The door opened and I turned to face my husband.
Eyes on me, he said softly, “I asked you to stay in the loft, Finnie.”
“There are little fairies outside,” I breathed, forcing out the words through quick breaths.
His brows drew together in a way that wasn’t scary but, instead, surprised and he replied, “Those aren’t fairies, wife, those are elves.”
Elves?
Elves.
Holy moly!
My head slowly turned to the curtained window I could no longer see out of but my mind conjured the vision of what was essentially our front yard that I’d seen littered with about a dozen, maybe more, teeny men and women glowing ice blue.
Elves!
Oh my God!
How cool! This world had elves!
I looked back at Frey and whispered, “How cool!”
He held my eyes and told me his mind was not on elves when he asked quietly, “Can you explain why you hold a knife?”
“You’re a Raider,” I said without hesitation, wanting to get my explanation over with so we could talk about Elves, “you probably have enemies. I thought, with the way you took off, that they’d found you, it was payback time, you were unarmed so I wanted to see if I could help.” His face again registered surprise for an instant before it softened but I didn’t really notice mainly because my mind was on the elves outside so I asked, “Are those really elves?”
He moved toward me and my head tipped back as he did. When he got close, his hand carefully came to mine, took control of the knife then, when he had it, his torso twisted slightly and he tossed it so it landed with a soft funph on the couch.
With free hands, I lifted them and curled my fingers on his shoulders, shaking him a little to get his attention and when he turned back to me, I leaned close, went up on my toes and whispered excitedly, “Frey! Seriously! Are those really elves?”
His hands settled on my hips and he peered down at my face, one side of his mouth hitching up before he said, “Yes, Finnie, it’s been centuries but they have returned.”
I instantly pressed in deeper, chest to chest, fingers digging in his shoulders as I felt my eyes go wide, a big smile split my face and I cried, “How cool!”
He grinned then he said, “I must go with them.”
I blinked. Then I asked, “What? Why?”
“They have come to me with a message. It is important. I must go to the adela tree.”
Whoa. Wow. Cool again!
I totally wanted to see an adela tree. Not to mention, hang with elves.
I pressed closer and asked through my still bright smile, “Can I go?”
He kept grinning into my face but shook his head as his fingers gave me a squeeze, “No, wife.”
I felt my mouth turn down and asked, “Why?”
“They have a message for me, not you or us. And it is only me they expect at the adela tree.”
“But –”
“So it will only be me at the adela tree.”
Hmm. Bummer.
As was my way, when adventure was afoot, I didn’t give up.
“Can you go out there and maybe… ask if it was cool if I came with you? I could stand out of earshot,” I offered and he gave a short chuckle but shook his head.
“It must only be me.”
“But you’re big and scary and they’re teeny and not scary and you can stomp on them with your feet if you had a mind to. Maybe you can just tell them I’m coming.”
His brows drew slightly together again and his hands slid from my hips to the small of my back as his head dipped to mine and his voice went low.
“Finnie, it is true, I am their lord, but this is not their only form. They have awesome power and I command them but only because they have returned to the surface. They can retreat and I do not wish them to do so. If they want only me, as their lord, I should hear what they have to say and decide, during ensuing meetings, if I will take my winter bride.”
I was staring up with him with what I knew were big eyes when I breathed, “You’re their lord?”
He studied me then said, “Finnie, you know that, everyone does. The Frey of the line of Drakkar always commands the elves.”
Ho boy. I didn’t know and Sjofn hadn’t seen fit to share that tasty morsel in her note.
“They await, wife,” he prompted me on a slight squeeze of his arms.
“Right,” I nodded, “of course.”
I started to push back and then realized my hands on his shoulders and body pressed to his were not encountering cold. He’d been inside for awhile but it wasn’t like we had central heating. It was always a wee bit nippy, even with the fires blazing.
And his skin wasn’t cold. Not even a little bit.
I dropped my head to stare at his chest then it shot back and I stared at him.