“Well, now that that’s all sorted!” Willow clapped his hands, artfully dispelling the tension with a deliberately oblivious grin. “I was actually hoping to see Nicolai, so if you could just point me in his direction…?”
“He’s in the courtyard with the other soldiers,” Alios drawled, rising swiftly to his feet. His movement reminded Seraphina of a predator, and she couldn’t help feeling hunted even when his eyes were not even resting on her. And then they were and Seraphina fought down the prey instinct to bolt for the nearest bit of cover. “This may be of benefit to you, my princess,”he said. “You haven’t been shown around the castle, have you?”
“No,” Seraphina replied slowly, feeling as though she was being tested about something but she wasn’t quite sure what results he was hoping to ac
