Page 5 of The Snow Queen

The elf was now wearing a long dark jumper held at his waist by a belt fitted with a dagger, and heavy black boots; a million times more practical than the shoes she'd been given by Belle, who, to be fair, had probably not imagined she'd be climbing up mountains.

“I cannot keep this. You'll be cold.”

And cold could harm him; it did nothing to her.

“I'll get another one,” the male shrugged. “Where are you headed? If you were looking for Virvolla, it’s miles south.”

He must have referred to the fortified city she'd passed before entering her lands.

“I'm going up.”

“You're not dressed or equipped for going up,” he protested impatiently.

Eira scrutinized his eyes, trying to read what would make him let her go.

And nothing.

The elf was shielded, which made him exquisitelyinteresting.

Eira recognized a kindred soul: like her, he was controlling his mind, making himself indifferent to the world.

Enough, she admonished herself. She couldn’t afford to be engrossed by handsome mortals.

“I'll be fine,”she told him in Truth; like every creature alive, he understood the language. No one had to learn it to comprehend it.

“Alright, then. Just be cautious.”

Eira’s eyes followed the elf as he walked away. When she caught him turning back towards her, she gave him a faint smile, wondering whether he’d be alive the next time she awoke.

Probably not.

It wasn’t the first time Kai wondered if he should get it over with and fuck the girl, already. She certainly was asking for it.

When he’d returned from the woods, she’d been in his cabin, lying down on his bed, pretending to have beenconcernedabout him; then, apparently, she’d fallen asleep while waiting for him.

He’d gotten rid of her before turning in for an early night.

He knew he’d have to take her, eventually. Gerda was the strongest, and perhaps the fairest female in his clan. She also happened to be the only one who was old enough for him; there was something disturbing about envisaging the idea of bedding someone who, a few years back, had worn nappies, when he’d already been an adult with responsibilities.

Gerda had grown up with him. She knew him, she’d even seen glimpses of the darkness he held within, and yet, she wanted him.

This particular fact, which should have appealed to him, disgusted him. He knew why she could overlook the flaws in his character; she sought to become the leader’s companion, nothing more.

“She isn’t that bad, Kai.”

He turned to old Fyn, the closest thing he’d ever had to a mother, and lifted one eyebrow.

“Let’s rephrase that. Regardless of how you might feel about her, you need an heir. Take any girl,everygirl if you must.”

He chuckled, as per usual refreshed by her sincerity.

“Maybe I’m not into any girl here,” he said, his mind unconsciously returning to the strange, annoyingly unprepared human he’d met in the wood.

If it had been her and not Gerda spread out on his bed, he might have had an heir on the way by now.

That idea was disturbing, to say the least.

Kai was a responsible sort of guy; he didn’t fuck around with his subjects – because he knew none of them appealed to him past the physical attraction. That meant his intercourses were limited to humans, during his trips into town, when he got supplies.

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