Page 68 of Clash of Storms
"Your father and sister are safe."
"Neither of us has any idea what's going on at court. What if my father demanded to know what had happened to me?"
"He didn't," he said quietly.
"You don't know that," she insisted.
"I do." Sirius rubbed his thumbs along her sleeve. "There are people at court I trust. I was able to communicate with them before we left Reykjavik. They promised to keep an eye upon your family."
Malin's eyes softened. "You did?"
"And you will be safe in Rurik's territory. Perhaps you won't be able to see your father and sister as often, but you will have your own home. You can read books and sip tea and—"
"I don't have my books," she whispered. "My beautiful books."
His throat thickened. "You can always get more."
"No, you don't understand. Someone leaves them at my door for me." The confession held her aching sorrow. "I don't know who. I've read every single one of them, cover to cover. They're so beautiful. So expensive. I could never replace them."
I could.
Careful now."It sounds like you have an admirer."
"That's what Tove said."
"You disagree?"
"He's been sending them to me for years. Why would he never show his face?"
"Perhaps he can't? Perhaps he doesn't dare?"
"But if he never tells me, then how will I ever know who he is?" The middle of her brows furrowed. "For a secret admirer, he doesn't seem to be getting very much out of this himself."
He gets to know he made you smile. Sirius rocked back on his heels, feeling an odd twitch of jealousy. "Do you have feelings for him?"
"Of course not." Her cheeks burned red. "I don't even know him. He barely knows me. How does one have feelings for a male you've never met?"
"He must know you, if he's leaving fairy tales at your door," he teased. "And I don't know. You're the one who wants to be courted. I thought you'd be happy with mere books and flowers. Now you want the male himself?"
Stillness crept through her. "It's not the gift that matters, it's the thought behind it. And of course I wish to know who it is."
"You might be disappointed."
She hesitated, the flutter of her lashes slowly unveiling her magnificent eyes as she looked up at him.
"What's wrong?"
Her mouth worked, but nothing came out.
"Malin?"
"I never said they were fairy tales," she whispered.
* * *
The lookon his face floored her.
Sirius grew very still, the muscles bunching in his neck and shoulders, as the hot blue of his eyes darted.
