House of Winter

Chapter 14, Part 1

SANNA

Lumi was gone.

Sanna hadn't realised just how much she'd relied on the princess until she saw her bed was empty in the army dormitory. She ignored the other girls getting ready for training and classes, and instead took Sigrún back up to the palace, where she intended to find the General. If Lumi wasn't doing army training, then Sanna didn't think she should have to, either.

She wandered through the library, with Sigrún at her heels, then through the sprawling labyrinth of the ground floor of the palace, which seemed to have miles of identical stone passageways opening up to courtyards. She looked for her mother's white tiger, but eventually she gave up, and returned to the library, where she found books with pictures in them to entertain herself.

Sanna put her feet up on a chair, lounging comfortably and with intention because she refused to hide or worry. She secretly felt lost and alone, but the only thing to do was pretend she was confident and bored. It was the attitude that had always worked for her.

But then she found herself wondering if she should return to the army barracks, to seek out Tai. In an unfamiliar palace, full of strange people, the one glimmer of familiarity that Sanna had was her ability to make people feel smaller than her. It was just so gratifying to make Tai feel small.

The two of them would be sending thinly-veiled insults at each other as they trained this morning. They sparred with an elegance that Sanna found she'd grown fond of.

She pined for the challenge she felt when he regarded her. She liked to best him. She was a year older than him, she knew she was wiser than him, and when she spoke with him she felt a flicker of adrenaline. They were two wolves staring at each other, eying each other off, fighting to be the strongest.

So when Tai found Sanna in the library, she found herself somewhat relieved. Here, at least, with Tai scowling at her, she was facing down a known enemy. She could handle Tai and his rages. He would have an explanation for his missing sister, and everything would be put to right.

His face was flushed. He looked different in his army uniform, older maybe, than he had in Lombardia in the school uniform. His gaze darted around the library, before finally settling on her.

"No one except your father knows you're here," he called out as he walked across the room. He said it like a statement, but she knew he wanted a response. His dark eyes were fixed on her.

She took her time answering, because she delighted in the small thrill of irritating him. As she debated her answer, she had a moment to imagine the fearful face of Ariane, staring up at her from the wardrobe in Katja's chamber in the House of Winter. The face was seared into her mind. When Sanna closed her eyes at night, she saw Ari's wide eyes.

"You seem worried," Sanna said eventually, with as much coolness as she could muster. "Don't tell me one of your little plans has gone astray."

"Does anyone else know you're here?" Tai snapped. He stood over her, and slapped both hands on the table beside her. Sanna refused to flinch.

"Why should they?" she asked with feigned disinterest, as she looked back at her book.

"Where is my sister?" Tai said, glancing around the library as if he expected his sister to be hiding behind one of the fireplaces. "Why weren't either of you at training?"

Sanna made a show of licking her finger, then turned the page of her book with agonising slowness. Finally, she looked up at Tai. "I'm sure you know her best. Don't you know where she is?"

Tai reached across the table and snatched Sanna's book, then set it alight. He rounded on one of the servants who was sweeping the stone floor, and flung the flaming book towards the man.

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