Chapter 50
Solveig sought to get around Steffen, but two pairs of hands gripped her before she could strike. Conalle and Gerrie pulled Solveig back, turning her to face her mothers.
“You will regret it eventually, Solveig, if you hurt him,” Koa said sternly.
She couldn’t respond. Her magic whirled, rage and desire throbbing in her veins. A dormant part of her awoke with a vengeance, the darkness inside her preening at the intensity of her need.
There was a sliver of logic left that allowed them to pull her out of the room. The sounds of snarling and of Westley fighting off Noren and Viggo followed them. A loud crack and a curse had her mouth pulling into a smile. Her mate was as vicious as she was.
Her mothers led her down a long wooden corridor, the walls made of impacted moss and tree trunks that twisted and grew to support the structure. It was a beautiful thing to behold to be sure, but Solveig had always hated this palace.
She’d bet the trees were rotten.
Eventually they arrived in a wing of the palace Solveig had never seen before. They passed many offshoot hallways that led to different earthly coloured doors. The queens stopped at a pair of tall, black oak doors and let themselves inside.
It was apparent, upon entering, that these were Westley’s chambers.
His scent was everywhere—sea and salt, his presence lingering in the air, calling out to her. She should have recognized the signs. The fact that the Prince of Idavoll was her mate was so blaringly obvious, how had she’d been so foolish to not see?
Her body calmed, only buzzing now with a low energy. Her anger changed its course and she whirled on her mothers.
Aelfsi put her hands up. “Solveig, you have to understand—”
“How do you expect me to understand when you orchestrated this vast ploy to get us here?”
“That’s the thing, we had to in order to get you here.”
“Explain. Now,” Solveig ordered through gritted teeth.
To her surprise, her mothers seated themselves on Westley’s sofa and gestured for her to join them. As she sat in a large comfy leather armchair, his essence curled around her, sinking into her soul.
“We have to start with the prophecy,” Aelfsi explained.
“You know some of it but not all, and it was not the only one,” Koa added.
Solveig clamped her mouth shut, tempering her emotions so she could try to listen objectively. She was through with being one step behind and needed information to proceed.
“Our mother knew you were to be special after your conception. I was well past the age of maturity at the time and was already starting to hone my skills as a Seer.” Koa’s eyes drifted to the past as she began her tale.
“When Mother conceived you, she asked me to look into your future. I was one of the only Seers in Asgard who could actively seek out prophecies and not just act as a conduit for them. I was happy to oblige, unaware at the time of your father’s identity.
“Mother was tight-lipped about him, understandably so since she was married to my father. I sympathized with her plight, knowing how cruel he was.
“I laid a hand on her belly and sensed your small spirit, though you were but an idea, still barely formed. The power of your soul washed over me, dragging me down so deep, I was drowning. It was the first time I had ever Seen a vision and not a prophecy.
“I Saw you standing amongst the gods, gold encircling your entire body as you wielded a weapon so great, so forceful that you could break the world in two if you wished. Your light was blinding. I could see no details until a shadow snaked around your limbs, shackling you.
“The shadow forced you to your knees and you used the weapon against the world. We were all turned to dust. I was forced out of the vision by your power and was left blind for a week, both in my Sight and physical eyes.”
Solveig stared at her sister, shock emanating from her. Koa’s visions had never been wrong. “What were the shadows?” she asked quietly, a flicker in her soul paying rapt attention.
“To this day I do not know. But I do know that the first vision has changed through the years. With time, with who you have become, you no longer bring the end of the world.” Koa’s voice softened and Solveig felt a modicum of relief.
“Why?”
“I’m not sure. You are the only one I have visions about, so I have nothing to compare it to.”
“I still don’t understand how we got here.” Solveig tried to keep her voice level, her patience waning. The phantom pain of an unmet bond was beginning to make itself known. Her skin itched with the desire to find Westley.
“It is a long tale, Solveig. Once the visions started to change, I would get flashes of people in your life. People who would push you towards the shadows, and people who would bring you into the light.
“It would have changed your future had you known. This is why we could never bless your union with Latham—he is cloaked in his own shadows, and you would have become the greatest weapon this world has ever seen if you’d chosen him as your Hjarta.”
“And what of Westley?” Solveig asked tentatively.
“Here is where it gets tricky. When you’d chosen Latham, your future went dark. This is when the prophecy of your mate, the one you know of, came to be.
“I was sure it was not referring to Latham, which was why I advised you to wait and told you of your father. What you don’t know is that a series of visions came after the prophecy. One where you found your mate before either of you were ready, and you took both yourself and him into the shadows.
“In the second, you found him too late. He had died in battle in front of you, and you descended into shadow and smoke. The third was awful in that you both suffered immensely, but also the most promising. You did not find each other but rather, fate pushed you together.
“We could not facilitate a meeting between you two. No one could. You also could not meet him and know immediately, nor he you. It was imperative, for whatever reason, that you come to your own understanding of the bond—no one could tell either of you. We were pushing the limits by planning the wedding to provoke your bond.”
“When did you know it was him?” Solveig asked, struggling to process all the information.
“Right before your first diplomatic meeting with Idavoll, when you were about one hundred and twenty years old,” Aelfsi said while Koa attended to her thirst.
“We could not let you meet him then,” Koa apologized. “It was too soon, and it was during the chaos before the War of Realms began.”
Solveig thought back to her one hundred and twentieth year. She had been well developed in her magic, quickly climbing the ranks of the Asgardian Army. It had been difficult, but she’d managed to hide her identity as the queens’ daughter to most and had proved herself to the ones who knew.
She’d led a double life, playing diplomat by day and commander by night. It was exhausting, but her position in court was as invaluable to the army as her command. Only she was able to learn vital information from those who gossiped and swooned at her feet as Asgard’s princess.
“I remember thinking it was strange none of the heirs were ever in Idavoll when I went there, nor did they come here when I was around.” Though it was not a question, Solveig expected an answer.
“We orchestrated that distance at first, and then we discovered Idavoll had its own Seer who’d warned that you were a danger to one of their heirs. To be cautious, Erik and Alvida kept you away from all their children, not knowing which one was your mate.”
“Did you find out what their prophecies were?”
“We were never able to ascertain that. We assume, however, that there was a spy among us at the time who told the king and queen of my visions,” Koa said sadly.
“So they knew Westley was my mate?”
“Not at first. Only after three of their children mated did they realize it was Westley. They were scared because he was also growing more powerful than his siblings, though he showed no desire to rule.”
“Still, they kept us apart,” Solveig mused.
“They did, not knowing it worked in our favour.”
“How so?”
“As you have said yourself, Ragnvald never told them you were the general of our army. So when they sent Westley on a mission to capture the general, they unknowingly aided fate in bringing you together,” Koa said, a sad smile on her face.
“And that set this entire path in motion,” Solveig muttered.
“Yes,” Koa and Aelfsi said together.
“Did you know I would be captured and tortured?”
“I knew you would undergo a great deal of pain, both mentally and physically.”
Solveig swallowed hard. She didn’t blame them. If the alternative was a descent into darkness that destroyed the world, she would endure an eternity of pain to stop it from happening.
“Now what?” she asked her sister.
Koa looked at her, confused. “What do you mean?”
“Now that we know we are mates and fate has brought us here—well, fate, and your meddling,” Solveig said, smiling a little, “what now? Where does that leave us?”
“I do not know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know? What of the vision?”
“The vision in which fate brought you together was full of light and promise,” Koa said with a smile. “That was the last one before the Block. I cannot See if your future has changed.”
Solveig stood before her mothers. “Then it’s time we reawaken your Sight.”
“I cannot ask that of you, Solveig,” Koa said.
“You are not asking. I am giving it freely.”
Koa still looked determined to decline until Aelfsi put a hand on her leg. The two shared an intense moment, communicating even without their bond.
How had she not realized before that she and Westley were mates? She had seen and felt her mothers’ bond for centuries.
She supposed she’d been in denial. With the prophecy she’d known about in place, she had never wanted to meet her mate. She would not subject him to that fate.
Even now that she’d found him, she would do everything in her power to keep it from coming to pass.
“Very well.” Koa’s voice jolted Solveig out of her thoughts, and she gave her sister an encouraging smile.
Solveig laid a hand on Koa’s chest and closed her eyes. She did as she had with Conalle and sent her magic into her sister. When Koa’s magic embraced her, as her sister, as her mother, as one of now three people who loved her to their souls, a smile stretched over Solveig’s face.
Her magic wrapped itself around the dark binds that held Koa’s at bay. Solveig pulled from her stores, fresh and full from the day’s emotions. The light grew brighter and she heard Aelfsi’s inhale.
“Solveig, your magic,” Koa breathed. Solveig opened her eyes, momentarily distracted by her sister’s voice.
“It’s beautiful,” Aelfsi said, her tone hushed with reverence, her eyes brimming with tears.
The drain on her magic intensified as she worked to loosen the tight binds. Koa’s magic instinctively responded and began to help, leaning into each increment of space Solveig could manage.
Her head spun with the effort, and she was weak. Westley’s alarm came through immediately.
What’s happening? Are you okay?
Loosening Koa’s magic.
You should’ve called for me. I could’ve helped.
I’m fine.
You’re stubborn.
Is that a surprise to you?
Westley chuckled and sent his soothing magic into her. It was all she could manage to send a thank you back before she slumped into Aelfsi, tired and spent.
Koa looked at her with awe. “Thank you, Solveig.” Tears spilled freely down her face.
“I’m sorry, Aelfsi, it will take a while before I am able to do the same for you,” Solveig slurred.
Her mother was already shaking her head. “You do not need to spend your energy on me. I believe we will all have our magic back sooner than you think. I can wait a little while longer.”
She pulled Solveig’s head onto her lap and stroked her hair. Solveig welcomed the soothing touch. She felt like a small witchling again, fearful of her own strength and power.
Aelfsi would do as she was doing now and whisper the words of an ancient lullaby to her.
The words returned to her as if in a dream. She couldn’t be sure whether Aelfsi sang them now, or if a dream of dancing with a faceless partner, under the radiance of the setting sun in a silky dress, had carried her into oblivion.