Page 3 of A Witch and Her Dragon
“B-but that’s for His Majesty, Your Highness.”
“I’ll take it to him. Thank you.”
She blinks, then exchanges a glance with Ms. Fairhaven, who just sighs.
“Very well,” my lady-in-waiting says. “I’ll be in your chambers when you’re finished.”
I flick my gaze to Yuki. “Are you coming?”
His eyes scan the wind tunnel behind me warily. Then he sits and wraps his fluffy white tail around his paws. “I think not.” His tone is onlyslightlyaffronted that I would even ask.
He’s never liked the blast of air that sends you twirling up the many stories to the highest floor of the castle. But I’ve always felt free when I’m weightless like that, held aloft only by air.
I give the two women a smile, push the sliding gate to the wind tunnel open with my stockinged foot, and then step backward into the shaft. The gate closes, and I’m still smiling when a vortex of powerful wind wraps around me, lifting me from my feet, and shoots me up through the tunnel, all the way to Grandfather’s study.
Chapter 2
Raelan
I KNOCK SOFTLY ON THE king’s study door while tugging my purple-and-gold-trimmed uniform back into place with the other.
I hate that damn wind tunnel. Always have. I’d usually take the stairs—all three hundred of them—but this might be urgent, and I wanted to get here as quickly as possible.
“Enter,” comes the king’s low voice.
The guards stationed on either side of the door give me looks at I grip the handle and push into the study. Their eyes are still following me as I close it firmly behind me.
I straighten up and clasp my hands behind my back. King Jorvick Ravenscroft stands at the window overlooking the gardens, a small smile on his face. He’s wearing his leisure clothing: a fine long-sleeved tunic beneath a gilded vest, simple brown trousers, and a mantle trimmed in velvet. He doesn’t look up at me, his pale eyes trained on somethingoutside the window.
I clear my throat. “You sent for me, Your Majesty?”
I was in the training yard going through swordsmanship drills with some of the younger guards when His Majesty’s messenger arrived with word the king needed to see me. I returned to the barracks promptly and cleaned myself up before making haste here. But now, seeing the king standing contentedly at the window, I’m wondering just how urgent it was.
“Yes,” King Jorvick says. “And you’re just in time. She’ll be up here any minute now.” He finally shifts his gaze to me.
My expression remains neutral as I ask, “She, Your Majesty?”
“Alina,” he says, stepping away from the window and toward the large hearth burning along the back wall.
At the sound of her name, my stomach goes tight, my spine pulling me a bit more rigid.
Princess Alina Ravenscroft. The king’s granddaughter, a talented but untrained frost witch, and—
“She just received her acceptance letter from Coven Crest,” the king goes on to explain, “and she’ll be up here soon, begging me to let her go.” He chuckles and holds his hands out toward the crackling flames in the hearth. Despite the spring warmth outside, the castle remains chilly, and our fires still burn. “And if I’m to let her attend,” the king continues, “I’ll need you to go with her.”
Me. Go withher?
My heart picks up its pace. I struggle to keep my face blank.
This cannot be happening.
“Am I the best candidate for the job, Your Majesty?” I ask, though I know I shouldn’t, and I very nearly cringe as soon as the words leave my mouth. Who am I to question our king? But I can’t just agree to this without at least trying to push back. Ican’tgo with Her Highness to Coven Crest. I’d have to be near her, talk to her,smellher—
“I’d choose no one else,” the king says, voice sharp. His eyes flick to mine, and he straightens up. “Are you questioning my judgment, Sir Ashvale?”
“No, Your Majesty. Never.”
His expression turns curious. “Then what’s the problem?”
