Raye’s smile toward him was slow, achingly affectionate, and she leaned up to kiss at his hot cheek. “I think it’s perfect, Gael, don’t you?” she told him. “Growing both your sons, together. Just imagine all the extra feeding you’ll need to give me.”
Gaelfr slightly staggered again, his breath heaving out harsh, his eyes blazing with dangerous heat on Raye’s face. And for an instant, she thought he might rush toward her, yank up her skirts, and start fucking her where she stood — but Kalfr’s arm hooked him closer, so he could turn his head and inhale deep against Gaelfr’s neck. “Deep breaths,ástin mín,” he murmured. “Plenty of time.”
Gaelfr betrayed a jerky, full-body shudder, his eyes still almost feral — but then, with obvious effort, he nodded. “A-ach,”he gasped. “But,sæta— you may not wish — you must not feel any need — it may be —dangerous.”
He heaved out the last word, harsh and final, the grief already flickering through his eyes. Enough to catch Raye’s breath, too, and she shot a swift, questioning glance toward Rurik. Would this be dangerous? How much extra risk would she be taking on, by carrying two orc sons, rather than one?
But Rurik didn’t appear particularly concerned, and gave a careless shrug. “All pregnancies carry some danger,” he said. “But you are a hale, hearty woman, who has already carried and birthed one orc son. And she shall be well cared for, shall she not?”
He aimed that question toward Kalfr and Gaelfr, and Gaelfr rapidly nodded, while Kalfr’s eyes sharpened on Rurik’s face. “Would you stay and help until then, brother?” he asked. “We shall gladly pay you. And feed you as much of our cooking as you please.”
Rurik’s mouth pursed, and Raye belatedly recalled what he’d told them, when he and Julian had first arrived. That they were only staying until all this mess was sorted, and then they would move on again, for good.
But Rurik seemed to be considering Kalfr’s offer, and finally he nodded. “I shall speak to Julian about extending our time here,” he said. “It may be helpful to my plans, to learn more of how to spark twins thus. And helpful to learn more ofherplans in the north, also.”
He jerked his head sideways, toward — right, towardSybil, who Raye couldn’t seem to stop forgetting about. And who was, predictably, already rasping something at Rurik about never telling him her plans, ever — but all of them fully ignored her, and Rurik turned back toward Kalfr again, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
“Also, where do you mean to keep her?” he asked, jerking his head toward Sybil. “She shall now be your prisoner, you ken. Lest you wish her to run off and tell the rest of our enemies all you have done here.”
Kalfr sighed and nodded, and angled a weary glance toward Sybil. “We shall need to speak with the clan and the mountain upon this,” he replied. “Even if we wished to keep her at thebyrgi, we have no good place for this. There are yet dungeons at the mountain, but these would not be a good place for a human, either.”
Sybil’s rasps had risen to a scraping series of terrified-sounding curses, enough that Raye let out an irritated groan, and twisted to glare at her. “Look, you tried tokillus,” she snapped. “Multiple times. You’d be dead and burning right now if Kalfr hadn’t made that promise to you. And you’re damned lucky he made that promise, because even if you don’t deserve it” — she shot a glance at Kalfr — “you can trust he’ll keep his word, and make sure you’re safe.”
And goddess, what had become of her, that she was still helping Kalfr keep that promise, for the benefit of the woman who’d brought them all so much pain? But as Raye held her gaze on Kalfr, drinking up the warmth and the gratitude shimmering in his eyes, she knew, sudden but certain, that her choice wasn’t about Sybil at all. It was about her own choice. She was choosing to trust her mate, even in something like this — and thereby trusting her own judgement, too.
“Thank you,sæta,” Kalfr murmured, leaning in to press a fervent kiss to her hair. “Your trust holds — great meaning, to me.”
His voice was hoarse, heartfelt, and Raye squeezed him tight in return, drawing in deep breaths of him, feeling his hands spasm against her skin. “We will speak more upon this,” he murmured. “But for now” — he twisted away toward Rurik again— “are we all healed enough to leave, then? Are we safe to meet our son, and travel home?”
Safe. Their son. Home. The longing furled all through Raye’s body, because it all sounded like a dream, like something too unspeakably precious to be true. But when Rurik nodded, the dream shimmered closer, made even sharper and brighter by Kalfr’s stunning smile toward Raye, his hand clasping against hers.
“Then come,” he said. “Home.”
70
Of course, the best part about leaving was meeting Svein again.
“Mama!” he yelped, upon catching sight of her down the tunnel — and he instantly sprang away from where he’d been waiting with Eyolf and Iyolf and Julian, and sprinted straight toward her, his face alight with joy. “And Papas!”
He hurled himself into Raye’s arms with almost enough force to knock her over, but Raye braced herself and squeezed him tight. “Oh, love,” she gasped, and suddenly she was weeping, despite the smile splitting her face. “I’m so glad to see you. So glad you’re safe.”
Svein sniffled and nodded, his body vibrating in her arms, and he jerked back to look at her, his nostrils rapidly flaring. “But you werebleeding, Mama!” he exclaimed, jabbing his claw toward her chest. “Did the bad people hurt you?!”
Raye firmly shook her head, and drew him back into her arms. “No, it’s only a scratch,” she said. “Nothing to worry about. We’ve dealt with all the bad people, haven’t we, Papas?”
She tearfully smiled up toward Kalfr and Gaelfr behind her, and Svein’s tension faded as he followed her gaze — and then helurched away to throw himself into Gaelfr’s arms, too. “I knew you would come,” he choked. “Thank you, Papa.”
Gaelfr’s eyes suddenly looked weepy, too, and he nodded as he folded Svein close, inhaling deep against his head. “I always shall, my son,” he replied. “I have vowed to keep you and your mother safe, have I not?”
Right. Gaelfrhaddone that, the very first day he’d come. Even if he hadn’t truly been Raye’s mate, he’d still sworn vows to her. And he’d kept them, all this time.
Svein sniffled and nodded, and hurled himself into Kalfr’s waiting arms, too. “I’m so glad you’re safe, Papa,” he gulped, into Kalfr’s shoulder. “I couldn’t lose you again. Not after you just came back.”
Kalfr’s eyes squeezed shut, and he nodded into Svein’s hair, his shoulders heaving with his breaths. “I could not bear to lose you again either, son,” he whispered. “It is such a great honour, to have you as my son. And I know this is yet new to all of us, but” — he drew back to meet Svein’s eyes — “you can always trust us, ach? You can trust me and Papa Gaelfr, just as you can trust your mother. You can be sure we will always care for you, and come for you, whenever you need this.Always.”
Svein’s eyes glimmered with tears, and he nodded, and threw himself back into Kalfr’s arms. And as Raye watched them cling to each other, she could taste the weight of this moment, the meaning it held for Kalfr and Svein both. Because all of this, today — maybe this had been Svein testing them, too. Testing all of them. And unlike his own father, Kalfr had been able to prove himself to his son. He’d come, and protected him, and shown himself the father Svein had always longed for.
“You smell like the bad men, Papa,” Svein finally said, between hiccoughing breaths, as he pulled away from Kalfr, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. “But in a good way. Does that mean you ate them?”
