“Ah, there you are,” said Rune. Elma hadn’t even noticed he was there she’d been so enchanted by his mother. “Mother, this is—” “I can see who it is, darling.” Queen Hildegard’s words were soft and drawling. She spoke like a woman who had all the time in the world, a woman who feared nothing. “Your Majesty,” she said. “Welcome to Slödava. It’s been such a long time since we welcomed a Queen of Rothen.”
