7. Bryn
Bryn
The interior was much like the man himself: slightly ostentatious but one with the ocean and all it had to offer.
On the left sat a large bed bedecked in Nordic-patterned quilts, to the right was a desk and some shelves that were filled with books and nautical trinkets, the latter of which looked like they had belonged to Vikings.
In the center of the room, guarding the credenza beneath the rear windows, was a large table covered in maps and markers.
The whole space felt like both a study and a fine dining hall fit for a noble. Which, I guess, he was. However much he didn’t really act like it.
I strode past the table and brushed a finger across the wooden sideboard. Minimal dust, but what was more intriguing were the little silver boxes that shone in the light from the window. What could he possibly be hiding in there? Necklaces? A gem-encrusted broach perhaps? More gold coins?
Moving on to the first of his two bookshelves, I found a king chess piece made of marble, a small abacus, and a sparkly tiara.
“Bryn?”
Where on earth had he found that? Or who had he taken it from? Had he absconded with some princess’s jewels?
“Bryn?”
“Yes.” I spun and focused on Henrik.
He nodded to the etched glass decanters beside him. “Drink?”
“Yes, please,” I said and sauntered back across the room before motioning to the chess piece. “You play?”
“Used to.”
“But no more?”
“That is from the last game I ever played against my father.”
That would certainly explain why the piece was made of marble. I’m sure King Balder had very fine things in his fjord palace.
“Did you win?”
“No,” he said with some finality and handed me a small glass with amber liquid sloshing around inside, matching the constant swaying of the ship.
I took a sniff. Peaty and smoky notes. No hint of sweetness that would allude to—
“It’s not poisoned,” he said as if he could hear the direction of my thoughts.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m not in the business of poisoning women.”
“What are you in the business of?” I asked before taking a sip. Mmm. Delicious.
“A little piracy, protecting some members of the sea, and making sure my crew are well taken care of.”
“No plundering villages and stealing large bounties of treasure?”
He shrugged. “Depends on the day.”
I could honestly say the same. Sometimes my endeavors were planned, other times they were spur of the moment. I plopped into one of the plush chairs and kicked my boots up on the edge of the table.
Henrik quirked a brow but said nothing about my antics as he took a seat across from me.
Motioning to the room with my glass, I said, “You have a nice boat.”
A squeaky noise of disdain slipped from him, and he set down his drink. “This is a first-rate ship, thank you very much.”
“If you say so.”
“I have cannons. Lots of them, Bryn. Big ones.”
“I only saw two.”
He rolled his eyes, and a comfortable silence settled between us.
It really was a nice space he had for himself here.
A treasure trove of goodies, history, and whatever lay in those trunks in the corner by his bed.
Not that I was paying attention to the latter…
I wanted to know what he was hiding in here. Where were his most prized possessions?
“Where are you going, little thief?”
“South.” I returned my focus to him and his stare.
There was no point in lying to him anymore.
I’d eventually need to get off this ship, and we were too far from shore right now for me to be certain of my directions.
Especially with the shoddy compass at my hip for guidance.
Thankfully he hadn’t asked about it yet. Or maybe he was biding his time?
“Where in the south?”
“Home.”
He picked up his drink with his thumb and finger, and twirled the liquid around, all while keeping his eyes locked on me.
Part of me wanted to shrink back from his evaluating stare, but I knew better than to fall for that instinct.
It would only lead to pain and regrets. No, in his presence, and anyone else’s for that matter, I needed a steely resolve.
In particular, the one I’d trained over the century and a half I’d been alive.
“I will help you get back to Grim on one condition.”
“What might that condition be, Captain?”
His lips quirked at the title, like he enjoyed hearing me say it. “Help me steal something.”
I scoffed and knocked back my entire drink before setting the glass on the table. “I work alone.”
“Not if you want to get back to Grim.”
“How do you know that’s where I want to go? Perhaps I need to head farther south? Perhaps Grim isn’t my home?”
He shook his head, still twirling his drink. “Because I listen when a woman talks to me.”
“Oh, do you now?”
“I do, little thief. And between our drinks and dalliance in the sheets last year, I recall you mentioning living near Grim.”
Damn him for having a good memory. And damn me for telling him where I lived. I’d blame it on the ale, but those shimmering blue eyes and that suave smile of his may have also been to blame for my loose lips. Not to mention the lusty, lovey haze that may or may not have overcome my senses.
Hopefully this wasn’t some elaborate trap or insurmountable task.
Or worse: a trick to get me captured and tortured by the Fjell Fae or Forest Fae.
I’d heard the legendary war general for the mountain fae, Halvar, had returned to the western coast of Norway, and he was one of several beings I’d rather steer clear of.
But I needed to get back home and barter this necklace…
I needed to find those men who… I could barely think about it without a lump settling in my throat.
So, I took a deep breath and said, “Very well. What do you need to steal?”
A beaming grin met my response. He sauntered to his desk and pulled out a map and something smaller, slim glass and metal. “More maps.”
“That lead to where?”
“A place I’ve been searching for.”
“Does it have valuables?”
Tilting his head from one side to other, he replied, “Of a sort.”
He set down the rolled-up parchment in his hands and unfolded the metal…
“What are those?”
“My reading glasses.” Henrik placed the small wire frames and glass over the bridge of his nose, and something ignited inside me at the sight.
Damn the ancestors and the King of the Fjord Fae for creating such a creature and then giving him eyesight issues.
Being that handsome and wearing those should be criminal.
And that was coming from me. The actual criminal in the room.
Though, I doubted Henrik was any less familiar with loopholes in laws.
I cleared my throat and tried to hide the flush that unfurled across my chest. “I wouldn’t think a captain such as yourself would need glasses.”
“They help me keep note of finer details… Like noticing whether a ship has two or one hundred cannons.”
He was never going to let go of that slight. I could feel it in my bones.
“Where are we going then, and how can I be of service?” I asked, pivoting the conversation away from his dastardly glasses and the way he studiously rested his chin on his fingers.
“A small town called Aker. It’s a—”
“Fishing and trade harbor. Yes, I’m familiar.”
“Done much business there?”
I shook my head. “Not particularly. A recent job went awry and almost landed me in the humans’ jail cells.”
“In Aker?”
“Yes, they have holding cells there.”
“And how did you get out of that one?”
“Bribery and a near drowning.”
His eyes widened. “Brynhild Jakobsen, did you use your Fjord Fae powers to drown someone on land?”
“I’m a woman, Henrik, I will do whatever I need to keep myself and my body safe.”
His face fell, and a shadow of something I couldn’t quite place flashed across his features.
And yes, yes I had. My mark had caught me, and before his hands could drift farther into areas where I didn’t want them, I pulled on my magic and made the water inside his body flow into his lungs. He’d started to choke instantly, which gave me an opening to run away.
I shook off the horrid memory. “So, Aker, then.”
“Aker. We will raid a prominent captain’s home then locate and steal his maps.”
“Sounds simple enough.”
“For you perhaps.”
I couldn’t help but grin.
“Some of us aren’t exactly stealthy. I’ll admit it has never been an area I excel in.”
I snickered. “What, with the massive ship with telltale blue sails, a large crew, and an ego the size of a mountain?”
He cocked his head and smirked while tracing a circle on the table with his finger. “It is a very large mountain. Not to mention, the sizable sword.”
“Cad.”
“I know.”
Ugh, he was such a tease. Part of me loved the verbal sparring matches with him, while the other part… Well, it didn’t mind them either. But I’d never admit to it. He’d find far too much joy in that knowledge.
“Well, what exactly is your plan then, Captain?”
“Call me Henrik.”
“The plan, please.”
He leaned back and rolled up his shirtsleeves, revealing thickly corded muscles drenched in swirling ink.
From waves, to runes, to creatures of myth and lore.
Both arms were veritable sleeves of darkness.
The sight had my insides twisting and heat filling my core and cheeks. Damn him for being so… enticing.
I tore my gaze away from his arms and set it upon his face. Only to find his lips kicked up in a smirk as if he could hear my every thought. Thank the ancestors that wasn’t a fae power, or I’d be in deep trouble. Like his bed. Again.
Clearing my throat, I asked, “What is the plan?”
“You and I sneak into Njord House. Steal the maps. Get out of there.”
That was simple enough, but there was at least one thing he wasn’t accounting for. “You have a large problem.”
“And what is that?”
“I work alone.”
He crossed his arms. “Not in this you don’t. Especially if you want to get back to Grim without having to swim the whole way. I also heard there is a storm rolling in between here and there.”
Damn him… and the weather. “Fine. What’s the hitch then?”
His brow furrowed. “The hitch?”