Page 81 of Dance of Kings and Thieves

“Bracken knew you were alive,” Sofia said. Her voice was weak and dry. Like spitting out sand. “I admit I always hoped, but feared the worst.”

“I do love tender reunions,” Tova whispered with a touch of irony. “I wonder if Eryka will forget about my sweet, precious Gunnar now that her family is slowly being restored.”

“Tov,” Malin tilted her head. “You sound a little protective of the princeling.”

“Maybe I am. He won’t come right out and say it, but I think he likes the strange fae. He’s not so hardened like the rest of us, and those soft hearts bleed the most.”

“Don’t look, Tova,” Malin whispered, “but I think you might have one of those soft hearts too.”

Tova leveled the small blade of her knife near Malin’s nose. “Take it back, or I take away your ability to speak.”

Malin laughed and swatted Tova’s hand away before she could set to work bandaging any of her wounds. “I’m not injured. Sofia needs the help. She’s not eaten in days.”

“Nik is handling her, and you seem blissfully unaware you have a festering gash over your brow. Hold still.”

“You’re too demanding, and I am a queen.”

Tova snorted. “Ah, I see. Claim the title when it is convenient.”

“What good is it otherwise?”

“Well, Your Bleeding Majesty, you’re all patched up. Now go, whimper about how cruel I am for caring whether you die of infection to someone who will listen.”

Malin snickered as Tova made her way toward Elise. There was already a crowd to fight through. Sol and Tor were nearly as close to Elise as Valen. The Sun Prince kept inspecting his sister-in-law, while Tor glared at her and muttered words I couldn’t hear. From what I knew of him, he was insulting her while telling her he loved her in the same breath.

Halvar shoved Tor’s shoulder, nudging him aside, and said something to the queen until she laughed.

Herja and Hagen kept going back and forth between Malin and Elise until Malin shooed them away.

“I think Elise is frustrated with you,” I whispered.

“Why?” Malin peered around my body to the small army surrounding the queen. Elise pointed her glare at us before she was swallowed behind the line of her worried family.

“You’ve sent everyone to her, and you are left in peace.”

“She knows how to be queen. I’ve no doubt she will scare everyone away when it becomes unbearable.” Malin rested her head against my shoulder. “I missed you, you know. A little. Not a great deal, but enough to make mention of it.”

“Liar.” I tugged her to my side. Malin insisted they’d only been in the burrow for half a day at most. Had the queen not convinced the troll to find us, how long would she have been trapped there without food and drink?

“How much blood stains the soil now?” she whispered.

“I do not apologize for doing what was needed to find my wife.”

“I am not asking for an apology. There are no lengths I would not go to find you, Kase. I thought I’d proved this by now.”

I kissed her forehead. “It was not me I feared for, to be honest.”

My gaze drifted back to Valen. He had Elise’s face in his palms, his brow to hers.

“Well,” Malin said softly, her eyes were shadowed in a touch of sympathy for the Northern royals, “perhaps for a moment we can rest from bloodshed.”

“For now.” I drew her knuckles to my lips. “Who is the red-eyed fae?”

“A sea fae from a place called the Chasm of Seas.”

“A sea fae? Like Sigurd said?”

Malin shrugged. “I don’t know exactly. The story he told of why he was summoned unnerved me most. Kase, the Black Palace, and likely the Southern fae, is using old mesmer. He was compelled here, and they took his son to use his blood. According to him, the boy has healing blood.”