Page 40 of Twin Crowns

Tor was standing in front of the alcove, wearing a look of utter bemusement. Elske sat at his feet, her bright blue eyes pinpricking the darkness. “Exercising again, Your Highness?”

“Oh yes.” Wren smiled as she smoothed her skirts. At least this time, she was dressed. “I never miss an opportunity to raise my heart rate.”

“You must be very fit.”

“And you are very bold,” she chastised. Her eyes lingered over his damp uniform and the tousled sweep of his hair. “Were you out in the rain just now?”

“I’m afraid storms never bother Elske.” Tor’s lips quirked. “And I have heard a little rain now and then is good for a soldier.”

“Well, it certainly suits you.” Wren grinned wickedly. She was dancing in the flames again, butoh, it was such fun. And it made a pleasant change from having to plot a murder. “And it’s nice to know you’re in the business of taking sage advice. Perhaps I can persuade you to take a treat, too.”

At Tor’s look of alarm, she burst out laughing. “Mind out of the gutter, soldier. That was hardly a euphemism.” However much Wren wanted it to be. She stuck her hand in her pocket and took out Cam’scookie wrapped in the handkerchief. “I’m simply offering you one of my cook’s delicious cookies.” She held out her hand. “It might well change your life.”

Tor glanced at the cookie but didn’t move to take it.

“It’s almond and butterscotch. I’m sure Cam would tell you he made it with love, too,” said Wren mildly. “Although I can’t speak to that particular flavor.”

Elske sniffed at the cookie, then looked up at her master.

Tor rested a gentle hand on her head. “Thank you, Your Highness, but I don’t eat when I’m on duty.”

“Sheesh,” said Wren as she unwrapped the cookie. “Are all Gevran soldiers so tightly wound?” When Tor didn’t reply, she halved the cookie and slipped a piece into her mouth. She closed her eyes as it melted on her tongue, reveling in its buttery goodness.

She swore she heard the soldier’s breathing hitch. She swallowed thickly, then opened her eyes, dangling the other half of the cookie between them. “Are yousureyou’re not hungry?”

Tor’s throat bobbed. “I’m sure, Your Highness.”

“I admire that Gevran restraint.” Wren slipped the other half in her pocket for later. “Though I hear your King Alarik is lacking in it. He has a dark reputation on these shores, you know. It is said that his only friends are his beasts. He’s cruel beyond measure and vicious in war. And that he has a block of ice in place of a heart. Is it true?”

Tor’s face shuttered at the mention of his king. He stood a little straighter. “King Alarik has established himself as a strong ruler these past few years. Any country would be foolish to move against Gevra.”

Wren licked her teeth. “I can practically taste your training.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw. “You mistake training for loyalty, Your Highness.”

“Well, then Ansel is lucky to keep suchloyalcompany. Indeed, not even a mouthwatering cookie can rattle your resolve. Though I have to say, your wolf impresses me far more.” She turned her curiosity on Elske. “She really is a beauty. I’ve been thinking I’d like to get one for my birthday.”

Tor’s chuckle rippled all the way down Wren’s spine. “Elske was raised for war, Your Highness. She may seem harmless, but she is brutal when she needs to be.”

Wren raised her eyebrows. If this soldier was trying to frighten her, he wasn’t going to succeed. He was only making her more curious. “Like her master, then?”

His smile tightened. “In a manner of speaking.”

Wren’s thoughts turned to Rathborne and what she had in store for him. “How many men have you killed for Gevra?”

Tor held her stare. A storm moved in his eyes. “Enough.”

“Did you lose sleep afterward?”

“There is no sleep in war, Your Highness.”

And of course Gevra was a warring nation. If Wren didn’t do something soon, they would bring their famed brutality to these shores. She tried to keep her anxiety from her face, but Tor was watching her too keenly now, and her palms were beginning to sweat. “Whendoyou find the time to sleep?” she said, striving for that easy lightness between them.

Tor gestured at the wolf. “We take turns on the night watch.”

“I’d be lying if I said that sounded effective.” Wren looked at Elske,who was now drooling liberally all over his boots. “Aren’t you worried she might run off while you’re sleeping? To play with someone more fun, and say... princessy?”

Tor’s laugh was surprisingly musical. It made Wren’s stomach flip. “Elske would only leave my side if I commanded it.”

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