Avina and Sigvid fly apart to find Thora standing at the kitchen entrance. Her hands clutch together as she rocks back and forth on her heels.
“I hope I am not interrupting.” She tilts her head with a devious expression that is not unlike his.
Avina’s back presses flat against the counter’s edge while Sigvid makes an effort to discreetly rub down his member, which now painfully aches for his little Queen.
“No.” Avina’s shaky hands lift her teacup to her lips, only for it to jump from her fingertips and shatter upon the floor, giving Nellie yet another plaything in the kitchen. She hurriedly sweeps up the mess, aided by a determined feline.
“What is it, Thora?” Sigvid joins his pseudo-niece in the doorway leading upstairs. The young girl is undergoing a breathing exercise of some form, something wildly outside of her usual mannerisms.
He wonders if Avina taught her that.
She plops down in the same chair where he and Avina were about to consummate their passion.
“Uncle Sig, I wasn’t entirely truthful when you asked about Sven.”
That is unexpected.
Avina cleans up the mess and then leans against the counter. Her attentive expression makes him wonder if they have discussed this.
“Avina, get her a cup of tea.”
Yes, the order is rough and demanding, but he must distance himself from this damn woman. Like the rockslide on the mountain, his unsteady emotions for her have become untethered, dangerous, and consistently catching him off guard before threatening to rip him over the edge.
“Hey, kid, what's going on?” He crouches beside her chair. “What do you need to tell me about Sven?”
She clears her throat. “I-I, please don’t be upset with me, Uncle Sig. I should have told someone straight away.” She accepts Avina's cup of tea. “Thanks.” The teacup rattles along the saucer as she sets it in her lap.
Is she afraid?“Just tell me what has happened.”
She closes her eyes and then opens them to meet Avina’s gaze, who nods encouragingly.
“After they captured you and the Drengr returned home Sven, Lod, and I were planning to rescue you from Scarwood. A rumorcirculated the streets that someone in Salt ordered you sold to the Arena.”
She takes a deep breath, and then he realizes she is shivering.
“Sven overheard something in the longhouse one night and went on a bloody rampage, beating the shit out of couriers searching for answers. And then a note arrived from the Ridge addressed to King Thrain that said, ‘We have him, it’s your decision.’ Sven became enraged.”
The note! Avina found it in a drawer of Thrain’s desk. Fuck that asshole and his meddling. But who in the Ridge would have any sway over Timber dealings?
“He plotted for weeks. I begged him not to go alone,” Thora continues, “to tell Kar. But it all ended in a terrible argument with his father before Sven stormed out of his home for Thrain’s.”
The teacup dances along the saucer with such ferocity that he takes them from her grip and sets them on an unopened barrel of mead.
“I followed him out of sight, Uncle Sig, straight into Thrain’s grasp. They argued, and he accused Thrain of selling you to the Arena. And… and…and…Thrain admitted it! Sven was imprisoned secretly for weeks. I couldn’t find him, no matter how hard I tried or who I told. I watched Thrain’s old Second marching him up Mount Fjell one night. I couldn’t leave him alone. So I trailed them. I watched his Second split Sven’s head open and toss his body in the river.”
Her wild, dark curls fall like a veil around her face. “What kind of Drengr am I? I couldn’t stop his death. And then I couldn’t leave Sven’s body in the river, so I sat on the mountain for two days until I saw Thrain appear, and I was terrified.” She spits the final word as if it is wrong to feel fear. “I should have waited, but I remembered Reef and Nautilus needed me more.”
Sigvid has his hand on Thora’s shoulder, his mouth slightly ajar. “Kid, you sat for two days with his body breaking down in the river?” He shakes his head. “You are brave to have followed them up there.” He grinds his teeth, thinking of his brother and the terror he has caused the people closest to him. “I will deal with Thrain.”
“Oh, no, please, Uncle Sig. If you confront Thrain, he might know what I have done. He will order me killed!”
“Thora, we talked about that.” Avina interrupts them. “Sigvid willensure no harm comes to you. You were brave to tell him. A proper Drengr, a Drengr worthy of Sigvid.”
Thora beams.
Avina has been dragging him through this fucking emotional turmoil of thawing his icy heart since he drew her body from the depths of that frozen lake. Every godsforsaken action she takes drowns him deeper into her soul. Removing Sven’s remains, caring for Thora, saving his ass from the Ulv, that fucking cat. Dammit, she is one decent act away from him admitting she is probably a good Queen.
“She is right, Killer. I think it is time I trained you properly.”
