Chapter 19 Halvar
Halvar
That beaming, beautiful smile aimed at him made me clench my jaw. Hans didn’t deserve her kindness and especially not that attention.
Aksel shifted from one foot to the other, drawing my focus away from the seemingly happy couple.
I barely opened my mouth and grumbled, “Stand still.”
He moved again. “Not all of us are used to imitating a rock.”
“Then you are bad at your job.”
He snorted and shook his head. “Hans doesn’t leave the mountain that often. He mostly spends his time studying or cooking. So this job hasn’t been very active since I recently joined.”
Sounded like a complaint to me. If he were in my service, I’d make Aksel climb up and down the mountain a hundred times. Perhaps that would improve his strength and ability to stand upright for lengthy periods of time… like a rock.
We stood far enough aside that we weren’t intruding on Hans and Freija, but they were just within earshot. If I kept my words to a whisper, then I wouldn’t bother her.
“If he does not like to leave the mountain, how did you get him to travel all the way here from Almstad?”
“Told him that Freija was a beauty worth leaving the books for.”
I held back a growl. “That is all?”
He shook his head. “No. His father promised him a set of rare books in Latin and showed him the information Queen Astrid sent over. He was easy to convince after that.”
If I could throw both of our guests off the cliff, I would. But since that would raise questions not even I wanted to ask nor answer right now, I kept my hands to myself.
Freija shifted from one plant to the next, settling closer to Hans.
His gaze dropped to her face and a smile spread across his lips. She returned the gesture, and my jaw tightened. Was it genuine or was she being the Crown Princess?
Hans retrieved his book and pointed to something on one of the pages.
“Do you think they look good together?” Aksel asked.
My hands clenched into tight fists, and I let out a huff.
“You don’t think so?”
“Freija is as wise as she is beautiful. She will make the right choice.”
“Are you sure? She seems a bit bland. Lacking in personality outside of that princess-y demeanor.”
Lacking in personality? The man was a lunatic. “She is not lacking in anything.”
“Really?” He peered over at me. “Nothing?”
I was going to draw and quarter this man in his sleep if he said another word. My jaw tightened and I glared at the idiot. “Among many other positive attributes, she is beautiful, compassionate, brave, and has a sense of humor,” I bit out.
Aksel’s eyes narrowed before widening. The whites gleamed around those beady, brown irises. “Beautiful? Don’t tell me you want to touch what is forbidden? Or was that what took so long while you were fetching water?”
I spun on the man, dagger drawn—
“Halvar!” Freija’s voice stopped me from plunging the blade into the grinning guard. “Is something wrong?”
Thank the ancestors she couldn’t see my face right now. “No.”
Aksel’s smile widened.
“Very well. I think it’s time we returned. Hans, would you care to join me for dinner?”
“I would love to.”
My stomach sank.
Aksel tapped the side of his nose as if we were now confidants, and I withdrew my magic, the dagger disappearing into thin air.
My chest rose and fell fast, angering me further.
But I wasn’t sure what upset me the most: the fact that this puny guard thought I had feelings for Freija, or that she had extended another dinner invitation to Hans.
Even worse, what if it was both?