Chapter 38 Freija
Freija
A ringing noise filled my ears alongside the thud of my own frantic pulse. This could not be happening. Couldn’t be true. He couldn’t have died. He’d been fine when I’d left him at his birthday celebration. He was fine.
I pressed my hand to my chest and tried to breathe.
He was fine.
He was fine.
He was fine.
He couldn’t be gone.
Mother.
Nora.
I wasn’t ready.
Someone stepped near my back, brushing against my shoulder, but I couldn’t move. Couldn’t do anything but stare at the knotted planks of wood and the weathered man who’d brought the news.
Henrik raised his hand and flicked his fingers upward. The crew around us moved as one, silently rising to their feet.
I was Queen.
Queen of the Fjell Fae.
I curled my hand into a fist against my chest where my magic pulsed and tugged— Oh, no.
That tugging sensation I’d felt the past few days hadn’t been a need for Halvar.
At least not wholly. It was the mountain’s magic calling me home.
It was the Temple of the Fae wanting my return.
It was the call for the heir to take their seat upon the throne. I’d missed the signs.
No.
No.
No.
The day had come too soon.
And I hadn’t had the chance to say goodbye. Had lost time with my father because I was too busy gallivanting off to the south for what… Research? Safety? Clearly that was a mistake. I never should have left. Should have stayed and studied and trained and—
A lump in my throat blocked my thoughts and a tear streaked down my cheek.
I’d failed.
I’d failed the mountain.
Failed myself.
Failed my family.
Stepped away from my duties as heir when I was needed the most.
Another tear slipped across my cheek and I batted it aside.
A thick wall of muscle stepped in front of me, and a warm hand settled upon my shoulder. “Breathe,” Halvar whispered. “Steady breaths. In and out.”
I tried my best, sucking in the salty air, but it only reminded me of my failure.
“May we borrow your quarters, Henrik?”
Shaking my head, I set my hand atop Halvar’s. “That won’t be necessary.”
I had to hold my head up and get back to the mountain as quickly as possible.
The time to grieve would come, but not until I was back in a safe space to do so.
I shoved the cacophony of emotions deep down and took a breath to strengthen my resolve.
If Father had passed two days ago then we were already out of time.
Had probably missed a message that arrived at Vigdis’s cottage.
We needed to get going right now. The magic within the mountain required a monarch in residence or it would start to collapse.
I needed to return home—they’d be waiting for me.
Straightening, I lightly patted Halvar’s hand and he removed it, taking a step back.
“Are you all right?” he whispered.
No. But there was no time to fall apart. That would have to come later.
I stepped around Halvar and faced the captain. “Thank you for informing us, and thank you for getting us here and healing my Head Guard.”
Henrik opened his arms and palms. “My pleasure.” His dark glittering gaze swept up and down my body, and Halvar let out a low grumble at my side.
“Be kind,” I whispered. “He just got us home and his healer tended to you.”
Halvar grunted as if to say, you’re right but I don’t like it.
“Thank you for your assistance,” I said to the sly and cunning captain.
“Any time,” Henrik replied.
“Well, as a token of my thanks, and in addition to the tiara I will send you, you are welcome at my table any time you find yourself in Skolvik.”
His lips turned up at one corner. “I appreciate the offer, Your Majesty, but I have no intention of heading inland anytime soon… and I prefer physical tokens anyway.”
Halvar grumbled beside me, muscles twitching in the periphery of my vision.
“Oh, don’t worry, Halvar. If I wanted to abscond with your Queen, I already would have. Though, I preferred her as a blonde.”
Halvar’s free hand splayed and he shifted forward. I threw out my arm and stopped his advance. With a stern look at Henrik, I said, “Don’t antagonize him.”
That smirk returned. “You should put a leash on him.”
Ancestors help this man. He was going to get himself killed, and I was trying to be diplomatic here while holding my own emotions at bay. I let out a sigh and clasped my hands at my waist in the prim and proper way I’d been trained to do.
“If you don’t stop this flirtatious behavior, perhaps I will unleash him and his axe.” I peered over my shoulder. “That is a fine mast you have there. It would be a shame to see it fall.”
Muffled words erupted from the crew and the sound of metal being unsheathed carved through the air.
Henrik’s smirk morphed into a full-blown smile, eyes crinkling at the corners as he raised a hand to calm the fidgeting crew. “You are marvelous. A stone dagger in delicate wrappings.”
“Don’t let societal perception of weakness and my gender cloud your thoughts, Henrik.”
“Consider me informed,” he chuckled. “And forgive the flirtation. Sometimes I can’t help myself. Either way, you are welcome aboard anytime.” He glanced at Halvar. “But perhaps leave him at home on your next visit. He scares the crew.”
I raised a single eyebrow. “Just the crew?”
He winked and motioned toward the gangplank. “Only them.”
I knew a lie when I heard one, and he may have been a cunning flirt, but Henrik was no fool. Being wary of Halvar was in everyone’s best interest. I now knew that firsthand. The beast of a fae behind me was a lethal weapon even without his axe.
We finished our goodbyes and I lifted my skirts as we strode down the gangplank, alighting on the seawall that protected the tiny village of Grim from the harsh North Atlantic.
The large, rocky structure reminded me of our own protective measures at the mountain.
Protective measures I’d now need as Queen of the Fjell, especially with someone on the inside trying to have me kidnapped.