Page 96 of Kiss of Ice

“The slayer! Natalia! I laid my feelings bare and she rejected me. I’m not making the same mistake again.”

“Ah.” Shade’s eyes flared neon blue. “I understand now. Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“Because it was humiliating, okay? She was the love of my life and she chose the damned beast over me.”

“So you left her behind?”

“She didn’t want me. She wanted him.”

“Then she wasn’t the love of your life.” The certainty of Shade’s statement pulled Kam up short.

“What do you mean?”

“If you had truly lost your heart to her, my friend, you would have followed her to the ends of the world. You would have laid yourself at her feet and offered her your soul. You would have riskedeverythingfor her, and nothing would have stopped you.”

“Because that’s whatyouwould have done?”

“Because that is what I did.”

They hovered silently for a while. In the distance, the Gilded Palace glowed brighter than ever.

“Just suppose – and I’m not saying this is the case, okay? – but just suppose I’m falling for Ren. What if she doesn’t feel the same way?”

Shade shrugged.

“Only one way to find out.”

There was another long pause.

“I was thinking of giving her my mother’s tiara,” Kam said eventually. “Do you think she’d like it?”

“Of course. It holds sentimental value for you, does it not?”

“Yes. But my mother would approve. She would have liked Ren.”

“I have news for you, my friend. Everyone who meets Ren likes her.” Shade shook his head in puzzlement. “How she sprang from Salaq’s loins is a mystery.”

“He treats her like shit. I don’t understand why she’s supported him all this time. Why she still loves him.”

“Because she has a big heart.” Shade took a last puff of his cigar. “Be brave, my friend. Tell her how you feel. Her heart’s big enough for you too.”

Forty

“You look peaky,” Ruth observed. “You’re not nervous, are you?”

It was the morning of the wedding. Outside the window, Ren could hear the carillon of bells that seemed to have been ringing non-stop since dawn. The whole realm was celebrating the marriage of the Emperor. Her stomach churned with apprehension.

“A little,” she admitted.

She stared at herself in the mirror. She was sitting in her bathrobe, with Jaina, Leshi and Amal fussing over her as they attended to her hair and make-up. She had to admit, they’d done a good job.

Her skin was a flawless ivory, her brows and lashes darkened to make her eyes stand out. Her lips were the colour of wine, and subtle contouring highlighted the contours of her face. They’d even managed to give her the illusion of cheekbones, she thought wryly.

Her hair was a masterpiece. The front sections had been woven into intricate braids and secured with diamond-tipped pins that sparkled every time she moved. The rest cascaded down her back in a luxuriant mane; a waterfall of waves that shone like pure silver.

“I wish I had hair like you,” said Jaina enviously. She took a handful of glossy serum and ran it through Ren’s curls, making them gleam even more. Leshi adjusted a couple of the diamonds, securing them more tightly.

Ren turned her head from side to side, admiring the girls’ handiwork. She’d never looked better, she thought. Ruth was more critical.

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