The door to Astrid’s bedroom opened and closed, the only indication Freya had left. She returned a moment later. Without looking up, Astrid held out her palm to accept her seal and wax.
Cool skin grazed her hand instead. Startled, Astrid stared and stared at the bare hand in hers, crossed with pale scars. She followed the length of the arm up to Freya’s face—frozen as if in a trance, her wide, dark pupils reflecting the flickering flames of the fire. Astrid sat similarly frozen, wondering what would happen next, what she was supposed to do, if anything.
Wondering what this meant.
Her fingers twitched, almost giving in to the temptation to close her hand over Freya’s smaller one, just as Freya snatched her hand back. Both Freya’s hands were ungloved, the other tightly gripping the wax and seal.
As far as Astrid knew, Freya only removed the gloves in front of her.
Astrid held her breath. A second passed, then two.
“Sorry,” Freya said. She shook her head as if shedding her trance. “I… I’m sorry.”
“What—?” Astrid started.What’s on your mind?she thought she may have been about to ask.What compelled you to touch me?
With a clatter, Freya dropped the wax and seal onto Astrid’s side table, then disappeared into the shadows. Astrid gawked at the space she’d occupied. Freya’s silhouette lingered in her vision like a ghost.
Astrid brought the wax over to the fire to warm. Probably nothing, she reasoned. Freya was worried about the consuls, just like Astrid was, and she’d been distracted enough to pass her the wrong hand. The goddess knew Astrid did that every once in a while, too.
But Freya was usually so calculated and mindful.
Astrid watched, transfixed, as the wax melted, puddling in its metal warming cup. The phantom sensation of Freya’s hand lingered on Astrid’s own.
Chapter Three
Arosy-cheeked human from the castle’s laundry staff arched her back into the wall and let out a moan Freya had to stifle with her hand.
Freya’s other hand was two fingers and two knuckles deep in Mara, pumping at a rhythm that made Mara tremble until she finally grabbed Freya’s shoulder and rode out the rest against Freya’s hand.
Freya stepped back, panting. Mara giggled. The room—an empty chamber reserved for visitors on the fourth floor of the castle—was heavy with the smells of sweat and sex.
Freya went to the basin to wipe down her hands, then shook them out and put them back in her gloves.
“Always lovely meeting up with you, Freya,” Mara said between gulps of air. She found her stockings and began the process of rolling them back up her sticky legs. “This will be the last time, I think.”
“Oh?” Freya said.
“I found someone,” Mara said, and her already-flushed cheeks reddened.
“How wonderful. I’m happy for you,” said Freya.
She meant it. Mara was a single mother of three—busy doing laundry during the week, cutting cards on the weekend, and raising her kids for the rest. No time for romance, just like Freya. This what had made their arrangement easy to fall into.
“He works at the docks,” Mara said without prompting. “Steady income. Keeps buying me flowers.” She rolled her eyes at the last part, but she was grinning.
“Sounds like a good man,” Freya said.
“Oh, he is. And second-generation, too. He’s never even seen war.” This last part was said with a sparkle in her eye that made Freya’s gut twist.
The underlying assumption was that all humans in Vakker Castle were refugees from the human wars up north, and the polite thing to do was not to ask what someone else had been through. To survive up in the human territories, one had to swear allegiance to one warband or another. Whatever Mara’s experience, she fell into the camp that liked to pretend the wars had never happened.
Freya didn’t have that luxury. The things she’d done for those warlords would haunt her for the rest of her life.
This was why Freya chose not to talk much during their rendezvouses. Some of these things were better left unknown.
Mara tugged down her skirts, still grinning. “I’d love for you to find someone too, Freya.”
Freya nearly choked. “I’m busy, but thank you. I hope he makes you happy.”
