Page 240 of Primal Bonds

“Of course,” said Roald. “You can’t expect a pureblood to offer you more.”

“Of course.”

“Naturally,” Roald added, “the offer is contingent on your becoming a full member of the court.”

Marjani gritted her teeth. She was happy for Fane, she was. This was it, the thing he’d spent six decades working toward—full acceptance in the ice fae court. He’d even be the consort of a fae lady.

And Marjani had told him herself that the two of them didn’t have a future. So why did she want to scratch out Lady Viktorie’s tip-tilted brown eyes?

“Please tell Lord Hamar that I’m honored,” Fane told Roald. “Deeply so. But I’m not interested.”

“You’d choose the fada female over a pureblood fae?”

“I would.” Fane swallowed. “I do.”

Oh, Fane.

“Try these.” The king appeared at Marjani’s elbow with a small plate of appetizers.

“Thank you.” She forced herself to smile and accept the plate.

A female elf in a flowing green tunic and striped leggings came forward and bowed to Sindre. “Dinner is served, your highness.”

He nodded and flicked his fingers. A long wooden table materialized in the center of the room, its gleaming surface set with heavy silver chargers topped with paper-fine ivory porcelain. Down the center snaked an ice sculpture of intricately carved flowers and vines lit by cut-glass votives. The finishing touch was the tiny fae lights that drifted down to arch over the table in a sparkling bower.

Marjani gaped. She’d bet there were only a few fae in the entire world who could teleport an object that large without even touching it. Good lord, the man was powerful.

“Well,” she muttered, “that’s handy.”

The king’s lean cheek creased. “The elves prepare the table in the kitchen. I just ’port it in.”

They took their seats, Roald to Sindre’s right and Marjani to his left. Arne took the chair on her other side with Fane across the table next to his grandfather.

She met Fane’s eyes. He lowered one eyelid in a wink, and she dropped her gaze to her plate.

“Prosecco?” asked the elf in the green tunic, and when Marjani nodded, the elf removed her empty goblet and set a glass of sparkling wine in its place.

The first course arrived, delicate spring greens topped with walnuts and cranberries. She ate the salad and sipped her prosecco as the fae gossiped about people she didn’t know. Cat’s balls, she just wanted this to be over with.

But she knew the fae. She might as well enjoy her dinner, because Sindre would get to things in his own good time. And the more time her quartz had to recharge, the better.

Arne launched into a story about his travels that had everyone grinning and shaking their heads. Sindre leaned back in his chair, smiling with the rest, but his glittering gray eyes kept turning to her. She felt like a rabbit staked out for a wolf.

The second course arrived, a dish with cod and berries and some other ingredients she couldn’t name, but it was delicious. More wine was served, but Marjani switched to water. She needed to keep her head clear.

Roald murmured something to the king about Blaer, and Sindre said, “She’s no longer at the court.”

Roald lifted a brow. “She got away?”

Sindre’s mouth hardened. “Lady Blaer has been stripped of her position as my advisor and banished from the court for a year and a day.”

All around the table, brows shot up.

Marjani exchanged a look with Fane. That was good news. She concentrated on buttering a roll. “And the man from my clan?”

Sindre moved a shoulder. “I don’t keep track of Blaer’s servants.”

Her fingers clenched on the butter knife. “He’s not her servant. He’s her prisoner.”

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