Page 127 of A Tale of Ice and Ash

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“I think… there’s no way Snow feels like that towards me.”

Garnet shook her head. “She may not have said anything, but I know. She’s a kind soul, but she’s guarded. Took her two years to call me Mama Gee. You can love easily and cautiously at the same time.”

“I… I’m still not sure–”

Garnet patted his arm. “Well, best you be sure before you say anything. But I rather suspect your own heart is not what you’re doubting. Don’t be shy. Sometimes she needs things spelt out for her.”

She bustled off to disperse more tankards. Cole necked his back, and went to join the dancers. He didn’t get far before being roped into a jig with Ivy, who brazenly seized his hands and jolted him against the dancefloor. She giggled the entire way through, and then dragged him towards Eirwen.

“I’ve just been dancing with a prince!” she announced, still clutching his hand tightly. “And I don’t care what you say, I think he’s very charming.”

Eirwen looked down at the floor.

“You don’t think I’m charming?” Cole tried to sound serious.

“I… youcanbe charming, and well you know it.” She took his hand from Ivy’s. “Dance with me.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know the steps to this one…”

“There are no steps, and well you know that, too!” She growled at him. “Why are you doing this again?”

“I like the noises you make when you’re annoyed at me.”

Eirwen groaned, linking her arm in his, and yanked him back to the dancefloor. The heat of the fire had exploded into the cold night air. He felt no chill, only wild, giddy heat.

He danced with her until his sides split, until his cheeks ached from smiling and his calves began to seize, then they feasted on cider and roasted pork with apples, tucking themselves away in the quietest corner they could find.

He waited until she was done eating, and slid a hand into his breast pocket.

“I have something for you,” he said.

“A gift?”

“Sort of. It belongs to you already. I noticed how you were with the comb, and the armour, and I thought maybe… maybe you wanted a little bit of home.”

“The cottage is my home–”

“Eira,” he said softly, “it’s all right to miss where you come from.”

“Do… do you? Do you miss Florin?”

“Not as much as I used to,” he said, “but yes.”

“Tell me about it.”

“It’s… it’s been so long since I visited its shores I barely remember what it was like to live there. Small details stay with me, though. The scent of baking rosemary. The terracotta tiles. The smell of the air after rainfall.”

“You hated Aberthor, when you first came here.”

“It’s beauty grew on me,” he said, “as did you."

Eirwen blushed, her cheeks turning apple-red.

Cole fumbled inside his jacket pocket and brought out a little wooden bird. “I was fairly sure this wouldn’t be cursed,” he explained, dropping it into her palm, “but you can use the amulet to check, if you like.”

She thumbed the wooden creature, covering every chipped inch of it with her fingertips. The gleam in her eyes was worth all he’d risked to fetch it. “I… remember this. Ilovedthis. My–”

“Your father bought it for you, the first time he took you into the market.” He grinned at her. “Niamh told me.”