Gilded Serpent by Danielle Jensen (top 10 novels txt) 📕

But he was sworn to Malahi.

Part of her wanted to soothe the hurt in her heart with the knowledge he hadn’t chosen this path, but she knew that wasn’t the entire truth. He might not love the Queen, but he was dedicated to her. And would remain so for the rest of his life.

Her eyes burning, Lydia put another few pieces of wood on the fire to keep the room warm through the night. Wet or not, she looked longingly at the vacant space on the bed next to Killian, but instead ensconced herself on a chair, the other blanket pulled around her. Then she stared at the flames until sleep and exhaustion finally took her.

 78TERIANA

Her belly full of thick stew and fresh bread, Teriana pressed her nose against the glass of the window of their room, watching the revelers below. There had to be two hundred of them, all singing and dancing, the contents of their steaming cups probably doing as much to keep them warm as the large bonfire at the center of the square. “Let’s go down.”

“It’s safer to stay up here.”

“But going down there will be far more entertaining.” Crossing the room, she sat on Marcus’s lap, pushing him back against the chair. “And I’m still not entirely convinced that you know how to have fun. This would be a grand opportunity to prove it.”

“And if I say no?”

She kissed him until she was certain that distraction had taken hold, then she whispered, “You don’t get to tell me what to do, Legatus.”

Quick as she could, Teriana jumped up, and catching hold of her new coat, she bolted for the door.

“Teriana!”

She laughed as she heard him scramble to his feet and out the door, fumbling to lock it behind him, then his boots were thumping down the hallway. She paused halfway down the stairs, laughing harder when he nearly tripped over his own feet in surprise at finding her.

Pressed together in the narrow staircase, she silenced him with kisses, then said, “We’ve cheated death a dozen times to reach this place, Marcus. And in too short a time, we’ll be back in the lion’s den. What is wrong with taking one night to breathe?”

She could feel his lifetime of discipline warring with her rather excellent argument, but when his grip around her waist tightened, Teriana smiled, knowing she’d won. “Let’s go.”

Catching his hand in hers, she dragged him down the rest of the stairs, shouting, “Happy Winter Festival!” to the innkeeper as she passed. The door swung open at her touch, and she gasped as icy air slapped her in the face. Keeping a firm grip on Marcus’s hand, she wove her way into the throng, grinning when a woman pushed steaming cups into their hands, the drink hot and sweet and fortified with enough kick that it lit a fire in her belly.

Whether it was the booze or the festival or the nature of the people themselves, no one treated them as if they didn’t belong. The men plied Marcus with drinks and conversation, hammering him on the back when he coughed after drinking the clear liquor the Sibernese preferred. The women pulled Teriana into dances around the fire, long chains of people laughing and twirling to the musician’s music, the beat growing faster with every song.

Children shrieked and laughed as they chased one another through the throngs of their elders, thrilled to be allowed to play at the late hour, and even more thrilled for the seemingly endless supply of candy pushed into their hands.

Then the music slowed, a man with a stringed instrument the only player, and a young Sibernese woman with hair the color of flame stepped onto the platform. The men finally gave up their conversation and drinking, joining the women, wrapping their arms around their lovers and swaying to the music. Teriana stood at the edge, so entranced by the woman’s voice that she jumped when arms wrapped around her.

“Sorry,” Marcus said, his breath warm against her ear. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

She smiled, leaning back against him and feeling the sharp line of his jaw against her temple. “Are you glad I convinced you to come out?”

“Yes. Though I’m going to have the worst hangover of my life tomorrow.” He caught her hands in his, holding her tighter. Then he said, “Look up.”

Tilting her face back, Teriana gasped, watching as swirls of colors danced across the sky, more beautiful than anything she’d ever seen. A more perfect moment than any she’d ever experienced, and she wished that she could freeze time. Make it last forever.

But it wouldn’t.

Grief rose in her chest, and knowing she was on the verge of being overwhelmed, she said, “Let’s go try the games.”

Holding his hand, she led him to the booths set up with games of chance and skill, the prizes for winning ranging from toys to furs to jars of sweets. Spying a ring toss, she made her way over, her mood improving as she examined the rows of colored bottles with necks of varying sizes. “How much is it to try?”

“Copper for three tosses, miss.”

Teriana fished one of the coins she’d exchanged a hair ornament for out of her pocket and handed it over, and the man gave her three rings of yarn wrapped around iron beads to give them weight. She pushed them into Marcus’s hands. “Try to win.”

Brow furrowed, he eyed the bottles and tossed the rings, his scowl increasing each time he missed. “This is rigged.”

“You just don’t like to lose!” she laughed.

The man running the game smiled at her and handed her the rings. “Perhaps the lass will have more luck.”

Grinning, she threw the rings, groaning each time she missed. But on her third toss, the ring slipped over the neck of a bottle and she shrieked, dancing in a circle. The man handed her a doll with bright red hair, and she passed it to a girl who ran past, the child’s