Chapter Twenty
Sven
Anger and relief swept through Sven as he stormed into the store. Behind him, he could hear the yells and screams as Lars and the guards fought with the women. He grabbed Bryn and half dragged her to the back of the store away from the windows.
“What the hell were you thinking?”
His breath was tight in his chest and he crushed her against him when they were finally out of sight of the chaos outside.
She didn’t struggle against him, which was a good thing. The fear that had threatened to overtake him needed a chance to diminish before he spoke. He didn’t want to say anything he was going to regret, so he chose not to say anything at the moment.
Finally, he stepped back. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she answered with the look of determination on her face that he had become all too familiar with. “I was doing the best I could under the circumstances.”
He looked over her head at Hannah. “Thank you for calling us. We had no idea where she had disappeared to.” He turned back to Bryn. “We wouldn’t even have noticed you were gone, Miss I’m going to take a nap, if my mother hadn’t been looking for you.”
“I decided that shopping was a better use of my time.” She tilted her chin up with a look that almost displayed defiance.
Sven struggled to resist the urge to spank the stubborn streak out of her.
Hannah looked like she was about to burst into tears. “I didn’t know what to do. That lady was being so ugly to Bryn. I didn’t want her to get hurt.”
Sven watched as Bryn hugged her tight. “You did exactly the right thing. I was just winging it and hoping for the best with that bitch.”
Hannah hugged her back. “You gave me the opportunity when you told me to put the dress in the fitting room.”
Lars appeared around a display. “Is everything secure back here?”
Sven nodded. “We’re fine. How’s it going out there?”
“Coben is here taking statements. He arrested two of the women, but Alitta and another got away.”
Bryn stepped forward. “She was going to kidnap me and take me to where Erik is.” She turned to Hannah. “Can you please get me something to drink? Water, Pepsi, I don’t care what.”
“Absolutely. I’ll be right back.” She paused and touched Lars’ arm. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”
Once she was gone, Bryn quickly told them what happened. “At least Alitta was smart enough to not say anything incriminating in front of Hannah. But now she knows about me.”
“And now we know that she is absolutely in deep with Magnus,” Lars mused. “And the fact that she was here says they can’t be far away.”
Sven cursed under his breath. “First things first. What the hell were you thinking going off by yourself like that?” He pointed at Bryn. “How did you manage to sneak past extra guards?”
Her brows raised. “I wanted a new outfit to wear to dinner with you tonight, and I didn’t sneak anywhere.
I walked around the gardens, no guards anywhere.
Then I passed an open gate and got the idea to come here.
Again, no guards. I didn’t have to sneak.
” She hesitated. “Although you’re right.
I should have stopped to think about going off by myself. I’m sorry.”
Sven wanted to soften up on her but the fear still had him in its clutches. “You have to be aware of what you’re doing. Especially now.”
“I know. I screwed up and gave myself away to the enemy.” A tear rolled down her cheek and almost broke his heart. “I’ll be more careful.”
He pulled her to him and hugged her tight. “I don’t think I would survive losing you, and we came really close. You might have held Alitta off for a moment, but…”
“I know. I didn’t have the experience to hold her off for long. I had no idea what I was doing.” She held up her hand. “But I did try the spark thing to have enough strength to throw her out the door.”
Sven kissed her palm. “We’ll work on it.”
“She is a dragon, right?” Bryn asked. “I realized in the thick of things that I don’t know who is and who isn’t.”
He nodded. “She’s very dangerous right now, especially since she didn’t get what she wanted.”
“What did she want?” Lars interrupted. “She couldn’t have known that Bryn was going to be here.”
“I think she was just shopping,” Bryn answered. “She seemed as surprised to see me as I was to see her.”
“She shops here all the time,” Hannah offered as she handed Bryn a can of Pepsi. “She comes in at least once a week. She has great taste and a good credit card.”
Lars folded his arms. “I doubt she will now with today’s excitement, but if she comes in again, you need to call me immediately.”
Both Lars and Sven stiffened when two cops came around the corner. “Ms. Matsen, we meet again.”
Bryn shook his hand. “Director Coben, nice to see you again.”
He took her statement before he turned to Sven. “Could this be jealous revenge?”
“No.” Sven was certain about that. “She’s the one who broke the engagement, and we were never a good fit anyhow. This was just pure bitchiness.”
“Hannah said that your brother was mentioned.”
He stiffened. “Is there some kind of innuendo in there?” He knew Coben had his doubts about his brother’s loyalty to the crown.
“Not at all. I’m just wondering how Erik would be involved in all this.”
Bryn stepped forward. “I think she mentioned Erik in the sense that I would go missing just as he had. That’s all.”
Sven wanted to kiss her for covering. She didn’t even know the intricacies of the situation, but she still had his back. He hoped it was intentional.
It seemed to satisfy Coben. “Okay, if you think of anything else, give me a call. Otherwise, I’ll keep you advised if we find anything.”
Sven ushered Bryn into a waiting SUV parked behind Treks. Once inside, he cuddled her close. “I was so afraid for you. If anything had happened to you…” His voice trailed off.
She put a finger over his lips to shush him. “Nothing happened. You and Lars arrived right when you needed to. Stop playing what-if.”
Lars slid in beside them. “Now, we need to discuss the issue of an open gate. Our guards know better.”
Sven nodded. “I was thinking about that. Alitta didn’t know about Bryn’s uniqueness, so she wouldn’t have had anyone skulking around the castle.”
“You think you have a mole?” Bryn asked. “Like on all the television shows.”
“I would die for any of my men, but if we have an intruder, we need to find him fast. Lars, can you find anyone who is new? Most of the guards have been with the crown for generations, so if it’s someone trusted, we’re all in trouble within the castle walls.”
Lars let out a sound that sounded like a growl. “I’ll find out. If we have a traitor, he’ll have to deal with me.”
Anger tinged Sven’s words. “Just remember that I ordered extra guards at every gate. The fact that no one was in the gardens suggests that there may be more than one person we should be looking for.”
Once back at the castle, Lars took off to begin his search. Sven led Bryn to his room and shut the door. She threw herself into his arms and kissed him hard.
“I’m so sorry. I did not mean to make you worry or cause any more issues.”
He kissed her until she was quiet. All of the stress of the last hour came out in that kiss until passion replaced the fear. Her eyes were glazed when he pulled away.
“I think you were right earlier.”
He frowned. “About what?”
“I really should move into your quarters.” She leaned up to kiss him again but he stepped back.
“Are you sure?”
“I loved the idea when you suggested it. I just thought things might be moving a little too fast. But now, after this fiasco? I don’t care. I love you, Sire, and I would be happy living in your bed.”
“Sire? Shall I exert my royal powers on you?”
She started to answer and then stopped with a puzzled look on her face. “Could she be staying in that place? That one you told me.”
She switched topics so fast that it took Sven a moment to catch up. “That place?”
“You know. On the train. You told me to never go there. It’s not that far from here. Could that be where Alitta is holed up? Could Erik be there?”
“The Frostfen Deep,” he supplied. He forgot about the teasing and rubbed his face. “It’s possible. A good suggestion even. Once Lars figures out who we can trust and who we can’t, we’ll send a scout out there to do a little recon mission.”
“Can’t we–”
“No,” he interrupted. “My little private detective. We cannot go out into the deep. It’s the most dangerous place in Stagholt. I know how the area affects my dragon, but we don’t even know about yours yet.”
“Why did I react so strangely when Alitta touched me?”
He had wondered the same thing. “Until we have more answers, I don’t know. Whatever it was, you two have a natural aversion to each other. And,” he rubbed a stray strand of hair from her face, “if you do happen to be pregnant, your powers, whatever they may be, will be amplified.”
“Then we need to figure out what I can do before I accidentally burn the castle to the ground.”
He chuckled. “Good idea. Tomorrow, we’ll start with your hands and those sparks.”
“Once I’m pissed off, it’s easier.”
“Yeah well, like you said, we don’t want you getting angry that the coffee is late and you send a fireball at the kitchen staff.”
She laughed and he hoped that he could hear the sound all the time. “Do you want to go get your stuff?”
She threw herself on the bed. “Not right now. I have a better idea.”
His body leapt to attention. “Oh, and what’s that?”
She patted the area next to her. “Come on over here and find out.”
He bounced down next to her and kissed her until he had to come up for air. He sat up and pulled his shirt off.
“Before we get too far into this, do you have any idea how I find out more about my heritage?” She sat up and followed him in clothes removal.
“We have scholars who can help with that. If I know my grandmother, she has already given them your name so they could start.” He bent down and teased one of her nipples with his tongue.
She moaned and pulled his mouth to hers. This kiss was slow and sensual, full of promise of what was to come.
“I love you, Bryn Matsen.” He meant it with every cell in his body, even if it was the first time he had said the words out loud.
“I love you, too, my king.”
She trailed a finger along his chest and sent fire to his core. He moved to her neck and kissed the soft curve of her throat. Her hands slid along his shoulders and sent chills down his spine.
A pounding on the door interrupted much as a bucket of ice water would. Sven groaned but didn’t move.
“What?”
“We need you in the war room, now.”
The urgency in Lars' voice had Sven up and off the bed. “Get dressed.”
“What’s wrong?”
Another pounding on the door. Sven grabbed his pants. “Two minutes.” Footsteps hurried away. “This can’t be good.”
Bryn danced around as she pulled her clothes on. “How do you know something’s wrong?”
“He only calls it the war room when there’s an emergency.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Not to mention, he wouldn’t dare knock like that if it wasn’t.”
They hurried down the hallway to Sven’s chamber. Lars was already there with several others. He sat on his throne chair. “What?”
Lars cleared his throat. “We’ve received word that Magnus is gathering at the border and is planning an attack.”
“When?” Anger tinged Sven’s question.
“We don’t have an exact time, but intel tells us that they are coming for one purpose.”
“And that would be?”
Ever so slowly, Lars raised his arm and pointed at Bryn. “Her.”