Page 10 of A Kingdom of Wild and Power
Arden stiffened, his eyes following hers. ‘We are using Fae magic,’ he said carefully, ‘to keep it… to keephimpreserved, for as long as possible.’
Before Ylva could answer, a vast wolf padded to her side, nudging her gently for attention. A smile touched her lips despite herself. She had never asked why the creature had run to her on her first day in camp, nor why it kept vigil outside her tent each night. She did not ask whose companion it was, or why its presence made something within her ache with a strange, unspoken bond. For every time she tried, a sharp pain twisted inside her chest.
‘He likes you,’ Ylva remarked with a smile as the wolf—Ghost, as she had lately learnt—turned its luminous glare upon Arden.
‘It only favours me because I keep feeding it,’ he said with a laugh, tossing the wolf the remains of his apple.
‘Either way, he likes you.’ She reached up to stroke the beast’s thick fur.
‘If only every wolf I crossed paths with returned the sentiment.’ His eyes lingered on her, that mischievous smile curving his lips once more. Ylva cleared her throat and looked away, feigning absorption in her winged horse.
‘You are rather obsessed with wolves,’ she muttered,offering the creature another carrot, refusing to look at the tall Fae who edged ever nearer.
‘I have grown rather fond of them lately.’
‘And why is that?’ She felt his nearness like heat, and turned, only to find him directly behind her.
‘There is something striking about them, don’t you think?’ His smile deepened as she instinctively pressed back against her horse. He reached forward, tucking a stray lock of her white-grey hair behind her ear with careful fingers. ‘They are born of ice and snow, yet within them burns a fire untamed.’
‘Have you met so many wolves, then?’
‘No, not many.’ He shrugged, his eyes never leaving hers. ‘One was enough.’
‘It must have been a very special wolf.’
‘She was.’
Ylva bit her lip, words deserting her beneath the weight of his stare. He looked at her as though he might kiss her, as though the world were not crumbling around them, as though war were not pressing at their heels. He looked at her as if she were the only thing that mattered, as if the whole of creation stood before him and wore her face.
She cleared her throat, desperate to steady the wild tempo of her heart.
‘We ought to help,’ she said. ‘We’ll be moving soon.’
Arden chuckled softly but made no move to leave.
Ylva found her eyes upon him again, something she had been doing far too often lately. It was difficult not to. Arden Briar was, without doubt, the most beautiful man she had ever seen. Tall and strong, though not with a form that threatened or overwhelmed. His black hair was drawn into a short ponytail, several strands adorned with beads that caught the light. His skin was a rich, dark hue, so striking she wondered what itmight feel like beneath her touch. His eyes were the greenest she had ever known, deep and endless as an ancient forest.
And then, the antlers. She should have grown accustomed to them by now, surrounded as she was by Fae, but still they struck her with awe. Magnificent, regal things. So strange and so beautiful that it was sometimes impossible not to stare.
‘You ought not stare so much, little wolf,’ he said, stepping back with a half-smile. ‘You might fall in love.’
Ylva rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t be absurd.’
‘Stranger things have come to pass.’
She brushed the notion away with a dismissive flick of her hand, but he caught it mid-gesture, his thumb tracing the delicate skin of her wrist. ‘I daresay many would fall to their knees with but a single glance at you.’
Ylva snatched her hand back. ‘Are you a poet by trade? You sound well-practised at it. Do you offer such nonsense to every woman you encounter?’
Arden laughed, low and warm. ‘No. I do not.’
She rolled her eyes again. ‘Of course.’
‘You don’t believe me, do you?’ His smile widened as he matched her stride, following her through the bustle of camp where preparations for the day’s march were already under way.
‘I hardly know you,’ she retorted. ‘So no, I don’t.’
‘Then I shall have to prove myself to you.’
