“Your bond could unify us as well, Westley,” North insisted.
“She’s right. You could bring Idavoll and Asgard together.”
Westley shook his head. “That is not what the queens want. Nor our parents.”
“Fuck our parents,” Easta said with a nonchalance that lightened Westley’s mood a fraction.
“The queens are not so cold-hearted to deny their daughter her mating bond,” North reasoned.
“It doesn’t matter. I have made my decision and so has she,” Westley said, trying to shut down the conversation.
“You’re an idiot,” North said. Again.
“Yes, we’ve established this. As long as I don’t have to attend their marriage ceremony, I can keep my instincts at bay.”
“Like Hel you can,” Easta said with a snort.
“West, while I admire how much you respect her, it’s foolish to think you’ll be able to stand by and let her marry another.”
This time it was Westley’s turn to snort. “I don’tletSolveig do anything.” Her name felt like honey on his tongue as he remembered her taste. He tried to banish the memory of their kiss, but it lingered on the fringes of his mind, haunting him.
“You’re overlooking one small point,” Easta said, looking him dead in the eye.
“What?”
“How pissed she’s going to be when she finds out that you’re her mate. And she will find out eventually. You knew, kept it from her, regardless of your intentions, and she married another? She deserves to know.”
“She deserves the right to choose with all the information,” North chimed in.
Westley took in his sisters’ earnest looks and knew they were right. But he also knew Solveig. He knew how much weight she already carried. If he could lighten her load, if he could sacrifice his own well-being, he would not pressure her into anything.
But was that what he was doing by not telling her?
Fuck.
WhenSolveigcrossedtheborder from Asgard into Alfheim, she took a deep inhale of the autumn air.
Alfheim was a beautiful place—the perfect blend of spring, summer, and autumn.
Without a winter, they were able to reap the finest harvests of any realm.
Their luscious fruit trees filled the air with a sweet aroma. As they passed one particularly recognizable fruit, Solveig turned a wicked grin on Gerrie, unable to contain the chuckle that escaped her lips, her first feeling of levity since leaving Asgard.
Gerrie furrowed her brow as if to saydon’t you dare, which made Solveig laugh harder.
“What’s so funny?” Conalle asked, glancing from Solveig to Gerrie.
“Nothing,” Gerrie said quickly.
Conalle lowered his voice. “Is it the fruit? They do remind you of penises, don’t they? You know not to touch them? They have a poisonous coating.”
That made Solveig laugh harder, and she had to dodge the dagger that came flying at her head.
“No assassination attempts on my future bride, please,” Vali said from behind.
“You mean my bride?” Steffen called.
This was beginning to grate on Solveig’s nerves.
