Chapter 17 Freija
Freija
Several days passed filled with council meetings and meals with Hans.
Training had fallen by the wayside due to the lengthy meetings, but I’d been able to sneak in some time in the garden tonight by myself…
Or at least as alone as I could be with a silver shadow following my every move.
Part of me still balked at the lack of privacy, but the other part liked that it was Halvar.
Back in my chambers, I quickly washed off all the dirt and debris that clung to me and changed into a thin nightgown.
The white, linen material brushed against my bare legs as I crossed the room to the parcel wrapped in wool fabric and twine the night-watch soldier had given me—a delivery while I was out gardening with Halvar on the mountain.
I plucked the small, rectangular object off the table and crawled into bed, tucking the covers around me.
Who could possibly have sent me something? I hadn’t made any requests recently, and it wasn’t my birthday for another five months. I small note marked H and the thick gray wrappings fell into my lap as I set aside the twine and turned the object over.
It was a book, but not just any book—a small tome of worn, brown leather with a gold embossed title: Flora Historica: Observations on Planting.
A smile swept across my lips as I brushed my hand over the soft cover. Perhaps I’d been a bit too harsh on Hans. This was a beautiful gift. Thoughtful even. Perhaps we could talk about it tomorrow when we went to visit my garden together?
A knock sounded from the door, drawing me from my thoughts, and I set aside the book. “Come in!”
The door creaked open and Halvar popped his head inside, his sight landing straight on me.
“Your Highness,” he said, his voice heavier than it usually was. The sound sparked an ember of panic within me.
My hands curled around the blankets. “What’s wrong?”
As if my response had granted him permission, he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. His gaze dipped from my face, then snapped back up.
Peering down, I gasped and covered my arms over my chest. My nightgown was almost sheer in this light, and was certainly not appropriate attire for company. Especially not company that I’d recently straddled and felt the desire to kiss.
That same desire pooled low in my core, and I pulled the top blanket over myself in an attempt to put another barrier between me and the man causing the sensation.
Halvar cleared his throat. “There was an incident that I thought should be brought to your attention immediately.”
“Are my parents all right?”
He nodded. “They are fine and safe. This is regarding your safety.”
“They should still be informed.”
“Of course, but I wanted to bring this to you first.”
I motioned for him to grab a chair from the table, but I didn’t dare slip from the confines of my bed. He’d already seen enough of me.
He crossed the room in four broad strides, grabbed the back of the chair as if it weighed nothing, and set it down beside the bed.
Sitting down and making the wood creak, he rolled his shirt sleeves up to his elbows, exposing his muscular forearms. My traitorous gaze slipped to them, and that tingling sensation started up again.
Pull yourself together, Freija.
“What happened?” I asked as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.
“You are aware of each entrance into this mountain, correct?”
I nodded.
“Including the smaller ones along the northwest flank? The one behind the waterfall?”
“Ragnhild used to use those when we were kids and she wanted to sneak into the mountain. They’ve been guarded or sealed ever since my parents found out.”
“There’s one that was unsealed recently by some of our workers for tunnel repairs,” Halvar added. “It wasn’t resealed properly and your father’s magic didn’t hide it.”
His mirage magic hadn’t worked? That didn’t sound right.
“Tell me what happened because now I’m worried about Father and Fjell Fae getting injured in a cave-in.”
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms with a nod. “No one was injured and your father is safe in his chambers with your mother. However, someone snuck in, apparently wanting to get to you.”
Air lodged in my throat and the room spun.
How far into the mountain did they get?
Where were they apprehended?
Where were they now?
A hand settled on the blanket beside me, and I flinched.
“Sorry,” Halvar said and retracted his hand.
I shook my head and clutched the blanket in my hands tighter. “It’s all right. Um… Where are they?”
“Dungeons.”
“Dead?”
“If that’s what you want.”
My head whipped to him.
He shrugged and brushed the knuckles on his left hand against the palm of his right. “I have completed an initial interrogation but wanted you to hear about it before a soldier or maid told you. I’m heading back down once we are done here.”
“Take me with you.” The words were out as soon as the thought materialized in my mind.
His eyes widened as my resolve straightened my back. “That’s what I was coming to ask too.”
“I want to see the person who wanted to reach me tonight.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“All right, princess.” He rose from his chair with a look of amusement. “But let me warn you, he has seen better days.”
“Did you hurt him?”
His gaze bore into mine with the intensity of an ice storm. “It’s my job to hurt anything that threatens you.”
My toes curled and heat flushed up my neck. “I will meet you in the hallway once I have changed.”
Something flared in Halvar’s eyes.
“Any recommendations on what I should wear to this interrogation?”
“Something you won’t mind getting blood on.”
The tunnels this deep in the mountain were colder than those above, but little sconces lit our path, giving the winding curves a gentle glow that made up for the chill.
We rounded the corner past the guarded dungeon entrance and found a group of soldiers gathered outside one of the chambers.
Some seemed a little surprised to see me; others looked like they’d already been informed that I might be joining Halvar.
I recognized a few of them from the welcome back dinner we’d had the other week.
Mikkel, I believed his name was, tipped up his chin to Halvar and stepped away, revealing the holding cell.
A large stone that acted as a door had been rolled aside, and the smell of sweat and copper filtered out of the bare cave.
Stepping inside, I hissed in a short breath through my teeth.
In the center of the room, dressed in black and gray wool not too dissimilar from the shades we used on the Fjell Fae uniforms, was a man I’d never seen before.
He knelt, arms twisted behind his back, clamped in what appeared to be stone shackles that were fastened to the ceiling.
I bit back a wince. Those were a nasty invention of ours. Granite laced with iron which would nullify any magic, regardless of faction. At least that’s what I’d been told, and that seemed to be the case here too.
The man’s eyes rose to me and Halvar, and a grin slid across his face. “There she is.”
The sound sent a shiver down my spine, but I refused to run away and give in to the fear that perched on my shoulders.
“You do not speak to her unless spoken to,” Halvar ground out and circled the fae.
“Where’s the fun in that?”
Halvar did a stutter step in his direction and the man flinched, eliciting a huff from my guard. The two stared at each other like doing so might break the other’s nose or jaw. Seemed like a useless display and didn’t get to the crux of the matter: who he was and why he wanted to harm or kidnap me.
I cleared my throat and eyed the intruder. “What’s your name?”
“Someone who could warm your bed, Princess.”
Halvar’s fist struck the side of the man’s face with a whack that echoed against the stone walls. I winced at the sound as Halvar turned to me. “It doesn’t matter what his name is.” He spun back to the assassin and brought them face to face. “Who is your employer?”
That was a better question. Clearly, I was out of my depth here, and watching Halvar do his work would be far more beneficial.
I certainly had no plans for violence. Then again, seeing the way Halvar moved was…
mesmerizing. He was as swift as the snakes that slithered around the forests and as graceful as the breezes that brushed the heather on the mountainside.
Which seemed wholly at odds with his broad frame and large hands—currently dappled with red.
The blood would normally make me uncomfortable, especially if combined with severed limbs, but something about the threat this man posed made the bloodshed more palatable.
Maroon droplets splattered against the ground near my feet as the intruder spat and finally replied, “No one of note.”
“I disagree,” Halvar rumbled. “Why now?”
“Why not now?”
I shuffled up against the cool stone wall by the entrance as Halvar tightened his jaw and started circling. “Who sent you?” he asked.
“Someone who needed the job done.”
Oh, Halvar wasn’t going to like that. In the short time I’d known him, I’d quickly ascertained his preference for truth and speed.
As if to prove my point, Halvar kicked the man in the side, eliciting a nauseating snap.
The man groaned. “Someone wants her in chains and the gold in their pocket.”
“Try again,” Halvar grumbled as he continued circling around the man. “Man or woman?”
A smirk.
Man. I’d definitely wager it was a man. In my almost two-hundred years, I’d come to find that men were the common culprits in power struggles and nefarious deeds.
Money, power, and greed were usually to blame.
That, and women tended to be far more cunning and underhanded.
If a woman were behind this, I’d likely already be locked up in these chains he was talking about.
I motioned to Halvar and his gaze shot to mine, then I brushed my fingers against my thumb. Hopefully, he would understand what I wanted him to ask.