Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
MAIA
Four days had seemed like more than enough to prepare herself. Maia had thought it would be easy to think of all the things she would say to the countless people who would hear her speak at this banquet. Four days would be plenty to get her outfit picked out, and to gather all the bravery she could muster around herself so that she didn’t feel like her heart was going to stop.
She’d been wrong.
Four days flew by faster than she could even think the words. Every moment of every day leading up to leaving was filled with trolls. The generals lectured her on safety. Inkeri made sure she met with the other troll wives who sewed her a dress so beautiful, all in white, just like the day she’d been taken. They cut her hair, made sure there wasn’t a speck of dirt underneath her nails, buffed her skin until she glowed.
All of it was exhausting, and every day she laid her head on the pillows and told herself she’d think about what she was going to say while she was falling asleep. Which she did, but then promptly forgot in the morning when she woke.
Then, the day before they were supposed to leave, she had to pack. Everyone became a whirlwind, all the hopes of the trolls landing on her shoulders even though Ragnar repeatedly told her that they all knew this was a longshot. None of the trolls had ever seen a human willingly choose them.
But she saw the young men who had joined their company to keep everyone else safe. She saw the way they had shaved the sides of their heads, and how their armor was well waxed or brand new. Maia knew they were trying to impress the women there, in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, a human woman would see them and think they were handsome enough to leave their homes for.
Gunnar had decided to go with them, against the wishes of all the healers who were seeing him. He swore he was fine, the whalers thought the should rest a bit more. But he was far too much like his brother. There was no waiting, in Gunnar’s opinion. He should be in the fight.
She stood with Ragnar now at the base of the mountain, wondering where all that time had gone. She swore she’d had a few moments where she should have been able to think of what she was going to say and yet... now all that time had run out. Now they were here, ready to head to the castle that she could already see looming on the horizon.
Maia was surprised at how much she feared returning home. Part of her had thought she’d want to go back to her father’s house. Maybe even beg to go back to her home, where she was sure someone else now lived. An empty building like that wasn’t left empty for all that long. And yet...
She didn’t want to. She didn’t care if someone was living in that building, or if her garden had been destroyed. Because now she had another home, one without the ghost of her father looming over her head. She had a garden as well, although that was shared with a grumpy troll who didn’t like listening to her or the plants. But that didn’t matter, because it was a garden full of wild grown plants rather than cultivated flowers.
Ragnar reached for her hand, squeezing it tightly before they started off. The troll king had made it very clear that Ragnar and Maia were to be at the front of the pack. He wanted their entire entourage to walk through the city streets before they made their way to the castle. A spectacle, apparently. That was what King Egil wanted them to be. Every single person in her old home would stare at them, and somehow that made her want to turn right back around and leave.
“You’re still doing okay?” he asked as they approached the city gates.
“I just don’t want people to look at me.”
“You’re a troll wife. You can be proud of that.”
“I just worry that they’re...” She paused and then glared at him when he stiffened. “I’m not ashamed of walking in with a lot of trolls—you can get that out of your head.”
“Well, that’s what it seems like.”
“I just don’t like them looking at me! I didn’t when I lived here, and I definitely don’t now. I know the mean and aggressive things they’re going to say, not just about your people, but about me.” Maia rubbed her arm with her free hand. “That soldier called me a troll whore. It’s quite the difference from wife .”
They headed into the city and there was already a crowd of people gathered there. So many vaguely recognizable faces. The baker’s wife, and the baker himself. A painter who had once done a portrait of her father for above the mantle. A kindly old woman who had once begged Maia’s father for a few flowers to put on her husband’s grave. Countless people who’d once been part of her life, and they were all standing at the edge of the street, staring with open mouths as Ragnar stopped the entire train of trolls to turn to her.
He framed her face with one hand, carefully, gently. And then he turned her to look at only him.
Leaning close, just like he had on their wedding day, he moved like he was going to kiss her so that only Maia could hear him. And for a moment, she thought he was going to say again that she would never be his wife.
Until he rumbled low and almost impossible to hear, “If there is any troll whore, it’s me. Even now, I want you, my wife. Don’t tempt me to show them just how much.”
Her jaw nearly dropped open at the same time her entire body flared with heat. He couldn’t just say that in public, could he? The man was dastardly. Wicked. Awful.
But he’d made her forget that there was a crowd of people staring at them like there was something wrong with what they were doing.
Grabbing his shirt, she tugged him down for a real kiss. As though it was only the two of them standing in this crowded space, and no one else mattered. Because at the end of the day, no one else did.
They were here. They were alive. And she was going to kiss her husband when he said something like that.
The crowd gasped, and a few people even made little shrieking noises of shock as she kissed the troll who had given her the world. Maia didn’t let it be a quick kiss, either. She held him there with his shirt in her fist, making sure that she got a good taste of him before she drew back. And then, with a grin on her face that she was certain made it clear that she was pleased with herself, she started up the hill toward the castle.
Let everyone stare. Let them think whatever they wanted of her, because she had a husband who wasn’t ashamed to kiss her in front of a crowd of people and lay his claim. Just as it should be.
With her head held high, she walked with Ragnar and the other trolls to the castle. In her white gown, she must have looked quite the sight. A forgotten bride returning to the scene of a crime where both she and her husband had been the victims. And then they strode into the same throne room where the wedding had taken place.
Countless people waited for them. Maia had been so nervous during that wedding, she hadn’t looked around to see if there’d been any people she recognized. And there still weren’t.
But Ragnar grumbled beside her, and she heard a few distinct growls from the trolls surrounding her. But they weren’t growls of recognition. She wondered if the trolls didn’t see any familiar faces, either. The thought made the hairs on her arms stand on end.
Rather than an open space like the wedding had been, packed full of people who had no idea they weren’t about to see their princess get married, now the room was full of tables. Just banquet tables that were laden with food, so much so that it was piled on top of each other. At least three whole pigs, their mouths stuffed with apples. More vegetables than she could count—eggplants, peppers, asparagus, potatoes…all laid out among sausage links and platters of fish.
She’d never seen so much food all at once before, and she knew that wasn’t a coincidence. King James was making a point, and that was a point very, very well made. Even the trolls seemed a little taken aback by the amount of food that was on those tables.
Her gaze made its way between the tables, all the way up to the king who sat on his throne. He didn’t look bothered by the massive amount of trolls who were entering. Nor did he seem all that surprised that she was still alive, but she had to believe that was all a mask.
King James had given her away because he didn’t believe that she would make it. He’d thought, and perhaps even hoped, that the trolls were every bit the animals he believed they were.
Her breath caught in her lungs when she locked eyes with him. Because this was a very powerful man, and he knew they wouldn’t ask for an audience for no reason. He had to know the trolls had a plan. What would he do when he realized she was here to convince people to leave his kingdom? Would he try to kill her?
“Bravery and strength,” Ragnar said before placing his hand on the small of her back. “Come with me, troll wife. Let’s show them why it’s better to be a troll.”
She could do this. With him at her side, she could do anything.
Breathing in slowly, she walked between the banquet tables and made her way to stand in front of the man who used to be her king. She dropped into a small curtsey while Ragnar remained standing beside her. He did not show the king any kind of respect whatsoever. And that alone should have told her that this wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d thought.
“Welcome home,” King James said, his voice low and soothing. “We were so worried about you, Maia.”
Ragnar’s snarl echoed in the chamber. “You do not get to use her name, King. Not without permission.”
“What am I meant to call her, then?”
She glanced over at Ragnar to see him cross his arms over his massive chest. “You can address me.”
Something dark marred the king’s expression, but he nodded like that wasn’t an issue. “How lovely. I forgot that your people are more barbaric than ours. I wish to speak with the woman who came from my kingdom, and to ensure that she is healthy and well. How else am I supposed to ease the fears of our people?”
Maia understood that Ragnar was trying to keep her safe, but if she wasn’t allowed to speak, then her people would never believe that she wanted them to join her under the mountain.
So she took a step forward, farther from Ragnar’s side and right in front of the king. All of his attention turned to her, and the weight of it was nearly overwhelming.
Brave and strong, she reminded herself. That was what she was going to be today, because that was what a troll wife would be.
“My king. I came here with the trolls in a bid for peace. I know there have been struggles at the border of Trollveggen, but I thought perhaps it would ease people’s minds to see that I am alive and well.” She tried a smile, although she was sure it was a little shaky. “More than well, honestly.”
“More than well?” His brow raised. “I fail to see how that is possible with such... creatures at your back.”
The insult did exactly what the king thought it would. The trolls growled behind her. She knew they couldn’t help the unbidden sounds that came from the other side of their nature, but those growls sounded terrifying to the humans here.
This was going to work, she told herself. All she had to do was tell the truth.
Maia turned toward the people in the crowd, looking over them and measuring the differences between the trolls and the humans. “They do look very different from us, don’t they?”
A few tittering laughs rose from the humans in the crowd. Her words stopped the growls as well. The trolls were now looking at her with confusion, likely unsure why she was joining in on poking fun at them.
But then her smile curved into something soft. “Since going to Trollveggen, I have found nothing but beauty and kindness. There is so much we don’t know about them. It’s hilarious to think, really. Did you know the trolls were impressive jewelers? Their piercings are not just marks of beauty, but all the deeds they have done in their lives.”
She turned her head so the light could catch on the emerald gems in her own ears. A few women in the crowd leaned closer as though they were trying to see the markedly beautiful adornments.
“The trolls are more than we ever thought them to be.” She turned back to the king, that soft smile still on her face in a way she desperately hoped was believable. “And their king sent me here with an offer that you should take.”
He was flustered. Bright red splotches appeared on his cheeks, and she knew that he wasn’t going to let this go easily. “Why would I do that? What offer could the trolls have that would tempt people like us?”
“A promise of peace. If there are some brave women in this kingdom, just like me, then the trolls will take them.” She turned again to the crowd. “The trolls are not what we have been told. They are kind and true-hearted. They worship their women and the ground we walk on, and they amplify the natural magic that we carry with us. The troll king has offered to take in any woman who is interested in coming to the troll mountain. I am here to speak with any of you who might show interest.”
Silence. That was all that answered her.
Maia cleared her throat. “Of course, maybe there are no brave women in this room. Which is fine.”
A feminine voice rose from the crowd. “Why should we marry animals?”
Maia had never been able to answer a question more honestly than right now. “Because they aren’t animals. They are descendants of elves, and we’re lucky that they would ever consider marrying us at all. You cannot tell me you’d rather be chained to the bed of an overweight man fifteen years your senior who only sees you as breeding stock. The trolls are young, virile, and I can promise you that you will never lie there and stare at the ceiling, waiting for it to be over.”
That did it. The outrage roared in the crowd as countless human men who were exactly what she had described started shouting at her. The trolls stepped in, enraged any man would ever speak to a woman like that, but there were a few women who were inching closer to her. They were interested—she could see it. If she could just get a few minutes with them, then she could make this work.
“Enough!” the king shouted behind her.
Everyone froze and looked at the man who had lost his temper on the throne.
But maybe he hadn’t. Because he drew himself together and pinched the bridge of his nose. It took a while, but eventually, the king started to laugh.
“I thought we could have a banquet with you animals,” he said. “I thought we could all be civilized and be together for at least a few hours without tearing at each other’s throats. I see now that I was wrong.”
“Your highness?—”
He lifted his head, and she saw a flash of cunning in those eyes as the plan that she had been so worried he might have bloomed.
“Thank you, Maia. For giving me the chance to do everything I’ve always wanted.”
And then the world exploded around her.