Kiss of Snow

4

“What’s troubling you, Lily?” Jasmine asked. She was the third oldest, after me and Rose, and could always tell when one of us was upset.

There was no point doing anything other than coming straight out with it. “Dahlia wants me to marry as soon as possible. She has arranged for seven suitors to meet with me.”

Camellia’s mouth dropped open. “Seven men in the castle? Will any of them be soldiers?” Her love of fighting drew her regularly to the palace guards to practice her sparring.

Violet nudged her. “Don’t be ridiculous, Cam. They’ll be men of noble blood. Refined. Some of them might even like reading.”

Jasmine laughed, her eyes warm. “Being able to fight and being able to read aren’t mutually exclusive. But we should let Lily tell us what’s happening rather than guessing. We’re not being helpful.”

“On the contrary.” I stopped and leaned back as a servant filled my water glass. “You’re being very helpful. Maybe some of this speculation will narrow down what I want in a man.”

Keane shifted his position as he stood behind me, and awareness of one man who’d been in my life for years prickled over me. I refocused on my sisters, fighting the strong urge to glance over my shoulder.

“Do we get to judge them? Is it like a contest?” Iris helped herself to the family style serving bowls in the middle of our smaller dining table. We rarely ate at the bigger table, the banquet one used for formal visitors and banquets.

Jasmine nudged her. “This isn’t our decision. It’s one that Lily needs to make without our interference.”

“But we saw Rose accept Raith.” Iris pouted, and I laughed.

“That was a little different, and I’m not entirely sure who accepted who.” I heaped some peas onto my plate. “Besides, I’ll be meeting the suitors at the summer palace.”

“Then I’m glad we’re not going,” Camellia said. “That place is so dull. There’s never enough fighting to join in there.”

“Speaking of fighting…” I cleared my throat and Keane’s armor creaked a little as he moved again. He seemed restless tonight, but I still fought the urge to check on him. I didn’t need to look, anyway. His blond hair and deep blue eyes were imprinted in my memory. He never smiled much, but sometimes I caught a flicker of one, usually meant just for me.

“What is it?” Camellia’s interest was piqued, and she leaned forward.

“I was attacked in the forest this morning.”

Jasmine gasped and her hand flew to her throat. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Keane protected me and got me home.” I spoke quickly to try to reassure them.

“He always protects you,” Violet said, and from the tone of her voice, I had a feeling she was thinking of a scene from one of her latest reads. After Rose’s sudden marriage to our enemy had blossomed into love, Violet had been obsessed with romantic novels.

“It’s his job,” Jasmine said, and I flinched. The words suddenly seemed harsh, even though they were true.

“Who attacked you?” Camellia asked the question with far more curiosity than concern. As long as I wasn’t a casualty of war, battle, or attack, everything was fine in Camellia’s eyes.

I tucked a length of my dark hair behind my ear. “We don’t know yet, but Keane’s people are investigating. We thought they were bandits, dressed all in black, running at us through the trees—”

“Bandits! How exciting!” Iris said, sitting up. “But where would they have come from?”

“We don’t know.” I wiped my mouth with my napkin. “And they weren’t exactly bandits. When Keane fought them with his sword, they vanished.”

“They vanished?” Violet’s eyes rounded. “You mean they ran away?”

“Not exactly. They turned to smoke and drifted away.”

“Magic?” Jasmine turned to me, and I nodded, adrenaline jangling at my nerves once more. Even as I discussed this with them, I could smell the forest this morning, those bitter herbs spoiling the fresh scent of the evergreens.

“Not just magic,” Iris said. “Illusion magic.”

I glanced at her, a little worried. She didn’t look excited anymore. She just looked circumspect and solemn.

“Do you think my mother has anything to do with this?” she asked.

“We don’t know, but I doubt it.” I reached out a patted her hand. “Your mother disappeared many years ago. I don’t see why she would return now.”

“But it’s rare, isn’t it? The affinity for illusion magic?”

“I believe so.” I couldn’t tell if she looked hopeful or hopeless over the fact her mother might be involved.

Queen Riala, my father’s fourth wife and Iris’s mother, was one of the reasons the King had banned magic in our kingdom. She was a very powerful wizard from Talador who had been very young when she’d married Father in a political alliance with Korelan. A few years later she was caught having an affair with a palace guard, and when Father ordered her captured, she used her magic to kill the other guards and escape, leaving Iris behind in the process. No one had seen her ever since. Father declared her officially exiled, executed the guard she’d had the affair with, and banned magic from all of Talador.

That was what most people knew about Queen Riala’s saga, including Iris and my other sisters. However, as Father’s successor I had access to his journals and memos, and I knew more of the story, though sometimes I wish I didn’t. Riala had been pregnant once before she had Iris, but she’d lost the baby in a miscarriage. It had been a boy, according to the midwife, and Father was furious. He blamed her for being careless with her body and losing his only chance at a son. He turned even more cruel and cold, and I suspected the only place she found comfort was in the arms of her lover.