ISOLDE
We finished bathing though it was done by the maids. I had no choice. It was Rowan’s order, and when the King gave an order, you obeyed. No one disobeyed him and lived comfortably afterward.
They dressed me in a sky-blue, flowered royal gown, its fabric catching the light like crushed ice. It was one of the dresses Rowan had sent to my chambers. He knew what suited me and it annoyed me that he did.
Elsa joined me by the mirror, leaning against the table while I studied my reflection.
“You’re so beautiful like always,” she beamed.
I turned to her with a small smile. “You’re more beautiful than I, Elsa. You know that.”
Her brows arched. “You’re joking, right?” She let out a soft laugh, shaking her head.
But I wasn’t joking. My sister’s beauty was almost ethereal: her glossy bla
