Free Fantasy of Frost (The Tainted Accords Book 1) by Kelly St. Clare

stretching. It’s not really any cooler in the shade as the air itself is hot, but we trick ourselves into thinking it is. Aquin has avoided being alone with me with a vengeance. Whatever is going on so clearly bothers him, I have stopped trying to corner him.
    “Lina,” Kedrick says. I’m alerted by his forced casualness. I turn to him. “I’m leaving in only a handful of days.”
    Hearing him say it fills me with heartbreak. I’d been in strong denial as to how much his departure would affect me. He leans his elbows forward onto his knees.
    “When I first came here I was determined to find a way to open up travel, or communication, between our worlds, for the good of both Osolis and Glacium. We each have resources the other could use.” He looks at me, and then back to the ground between his knees. “My reasons for why might have changed, but it is of no consequence. Your mother will have nothing to do with the idea,” he says the last part as though he has eaten something sour.
    I don’t interrupt him, rarely having heard him so serious before. “I can’t think of any way we’ll be able to meet before this revolution is completed, two years from now.”
    He sounds so forlorn, I do something I have never done before. I lean over and place a kiss on his soft lips, not caring that Aquin and Olandon can see. It is similar to our first kiss, but this time it spreads down my neck, tingling across my collarbone.
    “If you kiss me like that again, I won’t be able to leave you,” he whispers. I sit back.
    “I would like you to do something for me. Something I believe will mean a lot to both of us.”
    My brows furrow as I try to guess what he means. “What?” I ask. I hope I’ll be able to give him this thing he wishes for. I would give him nearly anything, especially when he is this sombre. “I would consider it a great honour,” he says, and then swallows. “I’d consider it a great honour if you showed me your face.” My breath stops, and when he reaches a hand up I flinch, thinking he is going to remove my veil then and there.
    “Shh, Lina. It’s okay.” He pats his hands in front of him. He must sense my panic because he hurries on with a look at Olandon who is turned and looking at us.
    “I can give you freedom from your fear.” Kedrick looks down at me like I would look at a friend who was dying. “I just want you to think on it. If you say no, I’ll respect your wish and it won’t change how I feel about you.” A small thrill pushes through my panic.
    “Give me the gift of seeing your face,” he whispers. “Then I will know however many times I’ve missed a first in your life while we are apart, I was the first to see you.” I feel a lump rise in my throat at his words. If I was unsure before, I know I love him now. I sniffle.
    “It is not that I don’t trust you. I would be afraid for your safety if you saw. And my brothers’,” I lower my voice.
    “Lina, we both know the threats your bitch of a mother made up, are stories designed to scare a child. She has ingrained this fear in you. And…I think you sometimes use it as an excuse.”
    I try to summon anger, but cannot. My heart recognises the truth of his ruthlessly honest words.
    “Besides.” He shuffles into a better position on the ground. “I can think of worse ways to die than looking at a pretty woman’s face.”
    My brows crease at his rash comment and I wonder how he knows I will be pretty. I sit, running my fingers between the cracks on the ground, thinking over what he’s said. I watch Olandon offer to help Aquin with the equipment and smile as Aquin shakes his head.
    “What is a bitch?” I ask some moments later.
    Kedrick roars with laughter. It’s a while before he regains enough control to answer. “It’s slang for someone who is vicious. It is not a nice word. I shouldn’t have said it.” I nod, my assumption of its meaning confirmed.
    “And what is shit, bloody hell and a fuck?” I ask.
    This time