“All right, everyone. Good luck. Tandsmør and I’ll be waiting for you here.” Katrine doles out hugs to each of us, even Agnata, and sends us on our way.
The storm started an hour ago, and I feel Father inside it like a heartbeat. The sky won’t quit. The rain is sheeting like it aims to dump all of Havnestad into the sea. And maybe it does. I keep this to myself. The weather is making everyone nervous enough without an additional explanation from me.
We load into the car as we did before—I’m next to Will, and Sofie sits in the back, minding Agnata. Agnata is dressed just like us but disarmed, her forearms clean and bare, no stone in her possession. We tied her hands as precaution for our travel, though the binds will have to come off the second we exit Freyja.
The road winds through the valleys, past grass overwhelmed by the rain, the earth unable to soak up any more. Water sits atop the pastures, glistening when the moon finds a sliver in the clouds, as we repeat nearly the same route we took earlier today. Urda—or maybe Freyja—is on our side, and the road is smooth and the wheels don’t stall,though the headlamps do very little to light the way as we crest Lille Bjerg Pass.
“There they are,” Will says, under his breath, as the headlamps key back down toward town. “But what is that?”
The lights illuminate a line of guards standing in the road, gas lamps in hand.
“It’s a checkpoint,” Sofie says, leaning forward into the front seat.
My stomach tightens. We were lucky that we didn’t pass by one earlier in the day, but now, the guards of Holsten and Havnestad are working together, both on the lookout for the same traitors.
Luckily, they think what has been stolen is a green motorcar. Freyja is now a sleek black.
Will pulls into the checkpoint and shifts his features to put on the same show he so often performed at the castle. He’s affable, a real man’s man, and, here, he’s out for a night on the town with not one but three ladies, all dressed to the nines to hang off his well-appointed arms.
A guard in a rain-drenched coat and hat of Øldenburg blue leans into the driver’s side window, flashing a gas lamp across the faces in the back. As he does this, two other men begin to search the perimeter of our car.
“Name and destination, sir?”
“Remy Johansson, and these are Frigg, Fulla, and Hela. We’re headed anywhere with a sturdy roof and hvidtøl on tap.” He smiles at the man. “Do you have anyrecommendations for me and my gals?”
The guard’s sternness cracks just a bit. I’m not surprised. Men can always bond over the objectification of women.
Behind me, Sofie is coiled tight, her hand digging into the top of my seat, ready to bat Will across the ears if he says something worse, even if it means we can drive away.
The guard cocks a brow at Will. “I do have a recommendation, Herr Johansson, but only if you have one in there for me.”
Will laughs and, oh, Urda, he winks. “A man doesn’t share his greatest treasures, my friend.”
The men checking our car for the marks of the missing one are finished and give the guard at our window a signal. But then the man’s smile dies on his lips.
“That’s understood, but can you tell me, are all these women able to speak?”
“Of course, sir.”
The guard smiles briefly and then his stern face returns. “Please have each woman say her name so that they can prove it.”
Will’s smile is stretched so thin it’s almost a grimace. “Why, sir?”
“We happen to be on the lookout for three women wanted in a plot to kill King Niklas of Havnestad. Surely you heard the news.”
“I... wasn’t aware it was a woman’s doing.”
“It was,” the guard says before spearing each of us with his dark eyes. “Now, ladies, one by one, please say your name loud and clear for me. Let’s start with you.”
The guard looks to me, in the front of the car. The one who looks most like Alia’s description, no doubt. I smile brightly and repeat the Norse goddess’s name I’ve adopted. “Frigg.”
Sofie goes next, her name nearly trampling over the end of mine. “Fulla, sir.”
Heart crawling into my throat, I let my eyes swing to Agnata, sitting in the back, her bound hands covered by a blanket over her dress. I bite down hard on the inside of my mouth and stare at her, not knowing what I’ll do if she outs us. Our firearms are hidden under the carpet at our feet. Would we have time to grab them before the shooting started? Or would they force us out of the car? How many guards can’t we see? Is it just these four?
Agnata seems to calculate this too, glancing at the sliver of space between her and Sofie. Will forms a tight smile at the guard. “Hela’s a bit shy.” He turns around to lock eyes with her, kindness in the set of his features. “Come on, my dear, tell the man your name. The night awaits.”
Agnata’s mouth drops open and my hand slides into my pocket, fingers wrapping around the amethyst there. Sofie is smiling at Agnata like her face might crack in two.
