Page 23 of The Ruins of the Heartless Fae

“But he doesn’t seem …” Kolfinna waved her hands as she struggled to come up with a word to describe the slums. Her people usually hid in the slums. People didn’t look twice at a beggar on the street; didn’t look for too long to see that their eyes weren’t exactly brown when the weedy tea started to fade. The people in the slums all wore the same expression as the fae did—survival toughened them. “I don’t know the word for it … rough? And most people don’t really get out of the slums.”

“That’s all true,” Eyfura said. “But Captain Asulf is a genius with fire magic and has been since he was a child, so he was quickly taken out and put into a military academy. He ended up becoming a Royal Guard, and the rest is history.” Eyfura stretched her legs out in front of her, her shiny black boots pushing against the bramble and twigs mulching the forest floor. “You know, I didn’t really know what I wanted to be when I was in the academy. I felt like becoming a Royal Guard would be too hard, so the military was probably a better fit for me. But then I saw Captain Asulf and I just knew I had to become one. I mean, if he could do it, why couldn’t I? And well, it did help that he was justsohandsome in that uniform.”

Kolfinna continued pressing her fingers into the bark. Becoming a Royal Guard was apparently harder than joining the military, since the Royal Guards had a standard, and the military took just about anyone. “Why would you change your future for a man you didn’t know?”

“I just saw how regal he looked and wanted to emulate the same thing. I felt like … I’d get lost in a sea of military men and women, but a Royal Guard … That’s something extraordinary!” Eyfura nearly bounced in her seat, as if unable to contain her giddiness. “There are so many military people everywhere. A Royal Guard just seems more special. Like they do more for the people, not just go on military excursions and kill people because the commander-in-chief says so.”

“But you’ll kill whoever Fenris tells you to kill?”

Eyfura’s smile faded. “No,” she said, her tone sobering up. “I’ve never killed anyone.”

The fire hissed as Mímir fed another log into it. Kolfinna stared at it for a moment longer, a gnawing feeling weighing on her heart like an impossibly heavy anchor into the tumultuous Northern shores. Eyfura came here to distract her from her thoughts, and Kolfinna had snapped at her. It wasn’t fair, especially since Kolfinna was the murderer among the two.

“Eyfura …” Kolfinna’s fingers curled into the fallen tree she sat on, the fissures of the bark digging into her skin uncomfortably. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for.”

“It’s fine,” Eyfura said airily, waving her hand.

“Do …” Kolfinna tried to think of something to spark another conversation, something that Eyfura would want to talk about. “Do many girls like Captain Asulf? I always heard rumors about how handsome he is.”

“Oh, yes!” The awkwardness peeled away and Eyfura giggled, leaning forward and pressing a hand on Kolfinna’s forearm. “Practically all the girls in my academy gushed over him. We would travel to royal parades not to catch sight of the king or princes, but to see him! He’s so dreamy!”

Dreamy? Those silver eyes were capable of skinning a man alive. And that fire of his could burn a human to charred bits.

Eyfura nudged her shoulder. “You can’t tell me he’s not handsome!”

“He’s … okay. Too old for me.” It was true that Fenris was handsome, with his fiery hair and those stormy gray eyes, framed with blood-red lashes. His jaw, figure, facial structure all made him a beautiful catch. But she wasn’t going to admit that to Eyfura.Or anyone.

“Too old? He’s only twenty-nine!”

“That’s old.” Kolfinna laughed. “I’m only eighteen, remember?”

“Oh, right.” Eyfura’s lips formed a pout but then lifted into a smirk. “Well, I’m only twenty, so I’m not that far away from him.”

“That’s still nine years.”

“Gosh, I know!” Eyfura sighed loudly, all the breath and enthusiasm leaving her as she slunk into her seat. “But it doesn’t matter, because he’s married.”

Kolfinna’s eyebrows shot up and she did a double take to see if Eyfura was telling the truth; she had never heard that the infamous Captain Asulf of the Royal Guard was a married man. “Really?”

“Yes, he got married like … hm, seven years ago?”

“Oh, I never heard about it.”

“Yeah, I guess he’s pretty private with his personal life. Apparently, he has kids too? I don’t know, I’m not that high up in the ranks to know all these things. But I will say, if I didn’t have morals, I’d be one of those girls pining after him! But I do, and I wouldneverchase after a married man.” Her gaze dragged over to the other Royal Guards who mulled around doing their own thing. “Any of these guys catch your eye?”

Kolfinna was already shaking her head. “No, not a chance.”

“Really, none?”

“None.” Kolfinna shot a glance at Magni, who was now tearing apart a hunk of bread and sitting with the white-blond-haired man she recognized from the meeting—Torsten? Then at Mímir, who was slowly but surely setting up one of the tents by himself, the firelight illuminating his mussed hair. And then at the rest of the group—half of whom had glared at her the entire ride here. None were pleasant. “Not my type, and they’re too old for me.”

“Everyone’s in their twenties or thir—”

“And I’m eighteen,” Kolfinna retorted. “And besides, I’m sure most of them don’t like me.”

“Hm.” Eyfura rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Maybe I should set you up with my brother then?”

At the thought of Nollar’s pale gold hair, sparkling green eyes, and cheerful grin, Kolfinna’s face instantly bloomed with color. He was only two years younger, but that somehow felt too young. Or maybe it was just the thought of a romantic interest that scared her. “I’m not interested in romance,” she quickly said. “Besides, I’m a fae! Who would willingly be with me while knowing that?”

---