lie, Your Highness. His Majesty will find an appropriate punishment for you, I’ll see.”
Miss Hellveig gripped the paper so tightly that it crinkled under the strain of her talons.
“There is no call to involve the King,” Elías stated. “Girls write boys. Boys write girls. Nothin’ strange of it. Svana must work on hertales,I’ll concede, but that is an easily curbed behavior.”
“Boys, yes. Gentlemen. Pages. Lords. Notstable bucks.”She looked at me. “Did you think I’d forgotten about him? Like you?”
Elías said,“Ithink you should forget about the letters the Princess writes.” His hand returned to the base of his sword.
“Elías…” I breathed.
He peered over his shoulder. “Go and find your room.”
“Are you threatening me?” Hellveig asked.
“Do you feel threatened?” he replied.
“Elías,” I urged.
“Find your room,” he said.
“I don’t want to find my room,”I whispered. I climbed to my feet to pry him from the floor, but he would not budge. “Please,” I begged.
Her lips shrank. “You’ve beenhelpingher then?”
“No,” I said, clashing prominently with Elías’ chivalrous admittance.
“You’veencouragedthis? This adultery?” she asked.
“Leave him out of this. He hasn’t-!”
“Unfathomed sin,”Hellveig said. “I should have known, what with your history, you miscreant.”
