Page 102 of Winter Gods & Serpents

Kilian

For the past few days, I had just laid in bed tired and ready for rest after my guard shifts, but sleep was hard to come. Just when I tried to shut my eyes, my head would start spinning the images of her scarred hands and her tear rimmed golden eyes, over and over as if wanting to remind me my own faults. Why had she slept in the garden? Had she lied about the Adriatians sent from her father? Had she done it to test me again?

Penelope, the young red-haired servant, handed me a blue uniform similar to Nia’s and Caiden’s. “The exact words were: stop parading as walking Adriatian flags.”

I examined the navy thin coat and breeches. “So I am to parade as an Isjordian one? Freeze too?”

“They are magic threaded from wool grown in Koy, and then magic tailored by a crafter to seal heat. They will keep you warm better than four layers of coats.” She unravelled the rest of the clothing items. “Snowlin does not like attention, especially the one you are giving her, I’d wear them.”

“Does that beast have anything she likes?”

Penelope halted and put afront her hand counting, “Sun, lavender baths, romance book but the lewd ones, those the castle library had banned a few years ago, she makes me go all over to Tenebrose city library for those,” she complained, sulking at the memory and I almost smiled. “She likes that ridiculous song ‘Children of the Forest’, grapes—loads of grapes but they have to be firm. She will spit out any soggy fruit, she says they remind her of eyeballs. The colour grey, storms, spinning on her toes till she collapses when she misses the night sky. Is that enough?”

I nodded. “That is plenty, she is just as odd as I thought her.” I put the white shirt on and I couldn’t resist the entertainment and asked, “What are her dislikes?”

Penelope stilled in silence for a few moments before pinching down in concentration. “Well…you for one. She is particularly furious at you at the moment. The other day I found a piece of paper with your name on it, and she’d crossed it about a thousand times almost tearing through it.” I bit onto my lip, holding my amusement in while she continued. “Hair pins, meat, oh gods fish—give her fish and she will shiver like I do when I see spiders, her eyes—”

“Why?” I interrupted abruptly. Clearing my throat I calmly asked, “Why them?”

“They are her fathers, also that brings me to that; her major dislike is her father.” She tapped a finger to her chin, and then jumped in realization almost startling me. “Mirrors, she loathes those too.”

“Mirrors? What did mirrors do to her?”

“She says something else stares back.” She erupted in a shiver. “A black shadow she says. She is indeed odd, she talks about the most ominous things so nonchalantly.”

The door sounded, a loud knock signalling her squadron was ready for dispatch and I turned to the young servant. “When I return, tell me then, all that she dislikes.”

She frowned and then pouted, “She might have my head for this.”

“Then, I won’t be the cause of it, thank you for the uniform.”

She blinked surprised at my words. “You do know I was only joking, right?”

Did I? I would not hold it above the princess to actually behead her.

“Penelope?” I called, bringing her to another halt. “Do you know of a priest called Murdoc?”

I had been curious since that day, I wanted to know if what I’d read had truly been fear.

Her expression dropped severely, and she nodded.

“Would you still lose your head if you told me that?”

She shook her head. “He is a priest. Likes to call himself one at least.” She took a deep breath before saying, “He used to lock all three of them in the northern tower, my father told me he would…exorcise them. People were terrified of them three, so the King tried to soothe the revolt they had caused. My father was Snowlin’s guard so he told me Murdoc used to be particularly…harsh on her. He used to tell people her demon was hard to tame so he kept her there longer, sometimes for nights in a row.”

I held my face clean of the shocked reaction my thoughts were cursing. “No one helped her?”

She shrugged in a beaten expression. “No one could, many did not want too.”

How old she must have been? A child. She had to hurt just like one no matter what she was.

* * *

She stood surrounded by soldiers and Mal who had dressed same as I. The latter shook his head smiling at my sight. We were in Isjordian clothing, but we did not look the part, any creature with two working eyes could tell the difference.

“Soon she’ll make us all her soldiers,” he said by way of greeting.

“Her assassins more like it, though she likes doing the murdering part by herself.” I searched for her non-present friends before adding, “Mostly.”