Lord of Snow and Ice by Heather Massey

Author:Heather Massey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2013-10-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Stellan waited in a grove thick with birch trees, his obsidian cape billowing softly in the breeze. Nearby, a low-slung stone fence sloped toward the ground and disappeared beneath it, a remnant, perhaps, of a dwelling long ago. He stood in the shadows while Midnight grazed a few feet away. Wolfe paced in the woods around him, the only bodyguard he’d ever needed.

Glossy leaves covered the ground, still damp from a recent rainfall. In the horizon, fog crept across the hills of northern Aldebaran, effectively covering them in syrupy blankets.

Over three hours had passed while he waited, hoping Clarysa would come. Lionel had brokered the meeting weeks ago. Perhaps he had forgotten? Worse still, had Clarysa placed Stellan entirely out of her mind? She’d been absent from the hunts. Either she was being kept under lock and key, or she’d found a more interesting suitor. No doubt, a “normal” prince from one of the other kingdoms would be far easier to put up with than him. Stellan gritted his teeth, once again wondering why he’d placed such an unprecedented amount of trust in her.

Still, he wanted to believe. He risked his life by lurking in Aldebaran’s woods, but he didn’t care. Clarysa was all he thought about, even at the expense of the growing Pestilence threat.

His companions had noticed. Patrulha, for one, had been intensely vocal about her displeasure regarding his…preoccupation of late. “You had better focus your mind on what’s needed soon, oh lordly prince, or everyone around here will wind up dead–or worse!”

She only used her favorite reproach, “oh lordly prince” when something deeply upset her. She might have had a point, he conceded. Perhaps Stellan would best serve everyone if he forgot about Clarysa and concentrated on the issue at hand–eliminating Pestilence. He had to be ready for whatever his father planned to throw at him.

But a hunger he struggled to understand propelled him to gain his fill of the youngest Aldebaran princess. What if he never saw her again? Could he continue on as he had been, a bitter hermit with a heart rotting from disuse? When he probed inwardly for an answer to resolve his confusion, none came.

A snapping twig yanked Stellan from his reverie. He turned his head in the direction of the noise. Two riders approached. Lionel was one. The other was some kind of servant, cloaked and hooded.

Stellan revealed himself. They exchanged hushed greetings.

“Wait here,” Lionel instructed. He turned his horse around. “My squire will wait on you until the time of your meeting.”

Stellan grabbed Lionel’s arm and lowered his voice. “Are you sure he can be trusted?”

Lionel glanced over his shoulder, smiling faintly. “Oh, most certainly. Been with me for years.”

They clasped hands. “Thank you,” Stellan said.

He watched Lionel ride off. Turning back around, Stellan found himself in the tight grip of the squire, the servant’s arms locked around his torso. Cold dread invaded his chest. Squire…or soldier? What deceit is this? Stellan broke the hold and pushed against his chest with a powerful thrust of his hand.

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