Someone cleared their throat, and Thori flinched away like he’d been caught doing something forbidden. Njord, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have any qualms about kissing him. He held Thori close, gazing over his shoulder to regard the intruder with calm composure.
Thori turned as well, feeling himself blushing as he watched Skalmöld and Andora enter the room. The seeress regarded their intimate position with a knowing smirk.
“My lord. We have news from the ritual.”
Njord didn’t rise, just settled his arm more securely around Thori’s waist.
“What did you learn?”
“I made Hrothgar’s corpse talk to us even if he’d taken precautions during his life to prevent such interrogation.”
“Skalmöld had to battle the dead man for information,” Andora said excitedly.
“And even though I couldn’t determine where Svanhild intends to raise the Bog Mother, I learned that she has sent Sveinn with his war fleet for Nóatún.”
“When should he arrive?” Njord asked.
“Within days, if the winds favor them. But I guess they’re trying to distract us from Svanhild trying to wake the ancient goddess. We must forestall her.”
“But we don’t know where the Bog Mother’s resting place is,” Andora said, fear creeping into her voice. “Could be anywhere in the marches.”
“It’s under Nóatún,” Njord said.
“What?” Skalmöld sounded equal parts doubtful and intrigued.
“Thori found out that the Bog Mother is the same goddess, or is at least closely related to Nerthus. You know how these old gods are; they tend to merge and overlap. Her sacred grove lies beneath Nóatún,” Njord said.
A slow, dangerous grin stretched across Skalmöld’s face.
“Oh, that makes sense.” She pinned Thori with her gaze, making him feel like a hare facing an eagle. “Odin knew. That’s why he sent you to raid Nóatún all these years ago.”
“Yes, Odin knew,” Njord said. “But Thori didn’t. He figured out what he was surely not supposed to learn and shared his knowledge with me.”
Skalmöld grinned even wider.
“Splendid. That means Svanhild will have to come to us.”
“It also means that we have to find this drowned grove, and the cave system underneath the fortress is as extensive as it is dangerous,” Njord said.
“Then we’ll have to eliminate Sveinn swiftly, before we deal with Svanhild.”
This time Njord returned her grin, feral and beautiful.
“Yes, seeress. That’s exactly what we’ll do.”
twenty-five
Storm and Thunder
Thori
Thori was losing his mind.
He’d thought that being Njord’s thrall would destroy him; instead, his captor had always been lenient with him, almost gentle at times. But now Thori was downright coddled. Njord had insisted that he get some rest after the revelation of the Bog Mother’s true origins and Odin’s betrayal, had guided him to bed personally and stayed at Thori’s side until sleep finally took him.
The next morning, Thori found Njord already up, planning the defense of the fortress with Skalmöld and Gylfa in the tactics room. And when Thori had joined them, still sleep-ruffled and yawning, Njord had simply offered him the seat by his side and called for a servant to bring him breakfast.
The dark-haired maid who’d been kind to him earlier tended to him regularly now. She’d told him her name was Hildur, and that she liked to pray to Freyja. The nice ones were drawn to his sister, as per usual. Hildur had winked at him when she’d witnessed Njord casually wrapping a cloak around his shoulders, and Thori had been at a loss. Also, Gylfa’s husband had checkedin twice to see how his wounds were healing, and between Thori’s divine power to withstand damage and the healer’s abilities, the wounds had faded to barely visible scars.
