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I didn’t miss the look on his face as he hopped out and sprinted into the castle. When he returned with a woman in tow, I nearly fell over myself trying to stand quickly in the sleigh.
“Your Highness,” I said, curtsying as best as I could as she approached the door. “I would have gotten out. Atlas didn’t say what we’d stopped for.”
“Don’t be silly. It’s freezing out here.”
The queen’s dark curls blew across her face as she turned to Atlas, swatting him on the arm. “You did that to her on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Absolutely.”
“I don’t think you’ve brought someone back to the castle since I’ve been here,” she said slowly, eyes flashing between us.
“We’re not staying,” we said in unison.
“Just needed this one favor,” he continued. “It’s for Solstice after all.”
“The doors would be so much faster, Atty.”
He hung an arm over her shoulder. “Why use magic when you have the world at your fingertips?”
She shoved him away with a smile. “Some people would kill for your power.”
“And some have killed because of it,” he answered without missing a beat.
Her blue eyes flashed to me. “Good luck with this one. Maybe try to convince him that magic, in all forms, is a blessing.” The queen with no markings cast before me and, had I not been staring at her, I might not have believed it. Because she was unmarked, but also because I’d heard she’d lost her power, saving us all from the old coven leaders.
A small but radiant ball of fire appeared, suspended in the air at the front of the glass dome. Everything instantly warmed as the heat went directly to my bones. I couldn’t help the sigh.
“Well then,” she said kindly. “Enjoy your trip.”
“Thanks, Rave.”
She reached for her friend, pulling him into a hug and whispering something into his ear before dipping her chin to me and rushing back inside. Two men carrying boxes walked out of those great doors, and Atlas helped tie them to the rear before hopping into the carriage and shutting the door with his magic.
“You could have warned me,” I said, nudging him with my shoulder as he took his seat.
“Where’s the fun in that?”
The uncomfortable silence grew between us, as it so often did with strangers. He’d been so lighthearted and free this morning. I didn’t know how to go back to the heavy questions swirling through my mind. Eventually, I had to say something to fill the quiet. But before I could form words, he beat me to it.
“What’s your favorite color?”
“All the questions in the world, and that’s what you want to know?”
“It seemed the safest to ask.”
I rubbed my fingers through the fur on my lap. “Blue.”
“It’s going to be a long journey if we only sit in silence,” he said, vocalizing my thoughts. “We should make a game of it. You ask a question, and then I will.”
“Do we get to pass if we don’t want to answer?”
He lifted an eyebrow, staring down at me. “No. I’m nosy.”
“And unaware of boundaries?”
“You scared to reveal yourself to someone the goddess believes is broken, Frostbite?”
“No,” I lied.
