Page 117 of Frost and Death
The food tray, a daily occurrence now, usually lasts a few hours, but with Jonas present and hosting a meeting, the food was scarfed down in an instant.
I linger on Jerrick’s mouth as he eats the last kernel of food. His blue eyes flick to mine, a hint of a smirk tracing along his lips as heat scorches underneath my skin.
Jonas asks, “Promise we will all try it together?”
“Dorit and I already have an agreement but adding you in to the celebration would be a delight.”
Jonas wiggles in his seat, earning another grumble from Jerrick. The brothers ignore the other, comfortable with their differences and similarities.
“Maybe we can have more delivered before the ball,” Jonas suggests. “Which reminds me, what colors were you thinking of for decorations, Tove?”
I purse my lips at the question, contemplating the layout of Palaena’s castle and decorations.
My favorite part of planning celebrations is choosing the colors to blend and complement. The majority of the castle has warm and rich tones, which can be hard to pair with other tones.
I have a few in mind that could work, but instead of choosing, I ask for Jonas’s input. “What colors do you think would be good?”
Jonas opens his mouth, but Jerrick interrupts, “Black.”
We turn to Jerrick, surprised he is voicing his opinion, the two of us knowing he would much rather be reading.
Jonas and I share a suspicious glance.
Jonas asks, “Just black?”
The King of Palaena shrugs, turning to the next page of his book. “Why not?”
I quirk a brow, not understanding his motives behind suggesting anything in the first place.
“We could do black and red?” I suggest, offering up the other color I had in mind.
“Oh! With touches of gold!” Jonas exclaims, shuffling a few books around on the table to grab a parchment for notes.
He scribbles down ideas quickly, muttering to himself.
I rest my hands across my lap, catching a few of his words such asfabric,veal,musicians,masks.
“Yes, yes,” Jonas sings as he continues to write. “The vision is coming to life. We will need to send out invitations that you both will sign. We can hire extra staff from the villages, and we’ll send for extra barrels of wine.”
“Do not forget that extra staff means extra cooks, too,” I comment, knowing Cordelia and Ophelia will need help in the days leading up to the event.
Jonas points his quill at me. “Yes!” He jots down more notes.
I am about to add another suggestion when Jerrick stops abruptly, rising from his chair.
Jonas and I look up at Jerrick, his jaw locking in steel determination.
“I should have known you two would be talking for hours,” he grumbles under his breath, placing his book down and heading for the door.
Alarm has me looking at Jonas, not understanding what we did wrong. We have had meetings before in the library, and today should be no different.
Jonas calls to his brother, “Where are you going?”
Jerrick halts, his body stiffening. Concern has me studying his body language, an apology on the tip of my tongue.
Jerrick relaxes briefly, and peers over his shoulder. “Hunting.”
His eyes find mine. His irises are blown out, but he blinks once, a flash of softness peering through his tense body.
