Page 144 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
Rona gasps. “Is this for real? Roy… I mean Royan, you aren’t joking?”
I shake my head.
Relief crosses her face, and she snuggles against me again. “There is hope, after all.”
forty-six
Rona
*SHAYAN*
Ilet my fingers glide over the soft fur of the fox. The little thing looks at me through its huge eyes now and tilts its head. Most of the time, it hides away somewhere. Only when we are alone does it come forward to be around me. I furrow my brows. Something about it strikes me as odd, but maybe I’m getting paranoid.
I try to get up as early as possible every morning to prepare for the day. Never been a big sleeper. Fortunately, my roughed up appearance, the eye-patch, and the bionic arm seem to speak to Penelope’s baser instincts.
I appeal to her, and although it grosses me out that she seems to constantly undress me with her eyes, I play along. I’ve done a lot of missions for my former King Naseem, Azadeh’s father, and this isn't necessarily the most difficult one so far.
But it is certainly the most dangerous. I am in an unknown land with one of the most dangerous witches. I don’t need to understand witchcraft to know that Penelope is powerful. No one gains this kind of power and has everyone fear her for nothing.
On top of that, no one knows where we are. I can’t consult with Royan, who is with his mate most of the time, because Penelope thinks we are just acquaintances. Talking too much to each other would just make us look suspicious.
I have an overall bad feeling about this.
I notice some movement from the corner of my eyes, and the little fox has slipped down from the chair it was sitting on and has disappeared behind the curtains. I know what this means. I straighten my back, put on a pair of black pants, a black silk shirt, and an equally black coat.
Penelope likes black. She has provided me with a whole wardrobe of fine garments. The room itself is incredibly generous too. I don’t care for either of these, though. I just want to return to the Kingdom of Eternal Ice and see my Azadeh, the girl who is like a daughter to me.
And there is someone else I want to desperately see.
But this will have to wait, unfortunately.
When there is a knock at the door, I hurry to open it. “Madame Penelope,” I say earnestly.
“My...” She looks me up and smiles. “Looking handsome as always, Shay.”
I nod my head, not uttering a word. The silent, slightly gruff approach works the best with her. To my surprise, Rona is standing next to her. “And you are sure?” Penelope asks her.
Rona looks at me and nods. “They are just acquaintances. Royan made it clear.”
Penelope’s lips curl into a smirk when she gazes at me. “Good thing you didn’t disappoint me.” She takes a step closer and brushes with her finger over my bionic arm. “Or who knows what other limb I would have had to tear off your body.”
I frown at her words. “Did something happen?” I ask.
“Always so direct,” she chuckles. “Oh, if you only used that direct approach in other areas.”
“I have too much respect for you to do that,” I state, a hint of annoyance in my voice.
Surprise flashes in her eyes, and she smiles shortly. “As I said, you are never disappointing.”
I know she is trying to constantly seduce me but everything about her is cold and dark. Never have I found someone less alluring than her. It’s definitely not hard to resist her inexistent charm, even without the possibility of someone waiting for me at home.
She brushes with her finger over my collar now and then straightens it. “Come with us, Shay.”
“Us?” Rona stutters.
“Oh yes, my dear,” Penelope sneers. “What did you think?”
Something like fear and guilt flashes in Rona’s eyes. I’m used to seeing her around Penelope as she is her trainee and indebted to her, or something. Penelope never explained it properly, and frankly, I never asked Rona herself. I knew she would either have to lie or lie on her own will.
