In Chains by K L Thorne

Author:K L Thorne
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781793006141
Published: 2019-09-20T04:00:00+00:00

The castle gardens were truly spectacular, even under a foot or more of snow. Thousands of trees, hedgerows and shrubs, all pruned to exacting standards, crept towards the outer walls in elaborate patterns. Though Haros could only make out their rough shapes beneath the snow, he could tell the gardeners took a lot of pride in their work.

He followed behind Sivelle along an intricately tiled mosaic path, which had been swept clear of any snow and gritted with salt to stave off the worst of the ice.

For the first time since Haros had met her, Sivelle had forgone her usual flowing gowns for some ornately decorated leather breeches. They did wonders for her figure. Sivelle had also picked a half-cloak that left all of her best bits available for him to gaze at. Haros eyed her shapely behind greedily as he trailed after her, silently thanking whoever was looking out for him.

Nyre was curled around his torso and he could feel her pawing at him, eager to get out from beneath his cloak to explore the gardens. Now he knew she was a confident flier, despite all the reasons she had not to be, Haros didn’t feel nearly as concerned about letting her loose.

“This is one of my favourite spots in the summer,” Sivelle sighed, coming to a stop beside a large marble fountain. The water was frozen solid, which somewhat detracted from its appeal, but Haros gazed around trying to envision what this part of the garden would look like in the height of summer.

Summer in Hestaesia wasn’t warm by any means, but the snow would thaw and the temperature would rise high enough to encourage plant life to bloom. Summers were beautiful but brief on the frozen plane. You had to take time out to enjoy them, or else you would blink and miss it.

Sivelle brushed snow from a nearby stone bench. He followed suit and sat beside her. Nyre eagerly clambered out from the cover of his cloak and took off, billowing fine flakes of snow over them in her haste.

Sivelle and Haros laughed, blinking against the onslaught, and watched the little dragon perch herself on the frozen ice at the tip of the fountain. Her bright eyes narrowed as she keenly took in her surroundings.

“It’s nice here,” Haros said, looking around. “There are no gardens in Banesteppe.”

“What a shame. Why not?” Sivelle asked.

“No one can afford the upkeep on them. Most families are barely getting food on the table, never mind worrying about trimming hedges and planting flowers.”

There was a long, thoughtful pause, and Haros silently chastised himself for being so negative. It wasn’t the princess’s fault the demons were suffering; it was her father’s.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“No, no. That’s alright. I know very little of what is occurring outside of the walls. I had heard rumours of demon poverty, but it wasn’t a subject our father was keen to educate my sisters and me on.” She smiled sadly.

“I can tell you anything you want to know.

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