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“Okay.” She whispered, her lips brushing against his finger.
Erik’s eyes burned and he pulled her close, kissing her hard, but before Mina could do more than melt against his chest a loud knock sounded on the door.
Mina jumped and Erik took a step back, heading to the door. She grabbed her corset, and as he opened the door she fastened and lashed it back into place.
“Your Majesty, we have visitors,” Harker said, his eyes sliding past Erik for only a second before returning to the king. “From Distova.”
Mina’s head snapped up. “What? How?”
“One of them is a witch. She’s used magic to shield them from the mist,” the werewolf said. “They’re demanding an audience with you, Sire, and their princess.”
Erik nodded and rolled his shoulders back. “Of course, we’ll be behind you in a moment. Bring them to the throne room.”
Harker nodded. “Alaric has already done so.”
“How many are there?” Mina asked, her voice rough. Visitors from Distova? Who could they be? Who’d dare make the crossing?
“Two,” Harker answered. “A woman and the witch.”
Mina’s heart leapt into her throat. “We have to meet with them.”
“Of course,” Erik said, extending a hand to her.
She slipped her fingers through his, and he pulled her close, sweeping her legs out from under her as he raced them through the halls, and down the stairs. He paused once to give her a second to breathe, and then in no time at all they stood before the side door to the throne room.
“How would you like to enter?” He asked. “There will be nobles in that room dining, so it has to be a formal address I’m afraid.”
“That’s fine, I just…I want to see them,” she said. Her entire body hummed with fresh energy. Who could it be waiting in that throne room for her? She had her theories, but she wouldn’t get her hopes up.
“Would you like to enter the room alone, or at my side?” He scratched the back of his neck, looking nervous. “I know your people aren’t exactly happy with my kind.”
Mina was taken aback by his sudden dip in confidence. The Erik she’d seen for days was a regal man, one who carried himself like a king, despite treating everyone as an equal. He was strong, but the look on his face now was vulnerable.
Taking his hand, she laced her fingers through his and squared her shoulders. “We’ll go in together.”
He looked up at her in surprise and then all at once his body relaxed. He flashed her a smile, and the doors to the throne room swung open before them.
The nobles were in fact gathered around tables on the edges of the room, all whispering to themselves. Erik turned them towards the throne, and Mina froze.
“I thought it pertinent I give you a chair of your own,” he said, towing her towards the throne that sat on the step below his. “I would’ve put them side by side, but that place will be for my queen.”
“It was very thoughtful,” she said, feeling her cheeks burn. “Thank you.”
He guided her into her seat, and kissed her knuckles before sitting down on his own throne.
Mina’s eyes roamed the open space. She recognized a few faces, but not one of them was the face she was looking for.
“Let them in,” Erik said aloud, and in the distance, the great doors at the far end of the hall opened. The haze of the torches and spark stones flared, and she saw them. Two figures striding slowly into the room. The taller of the two, draped in her usual bangles and silks, and the other dressed in what Mina was sure was one of her own riding outfits.
Her heart leapt into her throat, and she darted up out of her seat, sprinting across the floor. She threw arms around Aria’s neck, tears burst from her eyes. “Ari!”
Aria’s hands came up slowly. “Mina? Is it really you? You’re alive?”
Mina laughed and gripped her tighter. “Of course, I’m alive. He chose me to be his wife, why would he—”
Aria pulled free from her grasp, and she tugged at her shirt, looking at her neck. “He hasn’t bitten you? Are you under a spell?”
“What?” Mina laughed, catching her hands. “No. I’m fine. I’m unharmed.”
