Ragnar advanced a few steps into the parlour.
It was only then that the figure rose from her seat in a smooth, unhurried motion. As she turned, the firelight caught the deep blue fabric of her dress. The hood still concealed the upper half of her face, and the only thing visible were her lips, a sharp jaw, high cheekbones.
Ragnar recognized her instantly.
"Did anyone from the palace see you coming here?" he asked as he moved deeper into the room. "I did not just escape a beheading just to be discovered colluding with one of the queen's ladies-in-waiting."
She lifted her hands and pushed back the hood, revealing the rest of her face. Golden hair she gathered in a single braid over her shoulder.
"I can be very discreet," Seraphine said calmly. "You forget that I have far more to lose if this little meeting of ours is ever discovered."
That much was true.
