Page 33 of Heart of Fire (Royal Ice Dragons #3)

HANNA

Somehow, though we were so far from the Ice Kingdom, Dare carried this clean, cold scent like snow, even in the midst of this blooming green garden. His scent enveloped me, and oddly I found it comforting.

How could I feel so torn between two places?

“Promise you won’t sail back to the Ice Kingdom without me?” I asked lightly. “Or let my sister throw me in the dungeon to keep me safe? I fear she and Kaelan are conspiring.”

He let out a short, bitter laugh. “I am imagining this dungeon is a lot nicer than Edric’s.”

“I’m sure you’re right.” If Honor did hold me, I’d be confined somewhere warm and cozy and safe, full of books and the finest foods, sweet-scented candles and my favorite cakes.

He glanced over at me. I couldn’t read his face right now, and my frustration stung, even before he asked, “Reconsidering your resistance?”

“No. I know you need me.”

He didn’t answer. Perhaps that was the more merciful option.

“Dare,” I began.

But then we were entering the gardens, and there were too many listening ears. The two of us picked up drinks and I steered us toward the far side of the gardens, away from the crowd.

I could feel Branok’s attention even before I caught his gaze; he was making small talk, but his focus was still on me. He knew I was upset, and from the way his gaze narrowed as it flickered to Dare, he was afraid I was upset because of Dare.

“Stay close.” My voice was light and teasing as I released his arm, only to catch his hand in mine. Our fingers twined together in the satin folds of my latest make-believe gown. “I wouldn’t want one of my brothers-in-law to try to end your life.”

“Would that make you sad, Princess?” His voice was low.

My heart felt as if it were being squeezed, but no one would have guessed from my smile. “I’d hate to have to come to your defense.”

I tried to form a thought to share through our bond, but I didn’t even know what to say to him at the moment. I didn’t want to be raw and vulnerable with him, and yet my facade didn’t feel like enough to offer him either.

“Marriage is hard,” I said.

“Have you given any more thought to divorce?”

The words were so quick and pat. They shouldn’t have stolen my breath like they did. I stared up at him, feeling as if something inside me was coming unwound.

His eyes widened as if he were surprised at himself, or perhaps at my reaction. All the frustration I’d felt at my brothers-in-law, at Honor, at him, and worst of all…at myself…suddenly seemed like too much to bear. There was terrible hot pressure at the back of my eyes, and as I glanced around the room, the candles and lights suddenly glittered far too brightly. I was looking to make sure there were no faces staring at me, that I had not been caught.

“Shh.” Dare’s voice was low in my ear as he turned me toward him, drawing me into his arms. I found myself moving along with his body as he drew me onto the dance floor. His arms were around me, blocking out the world as he swayed so close that my face was against his tunic.

“What are you doing?” I demanded at the fabric.

“Giving you a moment.” His lips dipped next to my temple, and I could feel his cool breath against my skin. “No one can see your face.”

I scoffed. I felt even more embarrassed knowing he was covering for me, protecting me from anyone else’s judgment. “You can.”

“I don’t count.” His breath stirred against my hair. My hot cheek was pressed against the soft fabric of his tunic. “I’m just a peasant.”

“You know that’s not true.”

He didn’t answer.

I let him move me around the dance floor as I mastered my emotions, until the hot threatening pulse of tears had faded. I pulled my face away from his chest, offering him a false bright smile.

“I thought you were angry at me,” I said, my voice light as ever. “Why rescue me?”

“Perhaps I am.” His drawl was lazy. “I’m often angry at you. I’m also always loyal to you.”

His words lit an unexpected glow in my chest.

“There you are.” He touched his thumb to the edge of my lip. “I love when you look at me and it’s real.”

“You play pretend just as much as I do.” I had liked pretending that what was between us was more reliable, less new, than it was. “I would like to point out that our marriage is, for the moment, quite useful.”

He knew I meant the bond. “Well. As long as I am useful to you.”

Everything still felt as if it were going wrong, warping between us.

The music was so high and cheerful. I despised it at the moment.

“I’d like to get my sister’s blessing tonight to use my skills to track down the Lady.”

“I assumed we’d be doing that with or without her blessing, but please do.”

I bit my lip. The last thing I wanted was to express any vulnerability at the moment, but I had no choice. I would be stupid not to warn him about the danger I was under from the Guild, now that we were back on our shores.

“I have to tell you a story about something stupid I did once.”

His brows arched. “Those are my very favorite kinds of stories. In fact, I am so excited about the fact I might be one of those stories.”

He was not going to make this any easier to tell.

“Come out to the garden,” I said. “I want to be sure no one can hear.”

He nodded and offered me his arm. I rested my fingertips on his corded forearm, feeling his warmth against my side, as the two of us steered through the crowd. Honor was holding court, Damyn at her side. Branok and Zehr were both nowhere to be seen, so I was sure they were watching over her.

Then we were out of the castle, walking down wide stone steps into a vast green space. There were topiaries shaped like wolves and dragons with rakish pink flowers dotted along their sides; I did not really understand the gardening choices.

“It’s so green here,” Dare said as the two of us walked out into the garden. “For no purpose whatsoever.”

“We don’t have to peel the ice back from the ground. Or work to make things bloom.” I glanced up at him, oddly eager for him to appreciate the Isle.

“Edric would never let me leave the Ice Kingdom,” he said. “Thorne would’ve been more trouble to kill, given he had a noble family that was rather attached to him. So, while Edric preferred to hang onto us both, he was willing to let go of Thorne occasionally. Not me.”

I took his hand again, glancing ahead of us at the people we had to pass to get to the more secluded part of the garden as if that were the reason. But really, I just wanted to touch him.

“The first time I left the Isle was for your kingdom. I haven’t seen the world beyond.” I said.

“Look at us. A pair of innocents.” His tone was deadpan. “I think we are beyond hearing, Hanna.”

He made a lazy motion with his hand, magic sparking at his fingertips, as he checked for eavesdroppers.

“Kaelan snared me with a trap I thought I could escape,” I said, before I could lose my nerve. “I made my vows to him believing that I was warded against being bound. But the Spy Guild had successfully removed my protections without me realizing they had done so.”

I glanced up at Dare, expecting him to mock me for being sloppy. He appeared to be listening intently. Beyond that, his expression was inscrutable.

“Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only vow I made without realizing I was unprotected. I promised that if I were sent on a mission by the Guild, I would follow orders without subverting them…as long as they did not endanger my family.”

That certainly raised a question of what the magic would agree constituted my family. I’d had a much simpler definition at that time, before Kaelan stormed back into my life and dragged Thorne and Dare with him. Slowly, these men had come to feel as if they were mine as well.

He nodded thoughtfully. I was sure he was already seeing the complications that lay before me once I began seeking guild members and possibly put myself in a position to receive orders that would work against us.

“What are the stakes of your vow? And I assume they’ll also bind you to silence?”

“I doubt any of them would forget. People tend to greatly prefer me silent.” My tone did not tremble as I added the stakes: “If I break my vow, I’ll lose the use of my legs.”

Dare nodded. “You were brave to come back to the Isle.”

Those words were so unexpected that I frowned. “No barbed commentary on my foolishness?”

“Judging from your face, it seems you have offered yourself plenty of barbed commentary. I’ve gambled and lost myself, Hanna.”

His tone was so matter-of-fact, his gaze kind.

Warmth blossomed in my chest at his understanding, but I felt as if I might not keep it. I found myself rushing to add, “You don’t even know how I lost my protection and foolishly made two vows?—”

“I’m sure that I would understand if you told me.” He cut me off. “But I don’t need you to tell me.”

I leaned forward, wrapping my arms around his waist. He didn’t hesitate to close his arms around me.

“I’ll be watching out for you,” he promised. “And I will be suspicious of your silence…but then, I always am.”

I let a choked laugh out into his tunic. His hand cupped the back of my head, and he pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

I wasn’t sure if he actually wanted to be my husband.

But at the moment, I was glad he was my friend.