He landed in a remote part of the castle kept specifically for this reason. Bryn instantly threw her arms around him when he shifted back to two legs.
“That is absolutely the only way to fly!”
He loved her enthusiasm. “Better than a plane?”
“Oh, absolutely. Landing is much easier and much less terrifying.”
He kissed her soundly. “Come on. Let’s go see what Lars has found.”
Hand in hand, they walked toward the lights of the castle. Sven’s skin prickled that something sinister had poisoned the sanctity of their home.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Bryn
Lars met them in the hallway as soon as they entered the castle. And he was not happy. The expression on his face turned Bryn’s backbone into mush, but Sven put his hand in the small of her back to give her strength.
Without a word, Lars spun on his heel and headed toward the war room. Bryn chose to wait outside and now sat on a bench in the hallway with her hands knotted in her lap. Voices rose and clashed from the other side of the door.
“You went alone.” Lars’s voice thundered. “Reckless and irresponsible.”
“I am the king. I will not be spoken to like that.”
“I’m not talking to you as the king. I am speaking as your friend. A friend who has now failed twice to keep you safe.”
“I didn’t have time to find you.”
“Bullshit!” Lars roared. “We had just returned to the castle. I couldn’t have been very far.”
“We need to focus on the problem at hand.”
“You, Sven, are the problem at hand. You need to stop and think before you act. The Frostfen Deep is a graveyard, and you thought it wise to go there without telling a soul?” His voice lowered an octave but still held anger. “Do you have any idea what could have happened?”
Sven responded with just as much angst. “I had no choice. Bryn was in their hands.”
Bryn’s throat tightened at the sound of her name. She had nearly cost him his life.
“And if you had died there, Sven? What then? We would have lost two instead of one.”
Unable to listen another moment, she leapt up and burst through the door. Her chest was so tight she could barely squeeze out any words. “Lars—”
But Sven spoke first, his face stony and fierce. “Then at least she would have lived if they had killed me.”
“Bullshit.”
They both turned and looked at her. Her own temper inched up a notch as she stared at the two angry men.
“What did you say?” Sven asked first.
“I said bullshit. They would have killed both of us. That…that…man said that I was the bait, but I’m not sure I believe him. After Alitta touched me that day, she knew something was different. I think I was there as a play toy or an experiment.”
Her breath caught as fear and certainty backed up her words. They had called her for a reason, and Sven wasn’t the entire answer. Lars swore under his breath and turned away as he ran a hand through his hair.
Sven’s anger seemed to evaporate and he hugged Bryn to him. “We have more questions than answers.” He looked over at Lars. “How did you know where I went?”
“Apparently the same way you knew where to go. Hannah called back to see if you found Bryn, but she got me instead. I think I probably scared her when she told me what was going on.”
Bryn smiled at him and hoped they could still be friends. “I’ll talk to her. And I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble. When I got the phone call and they told me they have Sven, I reacted without thinking. I’ll admit that. I just wanted to save him.”
