Chapter 48
Njall
Apair of younger guards tried to escort us, but my brother and I refused, laughing them off. We walked along the same cramped entranceway we’d taken every time we went to see our father, and yet today it felt different.
“Do you have a plan?” I asked Baldr as we turned down the hall leading to our father’s private library.
“I always have a plan.”
I should have known. Glancing down, I realized Baldr’s tail was wagging, a sure sign he was up to something.
“Care to expand on it?” I asked.
“Nope.”
My heart pounded hard enough that I could feel it in my ears, but I focused my attention on the ugly teal tapestries my father adored and so hung on every wall.
We rounded another corner and arrived at a large, elaborately carved walnut door.
A guard was standing to the side of the door and moved to approach us, but Baldr growled and waved him off.
The man slunk away, leaving the two of us alone at the door.
It was adorned with an all too lifelike carving of our father’s face.
“Ugh,” I groaned as I leaned closer to the door.
Baldr looked at me and grinned like a boy for a moment before he threw it open. “Father!” He called loudly and stepped inside, holding the door open for me. “I have a surprise for you.”
“Unless you have your sister behind you, I don’t care,” the king snapped. “I’m in a meeting.”
“You were close,” Baldr said and stepped aside to reveal me.
My father’s face fell into a scowl immediately, but it was then that I noticed the other lords present in the room.
I glanced at my brother, but he had his perfect prince smile plastered on his face.
“Look who just arrived home!” he announced
One of the older lords looked as if he might die from shock.
Another, the one who owned the inn, Baldr, stayed in, stepped up, and slapped my brother’s shoulder.
“I knew you’d get him back,” he said, reeking of the same whiskey Baldr favored.
“What would you do without him to take the focus off you?” He turned to me and smacked me in the back. “Welcome home, Nial.”
“Njall,” my brother corrected.
“That’s what I said.” The lord replied, laughing loudly as he gestured for the servants to bring out the good ale. At least someone would celebrate my return.
“And how exactly did you find your way home, Njall?” Our father finally asked, after scrutinizing me for an uncomfortable length of time.
“The praise goes to Baldr,” I said, patting him on the back. “He hired a group of skilled mercenaries who were able to retrieve me.”
“And who’s paying for that?” Father slammed his hands onto the table hard enough to rattle the drink glasses around him. The group of lords shifted uncomfortably, and I noticed the stack of finance books spread across the table. It seemed he was raising taxes again.
“I did,” Baldr said, strolling toward our father, a mischievous glint in his eye. “Compared to what I spend on drink, I paid very little for it. But you can cover the cost of the celebration ball.”
“Ball?” Father growled.
“Yes, a ball!” one of the younger lords chimed in. “It’s been months since we had one.”
Baldr clapped his hands together, grinning broadly. “Exactly! The last one was the day my siblings were taken. Now that one has returned, we must celebrate.”
A vein in Father's forehead twitched. “Baldr, you know we can't afford to celebrate every stupid, triviality your brother does.”
“I hardly consider coming home alive after being taken by the Huesturs, our greatest enemy, to be a trivial matter,” Baldr shot back.
The lords murmured in agreement, and Father’s face shifted from annoyance to fury before settling into a regal mask.
Only Hulda and Baldr could push him like that.
Hulda had our father wrapped around her finger, and my brother was the people's favorite.
If the king were to do anything to him, it might spark a rebellion.
“Fine. We’ll have a small celebration—”
“Wonderful!” Baldr exclaimed, clearly prepared for this outcome. “I’ve already informed the kitchen, the maids, and the footman. Tonight's invitations are being delivered as we speak.”
“Tonight?” I asked, shocked at my brother’s ability to bring this together so quickly.
Baldr threw his head back and winked at me.
“Of course. We need to earn the people’s goodwill before they find out you’re back themselves.
” He looked back at the table of nobility.
“Bringing back a prince shows strength, and we must celebrate it properly. Plus, we should reward the mercenaries who saved his life.”
“You said you paid them,” my father snapped.
“I did, but I believe a bonus is in order. Say ... a small piece of land. Outside the gates, of course, near the forest. Mercenaries don’t need the guards’ protection.” He chuckled, and the lords laughed along with him. He had them all eating out of the palm of his hand.
Father stood his back to the Lord and grabbed Baldr by the shirt.
“What are you doing?” he growled.
“I’m making sure your Lords are good and happy,” Baldr said softly. “So when you drop that new tax on them, they’ll be too busy telling their wives and daughters to get dressed up for a ball with the kingdom’s three eligible princes to care.”
The king released him with a scowl. “Fine. The old farmstead outside of town. It’s been abandoned for decades.”
“Exactly what I was thinking,” Baldr said, pulling a piece of parchment out of his oversized pocket and handing it to our father. “Just sign here.”
The older Lord smacked the table, laughing. “The boy knows you, Hilmir!”
“Nonsense,” I said, stepping forward. “We merely know how busy our father is, and wouldn’t want to come back and take up more of his time.”
The king huffed, but grabbed a quill off the table and scribbled his signature on the land transfer papers. “Now get out. Go plan your ferflucsing party, while we do actual work.”
Baldr and I bowed low to our father and walked backwards to the door, never turning our backs to the king. It was the ultimate sign of respect in Tyndorf, and one we rarely bothered with.
Once the door was closed, I turned to my brother in disbelief. “How did you pull that off?”
He smirked. “I've been overhearing a lot of arguing about money lately. Sending the entire army to Anginfill for months to bring back Hulda wasn't cheap, and he never expected it to drag on this long.”
We walked down the hallway toward our wing.
I was excited to grab some of my favorite things to bring back to the inn.
Despite Sindri teasing my royalness, I had no intention of staying in the castle if I could avoid it.
Why would I stay here when there was a gorgeous siren waiting for me at the inn?
“So, about last night ...” Baldr said as we arrived at our wing.
My mind flashed to his attempt to put lips on Elva, and I balled my fists in annoyance. “What about it?” I asked, keeping my tone as calm as possible.
My brother saw right through it. “I didn’t realize that you’ve taken to the siren so much. I will, of course, step back.” He gave me his usual coy smile, but his eyes showed the sincerity that smile usually lacked.
“Thank you.”
“Have you told her?” Baldr pushed open the door to my room. “You’re not exactly one for grand declarations, are you? You shout your desires from the rooftops, but love … that’s different.”
I rolled my eyes. “Just because you proclaim your feelings to every bedmate doesn’t mean I have to broadcast mine the moment I feel them.”
“What a pair we make,” he chuckled. “Sorry about the mess. Father told the maids not to bother since you were gone, and when I sent your heroes after you, I needed to grab their supplies quickly.”
Stepping into my room, it looked as if a war had been waged in here. That, or Ingvar threw a temper tantrum. “It’s fine,” I said, stepping over the piles of clothes strewn about. All I wanted was a few books and some decent outfits.
Baldr leaned against the doorframe. “After you’ve gathered your things, we’ll need to take your sirens shopping.”
“Shopping?” I asked, laying a shirt over my arm.
“For formal attire. I doubt they had clothing appropriate for a ball on the road.”
“They’re coming to the ball?”
Baldr laughed. “Of course they are,” he said, enjoying my discomfort. “They saved you, and the ball is to celebrate your return—and their heroism. The more we praise them publicly, the harder it'll be for Father to reverse the land grant.”
“But everyone will—”
He cut me off with a wave of his hand. “Know that they’re sirens? Not yet. I've already got this covered, Njall. Every invitation that went out this morning explained that the ball is a masquerade, and the theme is the sea. So the ball will be full of sirens, mermaids, selkies ... all of it.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “How?”
He shrugged. “You said it yourself. All I do is drink, gamble, and throw parties. Now come on—we need to get our new friends dressed for the occasion.”