Page 4 of Frozen Hearts and Death Magic

He exhaled, as if annoyed, then shook his head. “Ancient. But you’re free to call me whatever you want. And we don’t lie. It doesn’t mean I have to answer anything.”

“So you aren’t going to thank me or answer my questions. You know, I might call my father, who’ll put you in a dungeon.”

“And then chain me in iron and torture me until death.” His eyes narrowed. “Are you proud of that, little human?”

“I haven’t yet done anything to be either proud or ashamed of, little fae.”

“River.” The word made no sense, until he added, “My name.”

Somehow, the honesty and softness in his voice made her tremble, but it wasn’t fear, it was something… she wasn’t sure what it was. Naia didn’t want him to notice her reaction and chuckled. “Isn’t there some big deal about knowing your name or something?”

He shrugged. “Who knows? Who knows if the name is real? But you can call me River.” He then stared at her with an amused smirk. “Now, who is my beautiful aspiring human savior?”

Naia felt a slight flutter in her stomach, but ignored it. “Not yours. Not aspiring.”

He blinked slowly, perhaps to show off his long lashes. “Forgive me. I was under the impression you assumed you had saved my life. Is that not the case?”

“It’s not an impression. I saved your ungrateful skin. I’ll tell you my name if you tell me what you are doing here.”

River nodded. “That’s a fair deal.” Like that? So easily? He then said, “Your name first.”

Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. But if it was a trick, at least she would learn whether he could lie or not. “Naia. Short for Irinaia.”

“Naia,” he repeated slowly, as if savoring a drink. “Sounds like music.” He smiled. “I’m sitting on a bed, not sure where, talking to an unusually gorgeous girl.”

What he was doing here. It was a correct answer, by all means. Prick. And it was the second time he was calling her beautiful, probably expecting some reaction, which she wasn’t going to give him, even if it was the first time in her life anyone was calling her that—other than her brother, which didn’t count. She knew that it was just a polite way to get a woman’s attention and didn’t mean anything. Of course it didn’t. Still, it was interesting to learn that fae also did that.

Naia smiled. “Enlightening. I could never have guessed it.”

He returned the smile, as if satisfied. “My pleasure.”

Another knock on the door. “Hide,” she whispered. This time, she noticed a hint of fear in his eyes. This was good. It meant she could threaten him for answers.

Again she opened the door just a little, and saw Fel, this time holding a cup. She always admired how well he did that.

“Yes?”

He extended his gloved hand, a movement he did so graciously. “Mint tea. For your cough.”

Her twin was a treasure, even if his perfection was sometimes annoying. Naia shook her head. “You didn’t have to.”

“Always support each other.”

Their father had hammered that sentence in their heads. Naia hated it. For her, it meant one day seeing her brother become king while she’d need to settle with being just his advisor. For her twin, supporting each other meant making tea in the middle of the night.

She took the cup. “Thanks. I’ll try to sleep now, if you don’t mind.”

Fel pushed the door open before she had time to stop him. For a moment she felt a chill in her stomach, fearing he’d see what was on her bed, but all her brother did was kiss her forehead. “Sleep well, sis. I won’t bother you, but call me if you need anything.”

“I will.” She smiled, then watched as he walked away. He was indeed a treasure.

This was the first time she was lying to her brother, and guilt gnawed at her. Up until now, she had shared everything with him, and it felt odd to hide something. Fel made it very hard to dislike him. Or resent him. Or lie to him. Still, she shut the door, then pressed her ear on it, to make sure his steps were receding down the hall.

Perhaps she could have told him about River. But she hadn’t. Naia turned—and saw the fae eyeing her attentively.

“What?” she asked.

He turned away, a bored expression on his perfect face. “Nothing.”

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