Page 32 of Sky’s Edge

I was nervous.

It was part Tanyn.

It was part the shadowy castle I’d spied on making our approach.

A castle that stood atop a very tall plateau that had a few warm golden lights blinking in some windows, but mostly, it seemed like a dark, ominous menace, looming over the island.

The jet made its hovering descent, landed, and after I heard the whoosh of it settling, I pulled on my coat, my hat and my gloves, grabbed my bag and rose from the plush seat, one of several that lined the sides of the narrow, arrow-like craft.

The door hissed open and the steps folded out when I approached. The pilot had come out of the cockpit and was nodding to me to precede him.

I stepped out, and instantly, my nostrils froze.

Dear Lilith, I’d never experienced cold this cold before.

In my spike-heeled boots, I walked down the steps, hand on the railing, needing it to steady me, because I was not about to take a header in front of the king.

But I had eyes to Tanyn.

And his dog.

Tanyn was wearing a sheepskin coat (and it looked real, naughty boy). Jeans. Some kind of thick sweater. Gloves. And startlingly in this cold, his head was bare, so his thick dark hair was being mussed by the wind.

His dog came biologically outfitted for the weather.

It was a compact, medium-sized fluffball with a mix of light gray and dark gray with some white fur, an adorable pointy face and equally adorable pointy ears. His mouth was open, pink tongue exposed, and he looked like he was smiling.

It wasn’t a lapdog, it wasn’t a big dog. I didn’t know the breed.

But somehow, he fit Tanyn perfectly.

I, on the other hand, was in high-heeled boots, wool trousers, a cashmere turtleneck, a full-length fur (fake) coat and matching hat. This was all in a sumptuous chocolate brown.

I looked like I was arriving to take on the slopes at Glacial Bay, not a female facing a weekend on a remote island that didn’t even have its own town.

And another micro emotion from my betrothed.

Tanyn was just that bare amount of smirking at me as I strolled across the cleared-of-all-but-wind-swirling-snow landing platform to him.

There was another thing I noticed on that platform, or more than one thing.

Defense bots were patrolling the perimeter.

Six of them.

When I made it to him, I dropped into the most ostentatious curtsy I could muster, dipping my head and throwing out my arm and everything.

I said to the platform, “Your Royal Majesty.”

I rose.

And Tanyn stated, “If you do that again, I’ll tie you naked to my bed for the next two days.”

I blinked, because he sounded like he meant that.

He looked beyond me.

I twisted to do the same and saw my two cases hovering toward the craft that was waiting behind Tanyn, along with several crates.