Page 48 of A Bride for the Winter King
Her private space is not big, but it has a bathroom, a bed, and a large fireplace. Loud music and laughter rise between the floorboards from the first floor of the inn, and the windows offer a frosted view of the empty street below.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Tea?” She hands me a mug of contraceptive tea, and the familiar, purple-colored liquid flips my stomach.
A languid ache takes hold of my body. I can’t believe the last few hours really happened, and now that I’ve washed Elio’s scent off me, I can’t wrap my mind around any of it. All the adrenaline fizzles out, leaving me exhausted and famished—and deliciously sore, though I’m doing my best not to think about it.
Sarafina watches me with her arms crossed as I down the entire mug. When I’m done, I set it on the dresser and move towalk past her, but she puts herself in my way. “Before you go, I need to check you for active enchantments.”
A wry grin curls my lips. “Your king has already inspected me.”
“I’d rather make sure. He seemed awfully distracted.”
Sarafina hikes the sleeve of the robe up my arm, and she’s a champion of modesty compared to Elio. She inspects me section by section and avoids my private parts, probably confident that her boss paid enough attention to them. I come out of the second search feeling slightly more like myself, but the woman in front of me looks rattled to say the least.
She fetches a sewing pin and holds it out to me. “Prick your finger.”
My jaw clenches. “I’m not a fan of blood magic?—”
“Neither am I. Just do it.”
I coax a drop of blood from my fingertip and Sarafina guides my hand to the hollow of my neck and draws the Fae rune for “heart” in blood over my skin. She punctuates the drawing with the rune for “Truth”, and air rushes out of my lungs.
Magic envelops me from all sides, but it quickly draws back, and Sarafina gives a big sigh. “Alright. You’re a true doppelganger.” She crosses her arms around her small frame and taps her foot to the ground. “Why do you look like Iris?”
“I have no idea,” I answer truthfully, acting a little more aloof than strictly necessary.
She clicks her tongue. “Don’t play with him. He deserves more than that.”
The way Elio looked at her earlier—with so much tenderness—haunts me. That combined with the obvious love in Sarafina’s voice just now… I’m almost sure they’re together. I roll my shoulders back, trying to summon some much needed anger.
If I’m right, Elio cheated on his girlfriend and enrolled her to take care of me, but the possibility only fills me with misery.
I clear my throat. “You seem to be quite taken by him. If you like him so much, why hold a pageant to find him a wife? Why not just marry him yourself and spare us all this charade?”
She laughs at that, all smiles, and her reaction throws me for a loop. “You’re jealous?”
“No,” I huff.
“You should have seen your eyes just now. Don’t worry, Sixteen. I’d be more inclined to fall for you rather than Elio.” She presses her lips together to stifle another giggle, and her eyes flick to the sash of my robe suggestively.
“Oh! When I came out of the wagon, you were crying, and he was whispering in your ear, so I thought—” I blurt out.
She lets out a cheerful snort and shakes her head again. “I was crying because I thought he’d killed you, and that would have wrecked him formonths. Come on now,” she motions for me to follow her into the next room. “You deserve some food for making me laugh.”
Bread, charcuteries, and cheese have been laid out in a buffet fashion next to a big table, but the dining room is empty and quiet.
Sarafina tiptoes over to the doors on the other side of the room and twists the locks. “Here. Paul won’t disturb us, now. We wouldn’t want him to think that the two of us are sneaking around.”
My stomach rumbles, and I bee-line for the buffet. Feeling foolish for my earlier fumble, I snatch humongous pieces of bread and cheese from the plate and smash them together. A low hum escapes my throat as I take a bite out of the divine, sweet and salty makeshift sandwich.
“Easy there, ogre. I’m hungry, too.” Sarafina breaks a piece off of the loaf and dumps it onto a plate. She looks pensive as she sits in the seat across from me and munches on the bread. “Why are you here, really? To kill him? Steal from him?”
I swallow down another bite before I answer, “Not at all. I’m no assassin or thief. I’m a true Shadow huntress.”
“Let’s say you’re telling the truth, and that you work for the Shadow King. Why did he send you here? And if you’re truly one of his, why weren’t you part of his court on Morheim? It’s not like he’s got hunters to spare.”
“I was too hurt to come along on Morheim.”
