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I gesture angrily to the door. “He does not know that, now does he?”
She exhales an exasperated huff, but her expression soon changes as I pour her a cup of tea and hand it to her on a saucer.
I take a seat beside her, in front of the hearth. The flames dance before us, casting her in an ethereal glow. “So”—she gives me a warm smile that makes my heart stutter in my chest—“tell me more about the Ice Mountains.”
“What do you want to know?”
She shrugs. “What is it like there? I’ve heard very little.”
I study her a moment. “Unfortunately for you, it is the brutal season this time of year.”
“Brutal season?”
“Much colder than the average winters you are familiar with,” I explain. “I’ve heard some say that heat teaches warriors the meaning of endurance, but they are wrong.” I meet her gaze evenly. “It is the ice and snow that forges real strength.”
She gives me a curious look. “I heard your people relocated to the Ice Mountains after the last Great war instead of rebuilding on your original lands. Is that right?”
I nod. “My grandfather knew that if our race were to survive, we would need to be strong. Stronger than we were before. And in the Ice Mountains we can hone our strength in a place where it is also difficult for our enemies to attack us without warning.”
“I’ve heard that Dragons have long lives that rival even that of the Fae and the Elves,” she says. “Were you… alive during the last Great War?”
“No,” I reply bitterly, cursing this fact. It is the reason my uncle had so much support for his claim to the crown. It was how he tries to undermine my rule. “I was born in the Ice Mountains. In the capital city of Windhelm thirty years ago. Over two hundred years after the Great War.”
“You’re thirty years old?” She smiles. “I was sure you were at least one-hundred. We’re closer in age than I thought.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-five,” she says. “But you’d think I was a spinster the way my uncle goes on about how I need to find a husband.”
Sadness flickers briefly across her expression before she lowers her gaze. “Despite what you witnessed, my uncle did love me… before Luria’s spell. I have to find a way to free him from her enchantment.”
I understand she is in pain, but she can never return. Surely, she sees this. “If you go back there, the Mages will have you executed.”
“I cannot just give up on him, Aurdyn. He raised me; I love him.”
“He would have burned you at the stake if I had not gotten there in time.” I clench my jaw as anger floods my veins. “You would be dead now, Freyja and—”
“Stop,” she snaps. “It was not his fault, and you know it. You saw it yourself.”
“And just how do you plan to reach him?” I frown. “Do you have a plan that does not involve your death?”
She nods. “I will send word to the kingdom of Florin. King Edmynd is my cousin, and I believe he will help me.”
“You were accused of witchcraft,” I remind her. “Are you certain he will give you aid?”
Her silence speaks to her uncertainty.
As much as I want to protect her, I can see how important this is to her, and I want to help. Gently, I place two fingers under her chin, tipping her face back up to mine. “When we reach my kingdom, we will send word to your cousin—King Edmynd of Florin.”
“Thank you,” she whispers.
It has been many years since my kind have had any dealings with the Kingdom of Florin. I have heard they despise the Fae as much as we do, but beyond that, I know little else of their people other than that they are human. And as such, they are probably under the protection of the Order of Mages. If so, I doubt King Edmynd will be so eager to help even his own cousin.
“How exactly are you related to King Edmynd?” I ask, trying to assess how close they might be to determine the likelihood of him actually helping her.
“Our mothers were cousins,” she replies. “We used to play together when we were children, before…” her voice trails off as she stares at the fire with a faraway look.
“I was only nine when my parents rode off for war and never came back.” Her eyes brighten with tears. “My uncle not only raised me as his own, he named me his heir since he has no children.” She pauses. “I was so happy when he found Luria. My uncle has never married before and I—” Her voice hitches.
