:Do you want to see this man to decide what manner of Blood he may be?:I asked her.:Or would you rather I loose Myrk and Svar on him?:
She laughed softly, relaxed in my arms, which told me before her words that this man meant her no harm.:He came straight to me, so he must be Blood. Though at some point, I would love to see your dark alfar shapes in action.:
“Let him enter,” I said aloud.
Myrk and Svar backed up closer to our queen, swords and axe at the ready, teeth and talons bared. The human consiliarius stayed at the door with the phone in her hand, though I didn’t know what she could do if the new man harbored any ill will. Lokken checked back over his shoulder, his gaze flickering over the Blood arranged to our queen’s defense. Then he met my gaze, waiting until I gave him a nod.
He seized the massive door and slung it back against the wall, making it ring like a massive gong, while he braced himself for attack. As I watched, his shoulders grew wider, taller, his body thickening. Ice spread on the floor around him, and Clara’s breath clouded the cold air. His skin lightened to a crystalline glittery blue-white ice. “Declare your House and intent, stranger.”
“Wow. Okay, yeah. Uh, hello, giant frosty man.” The man spoke quickly, his words jumbling together in his enthusiasm. Bushy black hair streaked with shots of white sprouted aroundhis face and head, and he wore a thick coat made from some kind of animal fur. “I’m Gunnarr of House Friia.”
Clara gave the man a skeptical look. “Føroyar, or the Faroe Islands, Your Majesty.”
“Yes!” He clapped his hands, grinning, and looked about the room. “I heard your Call, Your Majesty, and I came as quickly as possible, though it might not seem like it. I left Svín as soon as I heard your voice in my head. So loud it was like, wow, I gotta go right now, you know? But all I had was a canoe. So I started paddling as fast as I could, and I felt you coming closer, but then you sailed right past way faster than I could keep up. I followed as quickly as I could though it does look like I’m rather late to join the party. Is there going to be dinner served? Your Majesty?”
Clara’s frown of doubt turned to an amused smirk as the man rattled off the explanation. He wandered about the room, exclaiming and still talking, presumably looking for our queen, but also completely distracted by everything he saw.
:I’m not going to say anything,:Helayna whispered in my head, her laughter like soft raindrops in our bond.:I want to see if he’ll dare approach you to find me.:
“Whoa, what are you?” He asked Myrk, completely unfazed by the clash of obsidian teeth a mere hair’s breadth from his face. “So cool! Can you fly? I bet you can. Those wings are sick.”
Myrk hissed, but it was Svar who said, “We’re not sick.”
“Oh, totally, sick is like wow, that’s cool, you know? Am I too late to join the Call?” He clutched his head a moment and then gave himself a shake. “Nope, I still hear it, Your Majesty.”
“I have never in my three-hundred-thirty-seven years ever heard someone talk so much,” Lokken said as the man continued walking back and forth. “I bet if you shut up for five seconds you may finally find her, and she’ll tell you her name.”
“I can try, though I’ve always been a talker.” The stranger grinned at Lokken and then me, shrugging. “You must be the alpha, right? You remind me of a cartoon I used to watch when I was younger. I may even forget and call you Goliath. I’m your man when it comes to pop culture. Music, movies, television shows, you name it, I know it.”
I had no idea what any of those things were, so I glowered at him silently, waiting for him to act as a proper Blood.
That thought stopped me cold. What was a “proper” Blood? Certainly not a dark alfar. We hadn’t even been able to give her blood.
“Besides,” the man continued. “I don’t need you to tell me she’s all wrapped up in the biggest thing in the room. I’m not good at these kinds of things, Your Majesty. Forgive me for being an idiot who can’t shut up to save his life. If you want me to kneel or swear an oath or whatever, please just come right out and tell me. I’ll do it, without hesitation. I just don’t know what to do for any formal events.”
Without her request, I slowly allowed my wings to slide back behind me, though I still loomed over her, ready to gut the man if he even so much as thought about lifting a finger against her.
“I’m Helayna Ironheart.”
The man’s mouth sagged open a moment, his eyes lighting up at the sight of our queen. Then he gulped and turned beet red. “Oh, goddess.”
Myrk let out a rumbling laugh that cut through the lingering tension in the room. “I had the same reaction when I saw her.”
Gunnarr reached up to swipe the cloth he wore off his head, twisting it restlessly in his hands. “Your Majesty, forgive my foolish tongue and ignorant ways. I’m so sorry I barged into your house like this without any kind of notice or warning. I just heard your voice in my head, and I had to come. Now.Immediately. I couldn’t think of anything else. What can I do for you? What do you need?”
I didn’t need to see her face to know that her eyes gleamed with all the light of this world.
“You.”
The man blinked, giving me a pleading look as if I could decipher the simple word for him. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I don’t understand.”
She stepped closer to him and held out her hand. “I need you.”
HELAYNA
The poor manlooked befuddled as I neared him. Clearly, he wasn’t used to dealing with queens or Blood, but that could be an advantage for us. My dark alfar were unlike other queens’ Blood, and I preferred it that way.
With his furs, thick beard, and wild hair standing on end, he looked like the trapper with a dogsled I’d expected to see when Lokken walked out of the blizzard. “Did you really start paddling across the ocean in a canoe?”
