Page 19 of This Frozen Heart

“Innocent in what respect? Do the sacred texts not teach that none are sinless but the Son of the Emperor-God?”

I smack his naked chest and immediately regret knowing the feel of it. “You know what I mean.”

“I do? That is a lot to assume of a stranger you’ve known for two days— let alone one you view as your enemy.”

“Why do you say that like you don’t also consider me your enemy?”

Kay studies me for a long moment before glancing away. “I don’t know.”

My lips part in shock. Has this man ever confessed to saying he didn’t know anything in his life?

He turns back to me, and his expression is just as smooth as before, but there is a strange intensity in his gaze. “Tell me, O mine enemy, who is this Snow Queen you fear so much?”

Chapter Ten

Kay

Iam not the best with new situations. That is why I joined the military, where everything was regimented and there were rules to guide my every action, no matter how remote the location I was sent.

Then I was drafted to be part of the Empire’ Elite, and I was informed I would be sent to achieve missions with unique scenarios that required even more unique strategies.

But even with that, I was extensively trained in the methods that would be useful in leading such a task force. I was also given unlimited access to any information I required when researching a strategy. I grew accustomed enough to my training missions that I faced this first mission with nothing more than the minimal nerves one would expect.

However, one thing I have had no experience with or any preparation for is lying beside a woman.

When the desperate measure presented itself, I didn’t bat an eye. I was born here, and even if I did not grow up here, I was officially trained for how to survive in the harsh Gaelic climate. And it should be no different for me to ensure my prisoner survives, whether they be male or female.

I was quite wrong. Never on a night where I shared a tent with two or three of my fellow soldiers did I notice anything more than their breathing patterns and the length of time since their last baths.

I’m noticing far more with Gerta. She smells like pine and leather. Most of all, though, I can’t help but notice how soft and warm her skin is against mine. And I’m tryingveryhard not to notice just howmuchof her skin I now know is soft and warm. I do not know what she stripped down to before I wrapped her in this sheet, and now that uncertainty is driving me to the brink of madness.

I shouldn’t even be thinking about such things. With her as my prisoner, it is unethical to say the least.

“What doyouknow of the Snow Queen?” Gerta asks, her breath fanning out against the sensitive skin of my throat.

Doing my best to ignore the sensations of nearness, I focus instead on her words. I throw my entire mind into her question like she’s presented a complicated puzzle for me to solve. Unfortunately, it isn’t a riddle I have a suitable answer to, since I learned little of such tales at the orphanage because the other children avoided me. “I know she is a folktale of the citizens of Gaelia and is sometimes used as a rallying cry among the rebel factions.”

Gerta snorts.

“I take it that your faction is not included?” Something drilled into me during training in between lessons concerning each province’s cultures was the understanding that just because the people as a whole might adhere to a given tradition doesn’t mean every individual will.

Though Gerta’s faction’s fondness for ale was one instance where they conveniently fell into the stereotypical Gaelic behavior.

“And she is more than a folktale,” Gerta continues, the vivacity returning to her voice as the blizzard leaves her bones, “she is a living legend.”

“You believe in her existence?”

“Only a fool would doubt her.” Gerta gives me a challenging look.

“And what evidence do you give for this ‘living legend’ so I may decide if I too shall believe?”

“This cabin, for one thing. It belongs to her.”

“Her name is on the deed?”

Gerta shakes her head. “We have no need of a deed to signal her ownership. What the Snow Queen has claimed always bears her mark.”

“Her mark? And what would that be?”

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