She gave voice to her hunch.
‘An ancient dragon,’ Tor repeated, in bewilderment. ‘Reawakened after all this time … I suppose stranger things have happened. I have glimpsed them myself in Eana.’ He closed his eyes, and Greta sensed he was tuning his spirit to the thread of its distress. ‘How long has the creature been stirring?’
‘A few months,’ Greta guessed. ‘It’s buried deep.’
‘It feels strange,’ he said, uneasily.
‘Alarik thinks it’s dangerous.’
‘Alarik might be right.’ Tor’s frown deepened. ‘What happened last year with Oonagh Starcrest must have affected the rest of the mountains. Who knows how far her dark magic burrowed before she left this land.’ He snapped his chin down, his eyes flashing in warning. ‘Whatever happens, don’t try and free it.’
Greta glowered at her brother. Wasn’t he moved by the beast’s pain like she was? Didn’t it tug at his wrangler’s heart? ‘You sound just like Alarik.’
‘Good. At least he hasn’t completely lost his head when it comes to you,’ muttered Tor. ‘The last time we excavated those mountains, we pulled out an undead witch who started a war that nearly killed us all. Let me talk to Alarik about a plan for the dragon. In the meantime, leave the mountains be. They’re trouble.’
Greta swallowed her protests, still thinking about the beast and how she might help it as he stalked ahead, clicking his teeth for Elske to follow. Tollo and Gale trotted after him, too.
Greta jogged to keep up just as Wren Greenrock came sauntering down the path towards them.
She was cradling Dash and Boo in her arms, cooing at them every couple of steps. She stopped before Tor, turning her glittering smile on Greta.
‘Hello, at last,’ she said warmly. ‘I’m Wren. I hear you’re the best Iversen.’
Greta dipped her chin in greeting, immediately understanding how her brother had fallen head over heels with the charming witch queen. ‘Don’t let Hela hear you say that.’
‘Ahem,’ said Tor, pointedly.
Wren held up the cubs, squishing her face between them. ‘Look what I found, Tor. Twins!’
‘Wren,’ he said, on a sigh. ‘You promised you wouldn’t steal any of the animals.’
‘I never said anything about cubs.’
Greta chuckled. ‘I’m afraid Saga would be greatly distressed if you took her cubs away.’
‘Then we can take her, too.’ Wren beamed. ‘They can be part of Elske’s retinue.’
Tor gently wrestled the cubs from his beloved. ‘There’s no room in the sled, darling.’
Wren frowned as she relinquished them. ‘What if you got out and walked?’
‘You’d miss me too much.’ He flicked her gently on the nose, and she nipped at his finger.
‘You can play with them while you’re here,’ Greta suggested. ‘Have your fill of their cuteness before you head off again.’
Wren leaped to embrace her. ‘No wonder Alarik is obsessed with you,’ she said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. She pulled back and removed a vintage bottle of frostfizz from the inside of her travelling cloak.‘Why don’t we get an impromptu picnic going, and drink ourselves merry?’
The queen’s voice was light, but there was a certain shrewdness in her emerald gaze. Greta suspected that Wren had heard about her kiss with the king and was trying to distract her from his impending wedding with good company, loveable beasts and what appeared to be the king’s most expensive bottle of frostfizz.
Buoyed by a surge of gratefulness, she reached for the bottle, eager to spend some time with her brother and his love. She would worry about the sting of heartbreak later.
And tomorrow, she would think about the rest of her life.
CHAPTER 37
Alarik
It was dark outside when Alarik finally left his war room. A headache bloomed at the base of his skull. He had been out of sorts all afternoon, having left his conversation with Wren only to run straight into Lief. The steward was like a wolf with a bone, intent on finalizing every inane, last-minute wedding detail he could come up with on the spot.
