Chapter Three Queen IsoldaGuards stood either side of Mai and Kalin, who waited outside a guest room while Akra changed into dry clothes provided by a servant. Mai was so nervous about meeting Queen Isolda that she felt like she had swallowed a swarm of flutterflaxen and they had come alive in her stomach. She rubbed her thumb over the golden amulet that hung around her neck with one hand and held her stomach with the other. The amulet always made her think of her father. It helped make the fluttering in her stomach disappear.
When Akra was ready, they all walked together behind the guards. The corridor leading to the entrance of the queen’s state room was long and narrow. It was made only of ice and, unlike the walls that were decorated with forest paintings in the city of Sylvadale, the
