Page 36 of The Crown of the Last Fae Queen (The Heartless and the Wicked #4)
“Well, General Agnarr and General Freyja have extremely powerful men, right? It makes sense. They both are tough as nails. And then General Rakel is in charge of the elves, or any fae who have elf lineage.” She braided a section of Kolfinna’s hair and looped it behind her head, securing it with another shimmering pin.
“But General Floki’s men are more … uh, shadowy , I guess?
They do the dirtiest work. The assassinations.
The spying. The information gathering.” She shrugged.
“Of course not all of them do that, but they all are basically the outcasts.”
Kolfinna hadn’t expected that from Floki, who had appeared the kindest out of the generals—though that wasn’t saying much since all of them appeared ruthless. She had expected Rakel, maybe, to be in charge of the dirty work, since she seemed crafty.
“Oh, you should see General Floki’s son,” Astrid continued with a grin. “All the ladies go wild for him. I heard General Floki was quite the looker when he was younger, too.”
Astrid then began to rattle on about court life and fae males; Kolfinna listened intently, but she eventually grew tired of the useless information.
She didn’t know any of the people Astrid was talking about, anyway.
Soon, her attention strayed to thoughts of Blár, and her heart clenched tightly in her chest, making it hard to breathe.
What was he doing right now? Did he know she had almost died?
“Astrid,” she said, suddenly remembering something. “What ever happened with you and that human soldier you met?”
A blush spread over Astrid’s cheeks immediately and she ran her hands over her thighs as she went to collect Kolfinna’s dress. “Oh, you mean Gunnar? Nothing, really. We’ve been having lunch and dinner together, lately, but that’s about it.”
“He seemed rather interested in you.” She tried not to show her relief; Gunnar hadn’t been found out yet.
After the assassination attempt, she was sure the fae’s defenses would tighten tremendously.
It would probably be harder for Blár to sneak in and out, and maybe even more difficult for Gunnar to blend in.
“Oh, I suppose.” Her face remained flushed as she held up the stunning dress. “Let’s get you dressed.”
After Kolfinna washed her face and had a quick sponge bath, Astrid helped her into the gown.
The full sleeves were embellished heavily with silver crystals and embroidery, and the dress clung to her figure in a flattering way, accentuating her full hips and breasts.
The neckline showed a hint of cleavage, but it was partially masked by the gauzy mesh overlaid that climbed up to her neck.
Tiny, glittering crystals covered the entirety of the mesh, and was sprinkled along the skirts as well.
It was too beautiful a dress to be worn by her, she thought as she stared at the mirror. Astrid had pulled her hair up into an artful bun, with silver pins interwoven throughout it. Two strands of curls framed her face.
“You look gorgeous.” Astrid beamed at her.
“Really?” She hated the lilt in her voice, and she cleared her throat. “I think I look … all right.”
Astrid frowned, her hands fluttering over Kolfinna’s hair as if she was about to fiddle with it, but then she halted. “Do you not like your hair? Maybe I can do it differently? Is it not to your taste?”
“Oh, no. I think you did a wonderful job.”
“Then?”
“I just …” She didn’t even know what to say. She figured telling Astrid that she wasn’t particularly beautiful in this day and age would sound rather pathetic, but she didn’t know how else to say it.
“You’re beautiful, you know?” the fae female said slowly, as if she could read her mind. “You look like Commander Alfaer.”
Kolfinna frowned. “Is that a compliment?”
Astrid giggled. “It is. Trust me.”
Most women wouldn’t like to be told they looked like their father. Especially when their father was as sinister-looking as Vidar was.
Kolfinna smoothed her hands over her skirt. “I hardly see how any of this is necessary.”
“What do you mean? You’re our princess.” Astrid’s smile only widened. “You symbolize so much for us, Kolfinna. You give us hope. And that is a very necessary thing here.”
An uncomfortable feeling passed over her and she couldn’t look at her reflection anymore. These fae and elf soldiers were pinning their dreams on her.
“Everyone here has lost their life,” Astrid said, her voice small and distant as she stared at Kolfinna through the mirror.
She absentmindedly played with the end of her braided hair.
“Everyone we knew is dead. We left behind sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends … The life we knew … We were supposed to wake up soon after going into hiding. Not … not hundreds of years later. Everyone here has lost everything . Do you know how terrifying it is to wake up and realize everyone you know is dead? That the people you left behind to fight for their future, are all gone? The guilt kills me. Realizing that they must have thought I either died, or abandoned them. I left them to fend off the humans alone, and they clearly lost. We all are living with guilt, and hatred, and shame.” Her voice warbled and her eyes shone with unshed tears.
“All we have left is our vengeance and our hopes for a future. You symbolize that, and we all need it. Truly.”
They both stewed in silence for a moment after that; Kolfinna stared down at her hands, unable to form any words that could convey her sympathies without sounding patronizing.
She was similar to them in that she had awoken hundreds of years after her birth, but at least she didn’t remember everyone in her life who she had lost. She didn’t have memories of her life before being sealed away.
Astrid quickly wiped her tears away and gripped Kolfinna’s shoulders with a cheery, forced smile. “Enough of that depressing talk. Look at you! You look beautiful, Princess Kolfinna.”
“Thank you, Astrid.” She placed her hand atop her guard’s, smiling up at her.
For being her friend. For making her feel not so lonely.
Truthfully, she was glad that Astrid hadn’t been there the night she had been attacked.
She was sure that, unlike Yrsa, she wouldn’t have fallen asleep, but the thought of Astrid fending off those three assassins and possibly dying … sent a knife twisting in her stomach.
Astrid ushered her to her feet and led her to one of the doors—there were only two doors, one that led to the bathing room and one that led to the antechamber, she assumed.
She held the door open for Kolfinna and said, “You’ll always have a guard in this room for you.
Commander Alfaer was furious when he discovered the runes that kept you in your tower didn’t stop anyone from entering.
This time, the runes in these rooms stop people from entering from the windows, and it stops everyone from using their magic. ”
The antechamber was just as heavily decorated as the bedroom.
There were thick rugs strewn on the polished, dark wooden floors.
Bookshelves lined one of the walls and the other held giant windows overlooking the fortress city; gold-threaded brocade curtains framed the windows, and Kolfinna could make out the glowing runes surrounding the border.
Velvet couches with silver tasseled pillows, a tea table with gold accents, and a marble hearth on one side of the room set a cozy, but luxurious mood.
Her gaze momentarily paused at the guard stationed near the hearth, his head bowed low and his gloved hand placed on his chest. The lower half of his face was covered in a black mask, and he was dressed in the usual dark leathers of the fae army.
Dread built in the pit of her stomach. How many more guards was she going to have, now? How would Blár be able to sneak into the room if the security was tighter?
“Let’s go,” Astrid said when Kolfinna remained rooted in position.
She hesitated, but followed the fae female. When they entered the hallway, she noticed the masked guard trailing behind them, and three more guards joined in formation.
“Is this really necessary?” she whispered, throwing a furtive glance at the four guards. Three were male, and one was female.
“Of course it is,” Astrid said with a shrug. “These extra measures are necessary to keep you safe.”
They walked in silence for the rest of the walk to the dining hall.
All four of the guards entered the room and stationed themselves against one end of the hall, where Astrid joined them.
Kolfinna then drifted toward the empty seat beside Vidar.
Rakel was seated beside her, with Freyja, Agnarr, and Floki directly across from them. Vidar sat at the head of the table.
The smell of roasted meat, venison stew, and freshly baked bread made Kolfinna’s mouth water and her stomach clench together tightly.
She cast a quick glance at the rest of the table as she sat down.
Freyja was frowning at something Agnarr was telling her, Floki was staring at the roast duck like he wanted to devour it that instant, Rakel was picking at something underneath her nail with a sharp dagger, and Vidar sat motionless in his seat surveying the room with narrowed eyes.
“Good evening, Princess Kolfinna,” Floki said with a sharp grin. His pale blue eyes appeared more calculating than before, but she wondered if that was because of her new knowledge about what he and his men did. “I’m glad to see that you are in good health and good spirits.”
“Good evening,” she murmured, resting her hands on her lap. “And thank you.”
Vidar snapped his attention to her. He scrutinized her carefully, taking in the new dress, her face, the rest of her body—as if he was searching for injuries. When he seemed satisfied with what he saw, he picked up his eating utensils and asked tersely, “Are the new accommodations to your liking?”