“Thanks—I’m bad at math.” Ezra replied without sarcasm. It was true—he sucked at math. He remembered a detail. “And the clouds were blue, a really vibrant cobalt, directly over the skull’s location. The entire storm was blue-tinted, really.”
“That shade of blue is rather distinctive,” Freya mused, sounding deep in thought. “Were the flames on the skull the same color?”
“Yes, with some electric blue highlights, but mostly cobalt,” Ezra said, hoping she had an idea of what they were dealing with.
“The colors sound familiar. I don’t have a name for you, but perhaps a region to search in your books. An insular group of Elder fae that originated in the northwest Black Sea region. They were once called the Vila. Their magics were a rich, vibrant blue, and they were environmental and elemental aspects—snow, ice, frost, storms, and perhaps even blizzards. I do know for sure that they were worshipped as gods by mortals for a long time. They were considered cousins to the High Court Sidhe. Your grandfather will know more for sure, Raum.”
“How are you so sure that he is going to know what we need; both you and your significant other seem fairly confident?” Harlan asked, leaning forward a bit, ignoring the sharp glance from Raum at his words.
“Oh, that’s an easy answer, but I’ll let Saemund answer it for me,” Freya replied, sounding not at all put out by Harlan’s questioning.
“Saemund?” Ezra asked.
“My grandfather.” Raum answered.
“Ah, okay.”
“Darling, I’m going to let you go; I just got a text from your father. He found Saemund. They’re on the way.” Freya said. “Come to dinner soon! Love you.”
“Love you too!” Raum got in just before his mother hung up.
Raum fiddled with his phone a second before sticking it in his pants pocket.
“Are your dad and grandad on the way to your parents’ place or…here?” Ezra asked, frowning.
“I don’t know…” Raum started, but the bang of a door opening and smacking the wall made them all jump. The sound echoed through the stacks and Ezra heard someone walking in their direction—the security guard was hustling their way with a tall, slim, and handsome blond man trailing along behind.
“Raum!”
“Dad!”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
EZRA
Ezra was startled at the appearance of Raum’s father, not because he was off-putting or unpleasant, not at all, but because Nórr looked to be the same age, or even a bit younger, than his own son. Somehow he’d had an image in his head of a middle-aged, white-haired man with glasses and some wrinkles, and instead he was faced with a youthful-looking man in his prime, with golden-blond hair without any receding hairline or gray hairs, and a face untouched by the passage of time.
It was the eyes that brought the connection to the fore for Ezra—whiskey brown with flecks of gold. Raum and his father had the same eyes.
“Professor, this man claims to be your father, and…” the security guard appeared alarmed, looking around behind him. “Where’s the other guy?”
“My father, yes, thank you for escorting them back. And my grandfather is in the stacks—he likes to see what new books we might have. He’s perfectly safe, I promise.” Raum assured the guard, who frowned but handed over two passes to Raum, who took them with a smile.
“My boss said to give them temporary passes, good to the end of the month. Make sure they wear them.”
“I will and thank you so much,” Raum said, and the guard gave Nórr a sharp glance before turning on his heel and heading back to the access door.
Once the guard was gone, Nórr stepped up to Raum, smiling and squeezing him hard in a massive hug. Raum returned the hug and Ezra flushed, realizing with a tiny pit of longing in his belly that he had never shared as enthusiastic and carefree an embrace with his own father as Raum did with his. He mentally shook off the feeling and he stood, wiping his palms on his thighs.
Nórr and Raum broke off the hug. Raum handed the pass to his father, who took it with a grumble and stuck it in his back pocket. “I don’t know why we bother with these pass things, we never have before.” His accent was a bit heavier than Ezra had heard on the phone, and it was definitely Norwegian.
“Dad, mixed company, let’s not spill all our secrets,” Raum lamented, though he didn’t appear all that serious. “I don’t need everyone knowing my family sneaks in for visits on the regular.”
“We won’t tell anyone,” Harlan said. “MERS does not care.” Chase nodded in agreement.
Lilith sauntered over to the newcomer, tail curled at the tip, ears pricked forward, a soft chirp coming from her as she stood beside Raum and peered up at Nórr.
“Well hello, little queen. Who is this?” Nórr asked.
