‘Not a fitting burial for such a beast. But at least no peasant will eat it.’

The huntsman could smell the relief in the sharp tang of the captain’s sweat, but it was overwhelmed by the warmth radiating from the queen’s skin. How could someone so cold on the surface have so much heat inside her? His own heart beat faster. He was a huntsman, after all, and proximity to danger always excited him. How old was she, this queen? Younger than him, for sure. He met her gaze.

‘You can leave us,’ she said, still not looking up at her men. They didn’t protest, and the huntsman wondered what kind of weapons this delicate beauty had in her arsenal that made her men sure they could leave her with a killer and she’d be safe. Magic, it had to be. He’d learned a lot about magic in the past few weeks – it was more powerful than any blade. Not that he had a blade. Even if he did, he’d find it hard to use on this exquisite creature.

As the soldiers left he got to his feet, regardless of a lack of permission. The queen didn’t comment, merely studied him as he rose. He stood several inches taller than her but she didn’t step back. She was not afraid of him, that was for sure.

‘Where did you get these?’ She held up the slippers and the sunshine they reflected danced across her flawless face.

‘I earned them.’ It was the truth in a way. She was watching him thoughtfully and he examined her in turn. She was even younger than he’d thought, a second wife to the king perhaps. How did she like that? Was it the cause of the hardness in her eyes?

‘The words of many a thief. They have magic in them. Did you know that?’

‘I don’t hold with magic.’

‘I can see that. If you did you wouldn’t have killed my stag.’

‘It was the forest’s stag, not yours,’ the huntsman said. ‘We’re all just beasts. We all breathe. No one creature is more valuable than another.’ He paused, the memory of the stag still fresh. ‘And no death must be wasted.’

‘All life is equal,’ she finished, stealing his unspoken words from him. ‘All death is equal.’ She smiled at his surprise, her white teeth small and perfect. ‘We had tribes of huntsmen like you in my homeland. Men who lived by the code.’ She took a step closer to him and his heart beat faster. Could she sense his rising excitement? What game was she playing with him?

‘What about your own life?’ she asked, looking up at him and standing so near that he could feel her warm breath on his skin. ‘Are you so casual about that?’

‘That one,’ he smiled, ‘I have to say, I am more careful with than others’.’