What’s the big deal? He needed the ring, I got it. There are more important things to consider. Thyra is dead by Odin.
Ari looks worried. Like me getting caught would be the worst thing imaginable. Is he faking it? In any case, it sours my mood. I scoff as I move to the other side of the table, just to get some space between us. Our shared moments—eating, practicing thrust, sharing furs. It feels an age ago.
“Who are you?” I ask, “my fucking father?”
The man left me drowning in doubt earlier, time for him to flounder. He just let me sink.
“No, Kilda,” he says. “I’m your man. If you were hurt, I don’t know what?—”
“What you would do?” I laugh. “Probably keep living your life.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
He’s fucking ridiculous. Not me. My man? I wish I could believe him. If he cared half as much as I pretend not to, maybe I would. I would love a safe shelter. An easy life. What woman wouldn’t?
“Why didn’t you just steal it?”
“I would get caught.”
“I’ve seen you with a blade, why not just kill everyone and claim it?”
“By the gods, Kilda. I’m not that crazy, nor am I a murderer. Besides, one man in a duel is one thing. Twenty men in an open skirmish is another.”
Makes sense. I guess.
“Fine. So, do you want your ring or not? Oh, sorry,her ring.”
He looks down at the floor. Like he can’t look me in the eye. What the fuck is this man hiding? I know he’s a Jotnar. I know he’s wanted to steal this ring for two years. Can he possibly have more secrets? He shakes his head slowly.
“I… I need it.”
“Tell me why then.”
“I told you, it’s to protect someone dear to me.”
“But you can’t tell me who?”
“It’s my sister.”
His sister? That’s it? I was expecting his wife, his estranged daughter, his secret lover. Anything but his sister. Why the fuck not just tell me that?
“That’s your big secret?”
“Yes.”
“Why not just tell me?”
“You think I’m proud of this? My woman having to steal the ring I need to save a loved one?”
“Your woman?” I snort.
He looks at me dead in the eye. A flash of annoyance colors his face.
“Insult me all you want, Kilda, but stop belittling my love for you.”
I actually laugh, wholeheartedly.
“It’s not easy taking a seducer’s word seriously.”
