An Invitation to the North

The invitation from Ivan Viktor, the Grand Duke of the North, arrived cold.

This wasn't a metaphor about the wording being cold and firm.

The envelope itself was genuinely cold to the touch.

The envelope Bernard brought on a silver tray had a thin layer of white frost settled on its surface. The emblem of the Grand Duke's house showed a black wolf and a frozen mountain range, and the seal was blue wax.

Marie said the moment she saw it.

“Do they freeze letters before sending them?”

“Maybe it's a northern formality.”

“Then do we have to boil our reply before sending it?”

“That sounds like a southern provocation.”

Elysia accepted the envelope and smiled briefly...