reason, breaking the ice is a lot easier on the magic than just reshaping it.”
“I see.” He made no move to step forward. “Thank you, Charlotte.”
A soft smile touched her face. “You remembered my name.”
Kai nodded.
The snow queen stepped aside and gestured for him to walk out of the cell. “Come, then.”
He pulled the polar bear hides tight around his body and stepped forward. The air was always frosty when she was around, but he didn’t mind the cold lately. It meant that she’d be visiting, and even if he couldn’t figure her out, it was better than staring at the ice walls of his prison. Kai stepped out of the cell and immediately felt a bit lighter in spirit. He was halfway to freedom.
“Follow me,” she said, and swept past him in a tinkle of ice, her dress shivering with her movements. He studied her as she walked. Even her mannerisms were different, he decided. Before, she’d walked with hard, brisk steps, her movements almost jerky. Now, as she strolled away from him, there was a rolling sway to her hips, and an ease to her steps. She didn’t march up the stairs as much as she glided.
Yet it had to be the same woman. Puzzling.
Kai followed her up the stairs, taking his time with each step. Though the floors were patterned with a texture, they were still ice and hard for him to walk on in bare feet. The skins flapped and dragged around him, and not for the first time, he wished for his own clothing.
He followed her into her room and was stunned at the opulence of it. His village was small, their homes modest. Yet this chamber was like something out of fireside tales – it reminded him of a cathedral he’d seen once in a city, all vaulted ceilings and glimmering beauty. At the center of this was a dais shaped like an icy bowl rising from the floor and filled with snow. That must have been her bed. He pictured this creature – so different than the queen of a few days ago – waking from sleep. Her features would be soft, her hair tousled about her head, her limbs languid as she stretched…
And a bolt of arousal struck him. Kai loathed himself for the thought, pulling the furs closer to his body. Nothing but mind games. That was all this was.
Her gasp of surprise caught his attention. Kai turned to her, but she was staring at a small nearby table in surprise. Two place settings had been laid at the table. Her tray of small, colored cubes was accompanied by an equally icy goblet, and across from that was a bowl of soup and a plain ceramic cup.
“Someone was here?” She looked delighted, turning back to him. “Do you think there are servants here? Someone else to talk to?”
“Invisible servants,” he told her. “Magical constructs. They anticipate your needs when you voice them. They’re not real people. I asked the very same thing when you stole me.”
Her hopeful expression dimmed. “Oh.”
For some reason, he didn’t like that he’d been the one to diminish that excitement on her face. “You told me that you hated having others around.”
She looked sad. “I must have had a change of heart. I guess.” She sighed and sat down at the table, the icy stool neatly curving to accommodate her. “At least you have something to eat now.”
Kai grunted and sat down at the table across from her, careful to layer the polar bear skin over the ice stool left for him. Carefully arranging the furs, he sat and regarded the goblet and bowl left for him. Ceramic. It’d be cool to the touch but wouldn’t injure him. He recalled the same cup and bowl from his fuzzy memories of when he’d been enchanted – a sobering reminder that the woman across from him was not meant to be trusted.
No matter how prettily sad she looked.
She glanced at his bowl of milky soup, then at her own brightly colored portion of food. “Would you like some of my dinner, perhaps?”
“No. Not when this has been laid out for me and I know it won’t ice over my insides.”
“Oh.” She stared at one
“I see.” He made no move to step forward. “Thank you, Charlotte.”
A soft smile touched her face. “You remembered my name.”
Kai nodded.
The snow queen stepped aside and gestured for him to walk out of the cell. “Come, then.”
He pulled the polar bear hides tight around his body and stepped forward. The air was always frosty when she was around, but he didn’t mind the cold lately. It meant that she’d be visiting, and even if he couldn’t figure her out, it was better than staring at the ice walls of his prison. Kai stepped out of the cell and immediately felt a bit lighter in spirit. He was halfway to freedom.
“Follow me,” she said, and swept past him in a tinkle of ice, her dress shivering with her movements. He studied her as she walked. Even her mannerisms were different, he decided. Before, she’d walked with hard, brisk steps, her movements almost jerky. Now, as she strolled away from him, there was a rolling sway to her hips, and an ease to her steps. She didn’t march up the stairs as much as she glided.
Yet it had to be the same woman. Puzzling.
Kai followed her up the stairs, taking his time with each step. Though the floors were patterned with a texture, they were still ice and hard for him to walk on in bare feet. The skins flapped and dragged around him, and not for the first time, he wished for his own clothing.
He followed her into her room and was stunned at the opulence of it. His village was small, their homes modest. Yet this chamber was like something out of fireside tales – it reminded him of a cathedral he’d seen once in a city, all vaulted ceilings and glimmering beauty. At the center of this was a dais shaped like an icy bowl rising from the floor and filled with snow. That must have been her bed. He pictured this creature – so different than the queen of a few days ago – waking from sleep. Her features would be soft, her hair tousled about her head, her limbs languid as she stretched…
And a bolt of arousal struck him. Kai loathed himself for the thought, pulling the furs closer to his body. Nothing but mind games. That was all this was.
Her gasp of surprise caught his attention. Kai turned to her, but she was staring at a small nearby table in surprise. Two place settings had been laid at the table. Her tray of small, colored cubes was accompanied by an equally icy goblet, and across from that was a bowl of soup and a plain ceramic cup.
“Someone was here?” She looked delighted, turning back to him. “Do you think there are servants here? Someone else to talk to?”
“Invisible servants,” he told her. “Magical constructs. They anticipate your needs when you voice them. They’re not real people. I asked the very same thing when you stole me.”
Her hopeful expression dimmed. “Oh.”
For some reason, he didn’t like that he’d been the one to diminish that excitement on her face. “You told me that you hated having others around.”
She looked sad. “I must have had a change of heart. I guess.” She sighed and sat down at the table, the icy stool neatly curving to accommodate her. “At least you have something to eat now.”
Kai grunted and sat down at the table across from her, careful to layer the polar bear skin over the ice stool left for him. Carefully arranging the furs, he sat and regarded the goblet and bowl left for him. Ceramic. It’d be cool to the touch but wouldn’t injure him. He recalled the same cup and bowl from his fuzzy memories of when he’d been enchanted – a sobering reminder that the woman across from him was not meant to be trusted.
No matter how prettily sad she looked.
She glanced at his bowl of milky soup, then at her own brightly colored portion of food. “Would you like some of my dinner, perhaps?”
“No. Not when this has been laid out for me and I know it won’t ice over my insides.”
“Oh.” She stared at one
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