Page 107 of Frozen Hearts and Death Magic

“No.” He showed the palms of his hands. “Of course not. I’d never. I’m… just warning you, Leah. But you’re right that we’ve been getting along and that’s a pointless warning.”

A chill ran down her spine. “You think my parents are in danger?”

“No. My father and yours are friends. You know that.”

“That’s not what you said.”

“It was a silly assumption. In case something major happened, like if you tried to run away or something.”

“Why would I run away now, if I’m about to go home?” She pointed to the window. “And you think I’m going to climb out?”

He shook his head. “No. Forgive my nonsense. There’s nothing to worry. We’ll be in Frostlake soon. But we need to be husband and wife by then, so…”

“So you decided to threaten my parents because that’s so romantic and will definitely help us grow close.”

He shook his head again. “I’m not the one you need to fear. You know that. You know it so much that you’re not holding your tongue.” He put a hand on his head. “Which is for the best. We need to be honest with each other, and I was being honest with you, that’s all. Are you ready?”

She almost asked, “For what?” then his words hit her. “We could wait,” she blurted.

Venard nodded. “True. I’m also a little winded from the wedding. Try to relax, and I’ll be back in an hour. Oh.” He reached out his land and removed her choker necklace, which was a relief. “See? I trust you. Until later, Leah.”

Leandra. She hated when he used her nickname. And what did he mean by one hour? No, no. That was not what she had meant by waiting.

She sat on her bed, her heart racing. Had he been saying that if she were difficult to him her parents would be in danger? No, he couldn’t have said that. But she wasn’t sure. The thought that he would be somehow forcing her to cooperate made her nauseous. She had been planning on cooperating. There were certainly many more women in loveless marriages, and they did what they had to.

Leah could maybe try to relax and do what her mother had told her: imagine she was somewhere else. It still sounded dreadful. And yet now her parents kept coming to her mind, worry taking over her thoughts.

She had to come up with a plan, and she wasn’t going to do it while worried like that. Perhaps the answer could be in her dreams. Leah lay down, closed her eyes, and took slow, deep breaths. She could imagine she was somewhere else. Her dragon. Perhaps she could find it in her thoughts or dreams. That would help her calm down.

She closed her eyes, imagining she was outdoors on a meadow, trying to find her connection with her dragon. All she saw were fluffy, white clouds in the sky, but she decided she was going to be patient. Her dragon, her dragon, her dragon. She kept that thought steady in her mind.

The ground in front of her opened, and a huge form emerged from it, his iridescent silver scales reflecting the sun. Brilliant, delightful colors, a soothing feeling in her heart, in her mind. Soothing, soothing, all these colors dancing, reflected in those brilliant, magnificent scales. She followed the dragon, running in that meadow.

Then she was in a dark room with stone walls. A huge map of Aluria was attached to a wall, with some drawings and arrows in it. A small wooden table had some twenty books on history and military strategy, piled on top of each other, some of them lying open facing down. That was a horrible thing to do to a book.

On a shelf, by a window, there were some fiction titles. The sky was darkening outside. She looked at the other side and found a single bed with someone asleep on it. Even turned to the other side, she recognized the hair: that was Isofel. Leah was in her dream world, she was sure of it. This wasn’t Ironhold and she wasn’t in her body anymore. She approached the bed and he turned.

He smiled when he saw her, a dimpled smile that was delight, surprise, wonder, it was everything. This was indeed a dream, or he wouldn’t be looking at her like that, with his eyes so brilliant. She realized that this was the place she most wanted to be, this was what she most wanted. And if it was a dream, then nothing was forbidden.

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