Kiss of Snow

5

She became pregnant again, and though later she swore Iris was Balsam’s daughter, he never believed her. Still, after Riala’s disappearance he kept Iris as one of his daughters. Probably to avoid scandal, since he was always cold to her and preferred to pretend she didn’t exist. He’d even tried to give her hand in marriage to Raith, though she was only twelve years old.

Sympathy welled in me as I looked at the Iris. I had no idea if she was my sister by blood, but I didn’t care about that. She was my sister, in every way that mattered. I held out my arm and she shifted her chair closer to lean against me.

Jasmine pushed her dark hair from her face and chewed thoughtfully before she spoke. “I don’t think it could have been Riala. Why would she attack now that Father is gone? And where has she been all this time?”

“We all assumed she had returned to Korelan and was in hiding under the protection of her cousin, the Archwizard,” Violet said, in her matter-of-fact voice.

“It’s been a long time since any of us have even heard Riala’s name,” Camellia said. “But if she returned, the guard would be ready for her.”

I held up a hand, trying to curb the speculation. “We haven’t worked out why we were attacked, or even if the attack was meant for me, but the guards are working on it, and we’re well protected.”

“How do you know we’re safe?” Iris’s innocent question made my breath catch. She was right to ask. We had no defenses against magic except some leftover wards placed by my mother around the castle, and although the guards were well trained in combat, we were a kingdom of people with no magic since Father outlawed it. He’d left us at a disadvantage in this world.

“Captain Keane and his soldiers will keep us safe,” I said, focusing on the one thing I knew was true. I glanced back and saw him bow his head in acknowledgement, drawing strength from his solid presence. He would do everything he could to keep me and my family safe.

I looked down at Iris as she continued to snuggle against me, and her big amber eyes met mine. Her mother’s eyes. Wizard eyes.

Iris was about to come into her powers, and I didn’t know what to do about it. I couldn’t train her to use them. My own powers were weak and inept. With magic banned, I couldn’t officially hire anyone to teach her. I could send her to study with Rose, or perhaps to the school in Korelan, but the thought of losing another sister made my heart ache.

One thing I was quickly learning—there were no easy decisions when you were queen.

Four

Keane

I

’d heard many interesting things while standing guard over Lily. Always things I’d never repeat, and some things I wished I’d never heard in the first place. I got the feeling I was going to have to listen to a lot more chatter about prospective husbands in the days ahead. Maybe even see them, meet them, and protect them as well. My stomach roiled at the thought.

Whenever Lily needed me, I’d be there. That was even more important now, after this morning’s attack. I couldn’t be sure the wizard behind it had deliberately targeted Lily—we’d been in the forest outside the castle, bordering the capital, after all. But any attack on Talador was an attack on its queen—something I had both professional and personal responsibility to guard against.

As Lily and her sisters finished their meal and began saying their goodnights, I glanced around the room, automatically noting the window was secure for the night and a servant was standing by the only other exit from the room, the one that led to the backstairs to the kitchens. Chairs screeched across against the stone as the princesses rose and pushed them back from the table.

“Goodnight, Lily. Sleep well.” Jasmine pressed a kiss to her sister’s cheek and squeezed her hand as she drew back. She looked meaningfully at her sister, and her brow creased. “And stay safe,” she added, as though she didn’t dare not issue the warning to take care.

My hand tightened on the hilt of my sword as I responded to Jasmine’s worry for her sister, a habit borne of having the lives of others under my care.

Lily watched her sisters file from the room before turning to me. She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes, and I longed to take her into my arms and reassure her. But that wasn’t my place.

“I think I’ll retire for the evening too,” Lily said, and I nodded.

It seemed for the best. The other guards and I could protect her better if she was in one room in the castle and didn’t move about too freely—at least until we’d neutralized the threat.

I tightened my jaw. I had to locate the source of the threat first.

I walked my usual pace behind her to her room, and she paused at the door, glancing at the guard already stationed there. He was so young he barely had a hair on his chin, with big brown eyes and an earnest face. She turned toward me. “Are you finished for the day?”

I nodded. “Yes, but Caspar will be here through the night to ensure your safety.”

She did that same smile that left her eyes worried, and I reached out to touch her hand then abruptly stopped, letting my arm drop back to my side.

“I won’t let anything happen to you.” Those words didn’t seem enough to sum up just how much of a priority her safety was to me. “I promise,” I added.

“Thank you.” She pushed open the door to her room, before leaving me in the corridor, her sweet floral scent lingering in the air.

“Caspar.”