Page 29 of A Kingdom of Sand and Ice (Kingdom of Gods #2)

‘You wolverians are a delicate sort, aren’t you? I thought you lot were meant to be hardy, sleeping in snow and the like.’

Wren rolled her eyes. ‘We do not sleep on snow.’

‘Isn’t there a festivity in which you all sleep naked outside on the snow?’

‘That’s an old tradition. No one does that anymore!’

‘Well, isn’t there a mating ritual? Couples spend the night outside naked?’

Wren’s cheeks turned bright red. ‘What would ya know about that?’

‘Oh? Are you shy talking about mating rituals?’ He shrugged playfully. ‘I don’t see why. It’s a very natural thing. We all do it.’

‘I’m not shy!’ She cleared her throat and eyed him warily as he unpacked a few items and sat down as though he’d always intended to stay. ‘What are ya doing now?’

‘I thought about leaving you to it,’ he said, plucking a piece of dried fruit from his bag. ‘But then I remembered how thoroughly useless you are, and felt bad. So I’ve been following you all afternoon.’

Her face twisted with outrage. ‘I’m not useless.’

Arden gave a snort of laughter. ‘I’ve been watching you. Trust me. Utterly. Hopeless .’

Wren glared at him. ‘Well, all right then. Kindly shut up.’

She watched as he rummaged through his satchel, retrieving a handful of neatly wrapped parcels.

A warm, mouth-watering scent wafted through the air, curling into her nose like a welcome spell.

Wren closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, her stomach giving a most undignified growl in response.

When she opened them again, she caught Arden pulling a face.

‘You really are like a dog.’

‘We’re not dogs, we’re wolves,’ she muttered defensively.

He shrugged. ‘Same difference, really.’

He passed her one of the parcels, which revealed a simple, steaming meal of cooked vegetables, potatoes, and slivers of roast chicken.

Wren devoured it with reckless speed, barely tasting the food as it disappeared.

When she looked up, cheeks flushed, Arden was still holding his own, untouched, and watching her with a sort of stunned bemusement.

‘I was hungry…’ she mumbled, embarrassed by the ferocity of her appetite. She’d never cared much for etiquette, but in that moment, she felt oddly childish, awkward and ungainly under his gaze.

Another parcel appeared in her lap.

She blinked down at it, confused, before realising he had given her his own meal.

‘No, I…ya won’t have anything for yerself. I can’t take it.’

But Arden merely waved her off. ‘I’ve already eaten. Don’t worry yourself. Like you said, you’re hungry.’

With a few absurdly exaggerated faces meant to coax a smile from her, he convinced her to take it. She ate more slowly this time, as if savouring not just the food but the unspoken kindness behind the gesture.

Then he pulled a blanket from his bag and passed it across to her without a word. Wren wrapped it around herself tightly, watching him from over the edge like a suspicious cat.

‘Why are ya helping me?’ she asked after a pause.

‘Well… I think any decent person would help a young lady who’s lost and stark naked in an ancient forest. Do wolverians not believe in lending a hand?’

Wren growled low in her throat.

‘I’ll take that as a no,’ he said, amused.

‘We help,’ she huffed.

‘Do you?’ he said, raising an eyebrow.

‘When someone needs it.’

‘And you didn’t?’

‘I was doing just fine on me own.’

Arden snorted. ‘If you say so… Sorry, I meant, if ya say so.’

With a grumble, she chucked the blanket at his face. ‘Stop making fun of me!’

‘I do apologise. You simply make it so delightfully easy.’

‘I need to find me friend,’ she said.

‘We will. But not tonight. Wandering through the Forest of Endless Trees after dark is a quick way to become compost. Get some sleep.’

She opened her mouth to protest, but he lobbed the blanket at her again, this time smacking her square in the face. He lay back with a content sigh, clearly done with the conversation.

Wren tried to follow suit, curling up beneath the blanket, but her thoughts tumbled restlessly. She shifted, then shifted again, until eventually she heard him grunt in irritation.

‘What is it now?’ he grumbled.

‘I was wondering…’ Wren sat up, her voice hushed with curiosity. ‘I heard there are jackalopes in this forest. Is that true?’

Arden stared at her, brows knitting together. He suddenly burst into a peal of laughter so loud and unrestrained that a flock of startled birds shot into the night sky, their wings slicing through the silence.

‘Is that what’s keeping you up, little wolf?’ he said between fits of laughter.

Wren shivered, her voice a murmur of unease. ‘They say they steal yer soul if ya look into their eyes… Legend says they’ll leap out into yer path, stare right through ya, and…’ she gulped, ‘yer soul gets snatched away, foreva.’

‘Oh, stars above, that’s absurd!’ Arden roared, laughter still bubbling from his throat.

‘So… there’s no such thing as jackalopes?’

‘Oh, there are. But they’re about as threatening as a sleepy kitten.’ Wren pictured a rabbit, innocent and wide-eyed, sporting a proud pair of antlers. But then those eyes turning red… demonic. Her stomach twisted at the thought.

‘Mind the dryads, though,’ Arden added, his tone mockingly serious. ‘Actually thought you were one at first. They’ve a habit of wandering about stark naked too. But then you opened your mouth and—’ His grin widened, green eyes glinting with mischief.

‘Ya have a wicked tongue,’ Wren muttered.

‘Funny, the ladies never seem to mind it,’ he replied with a wink.

Wren flushed so violently she feared her cheeks might catch fire. She prayed the night would conceal the betrayal of her skin, that the shadows would keep her blush a secret.

‘Didn’t take you for a prude, little wolf. Always thought it was the drakonians who blushed at the sight of nipples.’

‘Oh, just shut it.’

‘Is that the moon glowing so bright, or your face?’ He howled with laughter again. Wren flung a small stone at him, which he easily dodged without missing a beat.

‘So tell me,’ he said, stretching out, ‘why’s a wolverian running about naked in the Forest of Endless Trees?’

‘I’m trying to get to Floridia. I need to speak with da royal family.’

‘Why?’

‘None of yer business.’

Arden held his hands up in mock surrender. ‘Fair enough.’

‘How do ya know this forest so well?’

‘It’s my trade.’

‘Ya work picking berries?’ Wren frowned.

‘That’s a rather sanctimonious tone you’ve got there, little wolf. Nothing wrong with picking berries for a living.’

Wren blinked. ‘Oh. Sorry. Just… wasn’t expecting that .’

‘Bit judgemental, aren’t you?’ he teased. ‘Not everyone wants to swing a sword and wear a crown. There’s no shame in earning a living from the forest.’

‘I neva said there was. I knew a lad once who knew another lad from our village who picked limeberries. He’d freeze them on sticks and sell them like little ice-pops.

Oh, I love ice-pops. In summer, they’re da best. Ya stick one in yer mouth until da ice melts, numbs yer tongue, and then boom!

Fruity flavour bursts out and dribbles all over yer mouth and chin.

’ Wren trailed off, catching the look Arden was giving her.

His lips were parted in surprise, his brows high with amusement.

‘ Sorry,’ she muttered. ‘I try not to talk so much. I’ve been working on it. Still hard sometimes.’

‘Don’t be sorry.’ A soft smile tugged at his lips. ‘You can talk as much as you like, little wolf. Anyone who says otherwise isn’t worth your breath. I’m just… amazed at how you made something as innocent as ice-pops sound so dirty .’

Wren groaned and threw the blanket at his face. ‘Do shut up, Arden Briar.’

She lay back down and turned her back to him, but his laughter lingered in the air like a lullaby.

And strangely, it soothed her.

‘Night night, little wolf,’ he murmured.