“I’m sorry to trouble you?—”
“Please, not at all, Your Majesty. I’m delighted to be of service.”
“I don’t mean to sound disrespectful in any way, but I don’t think I can rest peacefully in Grandmother Hrefna’s rooms. We’re going to go look at my mother’s suite and see if it might be more… comfortable.”
“I understand completely, Your Majesty. I’ve often… Well. We can talk about it on the morrow if you’d like. Would you like me to attend you and help you select a room?”
“No, that’s not necessary. I just wanted you to know where we might be.”
“Absolutely. There’s a similar phone in Queen Helle’s suite if you need any further assistance.”
“Thank you, Franz.” I placed the receiver back on its stand. As I started to turn toward the door, I caught the portrait’s gaze of my grandmother. Perhaps it was my imagination but now that I knew what her bedchamber looked like, I read a bit of a smirk on her lips. As if she found it amusing I refused to sleep in her bed.
“Goodnight, Grandmother.” I couldn’t resist adding, “Your suite will be locked again first thing tomorrow.”
28
HELAYNA
We repeated the same procedure inside my mother’s suite, with Heimdallr slipping inside to look for anything amiss. Rather than the entire wing being devoted to the queen, a long hallway led the way down to the opposite tower. One side had several doors we peeked in, revealing two simple guest rooms with a bathroom connecting them. The furnishings were more modern, giving me hope Mother’s suite wouldn’t be as archaic as Grandmother’s.
Heimdallr popped his head out. “All clear. I think you’ll be pleased with these rooms, Helayna, my queen.”
The first room was an office or waiting room, similar to Grandmother’s suite though half the size. Absent the life-sized portrait as well. The bathroom and closet were also similar, just smaller, without so many sinks, mirrors, and benches. Which made sense, in a way. According to Clara, my mother never called any Blood, though she did come into her power.
As we passed into the tower room, I wondered if she’d ever brought Narve here. I was still foggy on the actual timeline of when Queen Hrefna passed, when Mother left Iceland, and when she conceived me and then Eivind.
I could ask Loki, at least about my own birth… But I didn’t want to know that bad. And how could I even trust he told me the truth?
The hexagonal room also featured three walls of windows, though at least these were completely covered with drapes. A modest-sized four-poster canopied bed set in the center of the room with soft, airy gauze flowing overhead and down the wooden posts. No mirror overhead. No giant wall of mirrors.
In fact, the room was nearly completely bare. No artwork on the walls. No personal items. No other furniture. A large round plush rug in royal purple provided the only hint of color and softness against the creamy marble floor.
“Much better.” I walked over to the windows and peeked out, just to see what view my mother would’ve had growing up here. More garden on this side of the house with the sea beyond. I could see a stone wall through the trees and the neighbor’s roof, reminding me once more of the city and people surrounding us. I turned back to face the room. “Though I admit I’m also a little disappointed. I hoped to know my mother better, but there’s nothing of her in this room. Did you see much of her life here? Was she happy at all?”
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I can’t see or hear into blood circles. The only place more secure than a Daughter’s blood circle is Valhalla itself.”
“That actually makes me feel better. Hopefully Loki won’t be able to sneak in either.” Dörr stood closer to the door, poised to leave me alone with the god if that was my wish. I looked back at Heimdallr. “Do you mind my alpha’s presence? Because I’m never parted from him.”
His head tipped forward slightly, his eyes narrowed. “I mind nothing you choose to do, Your Majesty. As I swore to you on the Bifröst, I will heed your alpha’s orders as if they’re from yourown lips. If you tell him or any of your Blood to fuck me, I’ll gladly allow it.”
My eyes flared, my cheeks heating a little. “I’d never order anyone to fuck anyone else. Especially me.”
He let out a deep, husky chuckle, and his eyes began to spin with prisms. “None of your Blood will require such a command, for we’re all eager to touch our living goddess any chance we get.”
“Even you?”
“Especially me.” The colorful sparkle in his eyes grew. “I haven’t touched a warm, living person in so long I can barely recall how to proceed. Perhaps you could instruct me.”
I stepped closer to him, letting my gaze roam over his impressive physique. Every single part of him was perfectly crafted and beautifully put together. Powerful shoulders and chest. Muscled arms and long thighs, but he was also lean and agile at the same time. When he attacked Loki, he’d moved so quickly I’d barely been able to see him, until the golden sword crashed into the stone step. “Was your sword damaged?”
He reached over his shoulder and unsheathed the golden sword. Dropping to his knees before me, he held the sword out flat across his palms. “Her Majesty Helayna Ironheart, meet Hofuð. Forged in Niðavellir, this sword is indestructible. It hungers for Loki’s blood and eagerly awaits the day we kill him. Though I’m more grateful than I can say we have thus far failed in our solemn duty, which allowed you to grace this world with your presence.”
The entire sword gleamed like his eyes. Gold itself was a soft metal, but as I carefully stroked my index finger down the blade, it felt impossibly hard and cold. The fine edges were perfectly smooth and sharp, the tip undamaged. The hilt was wrapped in leather. The pommel looked like a massive crystal eye, sparklingin the overhead light like a prism. Otherwise, the sword was completely unadorned.
I nicked the pad of my finger on the brutal edge and lightly stroked my blood up the flat blade. “Then let it have a taste of Loki’s blood I must carry to curb its appetite.”
The pommel blazed with light, spinning rainbows around the room, so bright I had to avert my face. Blinking watering eyes, I finally managed to see through the streaming ribbons dancing around the sword. Each visible spectrum blasted its own ribbon into the room as if the rainbow bridge had split apart into separate roads.
