Page 21 of Of Snow and Sapphire

Lord Mitah, on the other hand, stepped forward and shoved Zimyn to the ground, the ice slamming in Zimyn’s lower back. He foolishly wasn’t expecting anyone to actually get physical, thinking the occasion to be too proper, but Zimyn now reached for his sword, only for the noble to beat him to it as he swiped it from his sheath. The noble held the long blade against his throat. Any small movement would cause him to slice himself.

The noble laughed in his face. “You’re useless. You can’t even protect yourself, so how can you protect her?”

The remaining nobles managed to pull the blade out of his grip but Lord Mitah, still on top of him, spat in his face. Zimyn flinched, but he didn’t even bother putting up a fight. Everything he said was true.

“Animals!” Balvan reprimanded, a red flush of anger blooming against his cheeks. “Should I bring Kotyn in here, too?”

The noble and Zimyn quickly scrambled to their feet, like two children being caught by their parents.

Balvan continued, “I had more faith in you Lord Mitah, but maybe I was wrong.”

Zimyn cleared his throat. “It was my fault, Balvan.”

“You,” Balvan pointed. “Keep quiet.”

Zimyn pressed his lips tight.

“All of you to your rooms. There will be enough time for this during training tomorrow. I expect you all can manage without causing a raucous?” The wide eyed nobles all nodded. “Zimyn, you can stay.”

Zimyn’s shoulders dropped as the nobles snickered. When it was finally just the two of them, Balvan stretched himself across the couch, his arms anchored behind his head, not a worry in sight, acting as if he owned the room. Zimyn stayed where he was.

Balvan sighed. “You and I are on the same side, you know. We both want to see Ludelle succeed. We both know that the Undertaking is the key to that success.”

Zimyn ground his teeth. He would not say anything to Balvan, because as much as he agreed with him, he wouldn’t admit it out loud. They may have the same motives—to see Ludelle prosper— but Zimyn approached it entirely differently.

“You're the one who chose to give it all up. The title, the friends, the home…Her.” Balvan swiped a pastry and bit into it. “I applaud you for it, actually. It’s one of the noblest things you’ve done. Braver than I ever was.” Zimyn didn’t understand what he meant by that. “Don’t mess it up for her by getting in the way. Can you do that for her?”

The question was so simple, but his response would alter everything. Because of course he would do anything required to see Ludelle happy. Another part of him wanted to never leave her side because she was his happiness. Without her, his life would be so much emptier. These future travels, although something he had desired to do for years, felt like they were filling a void because he couldn’t have her.

“I don’t answer to you.” Zimyn said at last.

Balvan raised his brows. “Well, I can answer that question, easily. I’ll do anything necessary to have Ludelle win her Undertaking and pick a strong consort.”

Eleven

Ludelle, Balvan, and Zimyn were all on the sidelines as the nobles warmed up. Ludelle got to the rings early to be able to do some practice throws in private. She hit the targets perfectly. Three times in a row. She hoped that her luck would stick now that she had an audience.

“Do these nobles even train?” Zimyn asked. His arms were crossed in front of him, already on the defensive.

“Of course they do,” Balvan replied. “What else is a noble to do with their time?”

Ludelle snorted. They both whipped their heads in her direction.

“What?” she bit out. “It’s true. These nobles have too much time on their hands. I want to be impressed.”

“How much do you want to bet that it’ll take less than ten minutes before one of them is hurt?” Zimyn’s eyes practically sparkled with the anticipation of it.

They did this often, especially when they were younger. Whenever they had to attend a boring meeting, they bet on something. No coin was involved, just bragging rights. At first, they kept things reasonable. A noble would lose their temper or Balvan would drop his pen. That became too easy, so they started betting on the most outlandish scenarios. If her father would chip a tooth, or if a bird would somehow fly through the room. One time, they bet that Kotyn would hop on the table. She did once. That was the last time she was allowed to attend any official court meetings. Ludelle thought Kotyn became happier after that decision.

It felt nice to be back to that friendly companionship; a relief to have dispersed that tension. Sure, she was still upset that he didn’t tell her the truth but deep down she understood why. More importantly, their time was limited, and she didn’t want to spend that time in a fight. He was her person. She wanted to savor every second she had left.

“You’re on!” Ludelle said. “And I’ll even bet on it being Mitah.”

Zimyn reached out his hand, and they shook on it. She let her grasp linger a moment longer than she should have, taking in his warmth.

“Are you two done?” Balvan reprimanded, and she pulled away from Zimyn. “I think it’s time to begin.”

Zimyn began some drills with the nobles. Ludelle stayed back to observe.

---