Kai tried not to think too hard aboutbeing alonewith Adeline lest his face erupt in flames, but he managed a slow nod. “Alright.”
She grinned, and his control slipped, neck immediately heating.
“Alright,” she echoed.
It was, admittedly, a small mercy when she took a step back.
“Your Majesty,” Eleni cut in as soon as she had him in full view. “A successful afternoon, I hope?”
Kai hesitated, fighting the urge to shake his head clear of the warm fog Adeline had left behind. He adjusted the pendant against his chest, and the cold glass shifted, its chill sinking into his skin anew.
“Successful,” Kai said, grasping at a single word to tether his response. “Yes. Our dealings are not quite concluded, but it’s promising.”
Only a half lie, and not one that would make any difference to the Empress.
She smiled through a gust of breath. “Oh, I amsorelieved to hear it. Did you happen to broach …?”
She trailed off at his nod, eyes alight.
“And?”
“It warrants further discussion, but Alun tells me they’ve agreed to allow the safe passage of trading vessels, as long as they’re marked accordingly.”
If Eleni wondered why Alun was acting as his spokesperson even now, she did not stop to comment. Her entire face lit, years burned away by the sheer beam of her joy as she bounced on the spot like an excitable youth, hands flying up to clap over her mouth and muffle a shriek.
“Youdidit,” she breathed, then shrieked aloud. “A ball! Oh, we must hold a ball.At once.Aegus! Pike!Get down here!There is so much to do—so much to celebrate!”
She tore off in the direction of the gangway, skirts hiked in her hands. Adeline stared, blinking, after her. Then turned her bewildered expression to Kai—and erupted in the most breathtaking laughter.
And the answering swell in Kai’s chest made him forget, for a moment, what an utter mess he had left behind him beneath the waves. In that moment, it simply ceased to matter. The warmth that flooded him as he looked upon that open, sunshine smile made it easy to believe there was much to celebrate indeed.
Chapter Thirteen
Gerard
There’s no dais, thought Ger.
A stupid thought, really, all things considered.
Eisalaan had gathered, as it so often did in years past, in heaving throngs packed tight within the palace courtyard. Bunting was strung from the balustrades in the Eisalaan colours, and the gates were open wide to allow the overflow of guests to spill out into the grounds beyond. A familiar sight, but not one Gerard had ever seen from this angle.
He thought, distantly, that this was what Adeline must have seen, on all those New Winter evenings spent on this balcony, waving down at them all, laughing with her sisters and blowing him sly kisses. Apart from the weak, grey sunshine lighting the scene—and the lack of a dais, of course. He wasn’t sure why that small detail struck him so. It did seem oddly telling; an omen forAvette’s reign. Queen Selma had not been perfect, but shehaddeigned to grace the main festivities. To sit among her people in celebration, even if she tucked her daughters away like prized trinkets, delicate, and breakable, and beloved.
Avette had baulked at the very idea.Shewas the prized trinket in her mind, the delicate thing, the thing to be loved.
Not breakable though.
The thought was bitter, even within his own head.
She did look delicate, he could admit that much. Just as they’d discussed over Mareda’s pained and shallow breath a few nights ago, Imogen had dressed her for her first public address in a romantic nod to her release from the Frost. Long collar and long sleeves, all of detailed lace. A dreamy cloud of gauzy skirts, glass slippers to mimic her bare feet. A crown of shimmering ice atop her slicked-back hair. And on her face, dramatic sweeps of black makeup trailed down each smooth cheek like glittering tears.
It was a costume, and Avette played the part with relish.
She stood at the railing, gazing lovingly at her subjects, Doran at attention on one side, and Gerard mirroring him on the other. He wondered, for a fleeting moment, what might happen if he simply shoved her over the edge. Would she shatter into a million frozen pieces? Would Doran slash his throat before she hit the ground? Would she take flight in her massive cloud of a dress and soar back to safety, pendant winking menacingly as her ice grip closed around his throat?
Ger stiffened against a shudder, the pressure of it roaring in his ears for long enough that he did not realise Avette had begun her all-important speech until he caught her pealing voice mid-sentence.
“—heard a great many things I’m sure, but I am so endlessly grateful for your patience during a truly,” she paused, affecting a breathy waver, “harrowingtime.”
