Chapter 45
Elva
Now that it had become obvious that Njall and I were spending most of our alone time enjoying each other, my brothers teased him relentlessly.
They left me alone, maybe because they knew better, or maybe because I was riding a prince and they couldn't think of any way to taunt me. I’d been with hundreds of men over the years, but Njall stood out.
We had a connection I couldn’t fathom—as if he could predict what I needed just before I knew it.
He drove me crazy when he was arrogant, but his compassion toward me seemed to grow the more time we spent together.
My biggest fear now was how we’d convince the king to let my brothers and me buy some land in Tyndorf to make a home for ourselves.
If we stayed, I think Njall would become a good friend to us, and possibly more to me.
Without the need to track my cycle, I'd lost count of how many days or weeks we’d been riding, but I knew we were getting close to the Forest of Endilaus.
Twice, we attempted to rest in nearby towns, only to encounter more soldiers searching for us or locals discussing their presence nearby.
Our best option was to hug the crimson mountains until we reached the stream that ran from the mountains to the mermaid territory.
While it didn’t have a name, it marked the border between the Forest of Endilaus and the Tyndorf lands.
That night, when we’d cleaned up from dinner and settled around the campfire before bed, I asked how everyone was feeling about getting close to the forest and Tyndorf.
“I’m excited,” Leifur said. “We rescued the prince and are bringing him home.”
“In one piece, too!” Njall added, making my brothers chuckle.
Sindri was skeptical. “I don’t know. I'm not sure how his father will react to his new obsession with a siren.” He cast a mischievous glance in our direction.
Njall must have sensed my apprehension, because he tightened his arm around my waist and whispered, “You don’t have to worry about that.” After nipping my neck, he turned to my brother. “I have no intention of staying out of your sister’s bed once we return home.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Sindri said.
“Well, if you didn't want to picture me railing your twin against a tree until she screams my name loud enough for the mermaids to hear, then you shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“I don’t think it’s that either,” I said, but I couldn’t control myself, and Leifur and I burst out laughing as Sindri rolled his eyes at us.
“Either way, you keep picturing that, while I go piss.” Njall patted Sindri on the back on his way into the woods.
“Since when are you squeamish about my sexual conquests?” I asked Sindri, throwing a small stick at him once Njall was out of earshot.
“Since you started developing feelings,” Sindri said. “Before you were a one-and-done siren. You’d bed them once, we'd get a fun story, and you'd never see them again, but Njall—I think he’s going to stick around, and that’s not as fun.”
“I have developed nothing,” I shot back. “Except maybe craving for his giant cock.”
Leifur laughed so hard he snorted. “That, I can understand. He is incredibly well hung. But Sindri is right; you’ve changed.”
I picked up a stick and idly drew patterns in the dirt.
“It’s not a bad thing, Elva,” Leifur said. “You deserve to be happy too.”
“Catch your tongue,” I hissed at them. “He’ll hear.”
Sindri raised an eyebrow. “Would it be so terrible if he did?”
I snapped the stick in my hand. “I can’t say anything until I know he feels the same.” Sindri and Leifur exchanged a silent smirk, and I threw the broken stick pieces at them. “Now drop it. Please.”
Njall returned to the fire, looking bemused. “I leave for two minutes and you all start fighting again?” He sat down beside me and pulled me close. “How did you three travel together for so long without killing each other?”
“Well, there was less at stake,” Leifur said. “Before we went to save you, we were just wandering around trying to find a place to settle down, and we knew that could take years.”
“That, and my brother was the troublemaker back then,” I added with a smirk.
“I was not,” Sindri said indignantly.
Leifur and I shared a look before saying in unison, “He was.”
“Sindri is quite good at charming women into giving him what he wants,” I said, my smirk growing wider. “But he’s terrible at picking the right ones to charm.”
My brother rolled his eyes. “You pick the wrong widow one time—”
“Four times,” Leifur said.
“Five now!” I corrected.
“Gah!” My brother crossed his arms and slumped down, turning his back to us.
I yawned and gave Njall a peck on the cheek before lying down to face the fire.
The warmth of the flames bathed my face as Njall lay down beside me, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me against him.
I’d never consistently slept next to a man, and was used to my space, but spending my nights with Njall was wonderful.
His body was the perfect temperature at night to keep me warm, and I fit against him as if I was made for him.
He'd gently stroke my hair, soothing me into a slumber. It was a comforting motion Sindri had done since we were children, but when Njall’s hands were in my hair, the feelings ran deeper, as if he were trying to claim me.
I had to be careful not to let him discover how giving him control over my hair could let him influence me—a trait from my selkie side.
A piercing roar shattered my peaceful sleep, and adrenaline surged through my veins.
I grabbed my daggers from beside my head and held them defensively in front of me.
Leifur and Njall sprang to their feet almost as quickly as I did, Leifur brandishing his hammer and ax while Sindri raised his hands to ward off whatever had made such a sound.
A second deafening roar echoed from behind my brothers. Leifur cautiously pivoted while Njall and I kept watch on the other sides of our camp.
“Elva,” Sindri whispered, pointing toward the woods. I turned slightly and saw a set of horrifying, large red eyes glowing back at us from the shadows. My heart stopped as I sucked in a breath. Njall spun, shielding me with his body as a monstrous Minotaur emerged from the darkness.
The creature would have dwarfed even Baldr. It must have reached a height of eight feet, including the horns, which were at least the size of my thighs.
I’d been taught that minotaurs only had a bull’s head, but this one walked on powerful bull legs, too, with hooves as large as my head.
Its chestnut brown fur was thick, matched by a muscular man's torso and a tail hanging between its hindquarters.
Clinging to Njall, I peered at the creature as it sniffed the air and snorted before locking its piercing red eyes on us.
Slowly, it turned its gaze from my brother to Leifur and Njall, finally stopping at me with a menacing growl.
“Sirens.” The beast’s voice rumbled several octaves deeper than any man I’d ever met.
“And selkies,” another voice said from behind us. I was too scared to look.
“What do you want?” Sindri asked.
The two minotaurs growled back and forth at each other, seemingly in a conversation that we could not understand.
“Get out of our territory, or we'll kill you,” one finally snarled.
“No!” Sindri protested.
The beasts bared their teeth and snarled at us. Acting on impulse, I stepped around Njall. “We’ll go. Just give us a minute to grab our things.”
“Now!” The larger beast roared at us, and my brothers scrambled to grab our things while the creature watched our every move.
As we struggled to load our horses, the air grew heavier with each passing second.
When everything was finally secured, Njall grabbed a few torches from the fire pit and distributed them among us.
“Leave, and never come back,” the larger Minotaur warned. “If you return, we’ll kill you.”
“If you’re lucky,” the other Minotaur added venomously.
Leifur and Sindri led the way, with Njall and me following closely.
We rode as quickly as we dared through the darkness of the dense woods.
The torches we held meant we needed to navigate with only one hand on the reins.
None of us said anything for a long while.
I was afraid to speak and draw the attention of another one of those monsters.
Eventually, my nerves settled with the rising sun.
“First wolves and now minotaurs,” Sindri grumbled when we finally stopped to give the horses a break. “This is turning into a nightmare.”
“I suppose you won’t be complaining about kelpies or harpies anymore, eh?” Leifur teased, coaxing a giggle from me while my brother remained stone-faced.
Njall seemed genuinely curious. “Have you actually seen kelpies and harpies?”
“Yes,” I replied. “And mermaids, sea dragons, unicorns, dire wolves ...”
“And you weren’t scared?”
“Some of them scared us,” Leifur said.
“Harpies and unicorns leave females alone,” I said. “And the kelpie was harmless.”
“I thought they tried to drown people,” Njall said.
“Exactly,” I replied. “Completely harmless.”
“I’ve only seen sirens, selkies, werewolves, sorcerers, satyrs, and other humans,” Njall said. “Oh, and I think a centaur.”
“Considering half of those are in your family, I suppose you aren't too afraid of them,” Sindri said.
Njall threw his head back and laughed. “That’s because you’ve never seen Ingvar angry,” he said.