Chapter 18 Freija
Freija
Sunlight skittered over my back and a cool, autumnal breeze danced across my cheeks.
This light always made the garden look beautiful, more vibrant and lush.
Green tendrils raced each other over the cliff edge, the bushes at the back puffed their chests, and the few florals stretched toward the sky, basking in the rays.
A smile tipped my lips at the sight. This was all mine.
All my doing. And today I got to share it with another.
A man who, unfortunately, looked like he’d rather be elsewhere.
Not that I was much present myself. My mind kept flitting back to last night’s bloody scene and the way Halvar had looked at me when he’d said he would protect me for the rest of his life.
Meanwhile, Hans sat against the northern rock face in my garden, his legs stretched out before him, hands clasping a thick book.
Which reminded me…
“Thank you for the gift, by the way,” I said, cutting back the trailing plant that was growing too close to the Forget-Me-Nots for my liking.
One of my latest reads had warned me not to let anything grow into it.
The blueish purple clusters of Myosotis decumbens needed space to stretch and the small vines would try to climb it, eventually suffocating it if left unattended.
“The what?” Hans asked.
I lifted my gaze to him. “The book you left for me.”
His brow furrowed before he gave me a knowing smile. “Why yes, the book, of course. I… er… hope you liked it.”
“It’s wonderful. Very kind of you.”
Halvar grunted from where he stood with Hans’s guard. The personal guard had introduced himself as Aksel and reminded me of a gangly eagle that combed the coastal cliff sides for sustenance. His sharp gaze watched over everything.
Meanwhile, Halvar looked like he’d rather be executing an elk than guarding us during our garden visit.
“Do you read much about nature, Hans?” I highly doubted it considering our previous conversations, but it was worth asking, if only to fill the silence.
“No, I much prefer the philosophical works coming from the continent, discussing ethics and the like. But I can see how much you enjoy them.” He motioned to my plants. “This is quite impressive. Especially for a Fjell Fae.”
I didn’t know if I should take that as a compliment or not, but I needed to refrain from conflict. It would be unseemly for a princess. Even if I wanted to end this visit and spend more time with—
No, Freija, he is off-limits.
As if someone knew I’d been thinking about them, a tickle ran up my spine like I was being watched, and I didn’t have to peer over to know that was the case.
There was something unsettling yet also comforting about that feeling.
Something I probably shouldn’t investigate further, but part of me longed to.
The way his body had felt against mine had ignited an arousal I hadn’t ever experienced before.
And the way he’d protected me last night, throttled the man who’d snuck into the mountain with plans to kidnap me…
Well, the way he’d looked at me after the interrogation played on a loop in my dreams until I awoke more needy than ever before.
If that rain hadn’t fallen the other night during our outdoor training session … what would that kiss have felt like? Would he have returned it? Leaned in and filled me with a warmth I’d never known before?
I shook myself free of the thoughts. They were starting to sound like the musings of a besotted youth. Not the inner ramblings of a fae of my age.
Peering through my lashes, I cast my gaze toward him and found him decidedly not staring in my direction. It was as if those eyes, with new shadows beneath them, were forbidden from looking directly at me today. I should have instilled a similar rule in myself.
Aksel muttered something to Halvar and the latter finally faced me.
“Did you need something, Your Highness?” he asked.
I brushed the back of my hand across my forehead and looked around for any excuse for why I’d been caught staring. “Umm… I was thinking it would be nice to get some water from the stream.”
Halvar nodded. “Aksel can fetch it.”
The other guard looked at Halvar like he’d grown a second head. “I don’t know these woods, nor where this stream is.”
“What kind of guard doesn’t know how to locate water?”
“It’s fine.” I rose to my feet and stepped between them before they could get into a fight, noting how Hans was too engrossed in his book to see that Halvar was ready to throw his guard off the cliff.
“Halvar and I can go. It won’t take long.
Why don’t you and Hans enjoy the sunshine here and wait? ”
Aksel placed his hand on his chest and bowed his head. “We will await your return.”
“Excellent.” I turned to Halvar. “Follow me.”
He grumbled but did as he was told, following me down the little trail into the woods.
A small stream ran through the forest just a short walk from the garden. I traipsed over logs and pine needles, aiming for the burbling in the distance with Halvar on my heels.
“Do you by chance have a waterskin with you?” I asked over my shoulder.
“Watch where you’re walking.”
Good grief. I knew this path as well as the tunnels of the mountain. I spun and faced him, while continuing our walk, and his frown deepened. With a wave to his person, I asked, “Do you have a pouch for water with you, or do I need to form a stone pail?”
“You can create a pail with your magic?”
I nodded and veered left without looking. That rock with the claw-shaped moss on it meant we were close. “I taught myself how to. It was necessary for the garden and a useful skill.”
“Impressive.”
My heart beat a little faster.
“Almost as impressive as you not tripping despite not watching where you’re going.”
I let out a laugh and a surprising, chuckle-like noise erupted from Halvar.
“Do you want to see?” I asked.
He wiped a hand over his jaw and nodded.
I smiled, and the sound of moving water grew louder. We were here. Spinning on the spot, I took a few more steps, pushed aside a heavy bough, and walked up beside the meandering brook. The air was always cooler here, slightly damp, and the ferns grew wildly beneath the canopy overhead.
Kneeling by the water’s edge, I pulled a thread of magic from my sternum, willing it down my arms and into my palms. A round stone formed, and I pushed some more power into it, coaxing it to grow.
Once it was large enough, I set it on the loamy ground and pressed my fist against the top.
With a deep breath and another thread of magic, I drove my fist into the rock, creating an opening without cracking the stone itself.
That had been the hard part when I’d first tried this method.
Every stone had split down the middle. But with some practice and patience…
The divot grew and a sizable well appeared.
An impressed noise sounded from behind me.
I peered over my shoulder and found Halvar leaning against a nearby tree, his arms crossed over his chest.
A bubble of pride swelled inside me. I picked up the vessel and submerged it in the water before hoisting it out of the stream with a grunt.
Halvar appeared by my side. “I’ll carry that.”
“I can levitate it.” The magic was one of the first things we learned as Fjell Fae, aside from sealing cracks, so his help wasn’t necessary.
He grumbled and reached to take the pail from my hands. Our fingers brushed and a jolt of something sprang up my arms. I retracted them, letting him take the weighty stone.
Clearing my throat, I muttered, “Thank you.”
He nodded and stared down at me as if he was waiting for something.
Had he felt that zap too? Or was I just imagining things? The way my heart thrummed, skin tingled, and breaths stuttered, it was as if I’d never felt the touch of a man before.
I straightened and motioned for the near invisible trail. “Umm… Should we discuss what happened last night?”
“What about it?”
Perhaps the way he had defended me. The arm that had been severed. The words that had been spoken. They’d filled my dreams, and every thought I’d had since had always drifted back to the way he’d said it would always be him who protected me.
“What you said about protecting me.”
He followed my lead, weaving back through the woods. “I stand by my statements.”
Air whooshed out of me and I spun to face him, forcing us to stop. “All of them?”
“All of them.”
I wanted to reach out and brush my hand through those silver locks and see if they felt as smooth as they looked. His own gaze swept over my features—from the top of my head to the tips of my toes—before flicking back to my eyes with a warmth and understanding that had my heart fluttering.
My body shouldn’t have responded to him like that. But it kept doing so. Just being near him had me on alert, always cognizant of where he was and curious about what he was doing. Did he feel the same? Was he under this spell too? Or was it just that, a spell?
I shook off the thought before I did something foolish. “We should get back before they fear we’ve left them.”
Halvar pinched his lips and nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
Spinning, I led us back through the forest and up the zig-zagging trail to the garden where our guests waited. Their heads perked up and their conversation stopped as we appeared.
“Ah, there you are,” Hans exclaimed. “We thought we might have to send out a search party for you.”
“No need. Perhaps you could help me water some of these herbs?”
Hans set aside his book and jumped to his feet. “Of course.”
He scurried across the short distance to Halvar and took the pail from the brooding guard’s hands. Hans’s arms sagged slightly from the weight, as if he wasn’t accustomed to the heft of the stone.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“Yes, yes. Just a little heavier than it looks,” Hans chuckled.
Halvar mumbled something while Aksel watched on.
I motioned for Hans to follow me to the herb section of my garden and he set the stone down where requested. Kneeling beside the bed, he joined me and brushed his thumb and finger against a sprig of thyme.
“These herbs are magnificent,” he said.
I scooped some water into my hands and poured it onto the soil around the base of the plants. “Thank you. I’m sure they’d go well with potatoes.”
He nodded. “They’d go well with salmon or carrots too.”
Ah yes, I almost forgot. “You really enjoy cooking, don’t you?”
“I do. There’s so many fun and creative dishes to make and to learn about. Not to mention the joy of seeing friends and family enjoying the meal. And with the right herbs and vegetables… Well, anything is possible.”
I smiled and something in my chest loosened. Perhaps we did have some things in common. Because that was exactly how I felt about my garden and family.