Page 17 of Kiss of Ice

But to her surprise, he managed to give a tight smile.

“Of course, your Majesty. Please feel free to ask her any question you like. Just kindly bear in mind she isn’t as sophisticated as other noblewomen. Since her mother died, she has lacked a female role model.”

At least that’s something we have in common,thought Kam. He’d lost his mother too. His gaze flicked to Ren but she was looking at the floor again. Her hands were clasped in front of her and she was nervously twisting a ring on her middle finger. Rotating it compulsively. Turning it round and round.

Kam stifled the gasp that rose to his lips. He darted a look at her face, and then back to her hands.

That ring. It was the same one. And her hands… he recognised them now. The same long fingers, the same blueish tint. As if she was cold.

He leaned forward and raised his voice.

“Master Zelen, please escort Lord Salaq to the Majlis Room.” As if from nowhere, a thin man in a black uniform materialized in the throne room. He bowed.

“This way, my Lord.” He held his arm out to indicate the way. Salaq turned a perplexed face towards Kam.

“Your Majesty, surely I should stay to advocate for my daughter? As I explained, she’s not a woman of the world, she may not understand…”

“Oh, I think she’ll be just fine. Please go with my steward.”

Salaq’s expression darkened but there was nothing he could do. Sullenly, he followed the servant out of the throne room. Ren kept her eyes down as Kam got out of the chair and came to stand in front of her.

He had been right. Shewasnearly as tall as him. The top of her head came to the bridge of his nose.

“You will look at me.”

His voice was soft but there was a hard edge to it that hadn’t been there before. And he was standing far too close to her. She took a step back.

“Your Majesty?”

Her voice. He should have realised before. It held the same melodious tone he’d heard in the carriage.

“You can stop lying now. We’ve met before. Haven’t we,thief?”

Eight

Two spots of colour bloomed high on her cheeks, stark against the snow of her skin. She swallowed.

“I… I didn’t think you recognised me.”

“I didn’t. Until just now.” He grabbed her hand and held it up. “Your nervous habit gave you away. So tell me, my light-fingered friend, what’s your game? Come to see what you could pilfer from the Gilded Palace?”

She wrenched out of his grasp angrily.

“You know I wasn’t stealing for myself. It was for…”

“A poor sick youngling, yes, you said,” he said impatiently. “But my question is, why are you here now? You must have known I’d recognise you eventually. You could have declined the invitation. Yet you came.”

“I had no choice. My father insisted.”

“Ah yes. Your father. Such a paragon that he’s willing to bind his only daughter into marriage with a man he detests.”

“My father is loyal to the Crown. He cares for Nush’aldaam, he wants to do what’s right for it.”

“As I recall, your father tried to steal the throne.”

She clenched her fists at the unfairness of his accusation.

“At least he was here! Where were you? Where were you when your father died, when your people needed you?Yourfather was gone somyfather tried to step in. He was a hero.”

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