I searched her face, listening to her bond for any concern or worry. “We all long for you, my queen, but we won’t cause any disruption or harbor ill will. He understands your need to spend time with each of your newest Blood so you’re comfortable with them too.”
She pressed a tender kiss to my lips. “I know. I’m teasing for the most part, but I do want to be as fair as possible. Trying to keep everyone happy?—”
“Only you must be happy, my queen. All else will resolve itself as long as you are well.”
HELAYNA
I leaned against Dörr,soaking in his strength and unfailing confidence in my ability. Shaken by Lokken’s implication that I could be a Triune-level queen, I tried to assess my own power. Even before Karmen had taken the sunfire soldiers as Blood, I’d sensed impossible depths inside her. Looking inside her power had been like gazing out into the infinite universe, trying to find an end to the cold emptiness.
When I looked inside myself, my power flowed like a dark, swift river, so deep it appeared to be silent and still, until something flowed past.
I didn’t look too closely, not after my vision of the shore of death. If something floated along the river, it would be a dead body.
“Not a river,” Lokken whispered hoarsely, his voice shaking. I turned as he dropped to his knees, mirroring my alpha. “You’re as deep as Yggdrasil’s roots, as wide as Her branches across allthe worlds. You will be called to the Triune, my queen. They need you to save the World Tree.”
“When we escaped Hvergelmir, I saw it. Many of its branches are already dead.”
He shook his head, snagging my hand to lift my palm to his lips. “Not dead. Sleeping, like a tree in winter loses its leaves. When it’s time, those branches will bud once more, watered by you.”
“Hel’s daughter, from which all rivers flow,” Dörr said. “There’s a reason we found you in Hvergelmir, named for the wellspring watering Yggdrasil’s roots.”
Lokken’s lips burned against my skin, as hot as his hands. Would his entire body be so hot? It seemed so strange to think my frost giant was so warm he was almost uncomfortable to touch.
His light blue-gray eyes blazed with heat as well. Never had such a cold color burned so hotly.
Dörr made a low growling sound that took me a moment to identify as a deep chuckle. “I relish the opportunity to observe how an Aima Blood pleasures our queen.”
“No more than I relish the opportunity to see how dark alfar worship her.”
I cupped the back of Lokken’s neck with one hand and curled my other arm around Dörr’s neck. “Not as much as I will revel being caught between the hottest ice and the darkest night.”
They swept me up between them, moving toward the bed in easy tandem despite Lokken’s recent addition. It’d been easy to have Dörr and one of my other Blood touch me at the same time. They’d known each other for thousands of years. Granted, they’d slept a great deal of that time, but they’d been warriors together. They knew each other, how they’d move or what they’d say or think in any situation.
Lokken was different. He didn’t have any previous ties to my Blood. He’d never fought with them. He hadn’t stood with me against the sunfires, draining himself nigh to death to give me enough power to keep my cabin from burning. He was an unknown variable who could have caused strife and turmoil among my Blood’s rank or made Dörr’s job as my alpha more difficult. Possibly even challenged him. I didn’t remember much about Aima court life, but I didn’t think both warriors would walk away from such a challenge.
Instead, Lokken glided into position as if he had always been with us. A spoke in our wheel I hadn’t even known was missing until I had him back at my side where he belonged. Goddess below, I hoped every Blood I Called was as easy to love.
Dörr drew my sweater up my midriff, bearing my stomach for Lokken’s blazing fingertips. Then over my head, freeing my arms for the reverent glide of his palms. My jeans proved slightly more difficult—only because Dörr was still familiarizing himself with the closure. He jerked at the material, a low growl rumbling his chest. “If I had my claws, I’d just cut you out of them.”
“Be my guest,” I replied.
Though Lokken easily jerked the button open for us. “No need to damage your clothing, my queen. At least before the tailor arrives.”
I laughed. “True. I don’t know how many outfits I might have, and I don’t want to wander around this beautiful house naked, shocking all the hapless humans.”
Dropping down before me to ease the jeans down my thighs, he flashed a grin up at me. “Hapless humans be damned, my queen. No one would dare say a word if you chose to walk this house naked.”
He cradled my foot in one hand while he worked the laces loose. “Sneakers, my queen? I’m surprised. I thought surelythe Queen of Hel would wear some ass-kicking boots. Spikes, chains, something deadly, surely.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” I laughed softly. “This was just the last-minute emergency bag of clothes Clara brought for me. I didn’t have anything in the cabin to wear but old castoffs.”
He shot a hard, narrowed look at me, though his blue eyes sparkled as he helped me step out of the rest of my clothing. “Our queen doesn’t wear castoffs. We must correct this mistake immediately. Beautiful gowns and jewels, silks and velvet. The crown you deserve.”
“I think I’d rather have the ass-kicking boots you mentioned before, though I honestly don’t remember what my preference in clothing was before I was taken.”
The sparkle clouded in his eyes, and he slowly smoothed his palms up my calves and knees, his hands like hot stones. Heat soaked deeply into my muscles. “I’m sorry, my queen. I didn’t mean to bring up anything that might trouble you.”
I tugged lightly on his shirt, reminding him he was still fully clothed. “I’m not upset. I’ll see if Clara has those things stashed anywhere. It might help trigger my memory if I see things I used to wear all the time. At this point, I don’t even remember what my favorite color might have been, let alone?—”
