The Fourth Realm (Realms Gate)

by Juliet Anderson

  “What part of you thought I would be happy to learn that my daughter has been staying with an unknown Viking in his quarters? You should be acting with some level of decorum.” He was seething now.

  “Just because you put it about in your teenage years doesn’t mean I do, Dad,” she responded hotly. “I can actually be in the company of a man without being overrun with the urge to have sex. A strange concept for a Viking, I know.”

  “I am your father, you will show some respect when you speak to me,” he thundered.

  “What’s the point,” Kat spat back. “Whatever I say will meet with your disapproval so why bother trying.”

  “If you do not adjust your attitude quickly you will not be leaving this house for a long time. And that includes seeing that boy.” Wilhelm’s temper was in full flow.

  Kat stalked to the study door and flung it open. “Mum was lucky. She didn’t have to deal with an overbearing, loveless father. Guess the same can’t be said for me; mine sadly has a pulse.”

  “Kat,” Erin shrieked at her daughter. “Take that back right now?”

  “Why? I’m nothing but an irritant to that man.” Kat ran upstairs to her bedroom before she burst into tears. She hated her father for how he made her feel. And right now it was like shit. She hadn’t meant to say she wished him dead but the words had just come out. It was the look of abject pain on his face as those words hit home that she could not erase from her mind. She still loved her father, however low he regarded her.

  She cried for an absolute age; having found some happiness in the last few weeks, that was now being taken away from her. She let out a howl of anguish then ran for the fire extinguisher she has wisely put in her room. There was only once place she should be right now that would be safe and that was in the basement.; she couldn’t damage anything there.

  Erin was distraught; her family was being torn apart. If she didn’t find a way to fix things, the damage would be irreparable. Wilhelm had stormed off back to Lokranor, refusing to be placated after his argument with Kat.

  She recalled how Kat had looked riding alongside Ulrik; it brought back memories of her and Wilhelm when their relationship was in its fledgling stage. Kat seemed happy for the first time in a long time. She needed to reassure her daughter that her relationship with Ulrik could continue, she would see to that. Even Wilhelm should be keen to push that relationship, linking the houses of Lokranor and Mallenvaar. But he was just so touchy when it came to Kat.

  It was also time to discuss Kat’s powers. It was obvious something had happened in Mallenvaar. But how developed was she? Erin decided she’d left Kat on her own long enough. Tapping softly at her bedroom door, there was no answer. Erin entered anyway. The room was deserted but she spotted the tell-tale sign of fire extinguisher foam. At least Kat was prepared. Jasper mentioned they spent time training in a basement vault; that was most likely where Kat was if she was still angry. Erin found her curled up in a tight ball in the corner of the room.

  “I never thought about coming down here when I was pissed off with the world,” Erin plonked herself down on the floor by Kat. “I’d just fry one of Birdie’s prize rose bushes and be in even more shit.” She put a comforting arm around her daughter. “I need to apologise, Kat, for being such a lousy mother. The job doesn’t come with a guide and even with the best intentions in the world, I get things very wrong.”

  “What do you mean?” Kat sniffed, her eyes still downcast.

  “I raised Arianna up to expect powers, yet she has none. I kind of expected her to follow in my footsteps, yet it is you who is. I’ve been trying to juggle two different lives and have messed up both. Living in one Realm and having my children spend so much time in another has not proved to be very beneficial to any of us. I thought I was giving you space, yet it seems I have neglected you badly.”

  Erin felt a surge of relief as her daughter moved a fraction closer to her.

  “You and Dad forgot my birthday.”

  “And I will never forgive myself for that. I’ve been trying to be Protector of the Realm, Queen, bodyguard, wife and mother. It ends today. I plan to be a mother only, the rest of my roles can take a back seat. I need to bring my family back together.”

  “I’m a lost cause, I just bring disappointment.”

  “On the contrary, daughter, I could not be prouder of you. You, who rode off into an unknown Realm, armed only with her sword and some rather startling powers. And I have to say, snagged herself rather a fit looking prince.”

  “You said you saw us riding one day?”

  “Actually I saw you kissing Ulrik, but I was not about to say that in front of your father. You know how old-fashioned he is. Which is a bit strange since he is Viking and I remember exactly what he was like in his youth.”

  Kat giggled despite herself. “I like Ulrik.”

  “So do I. Much as it pains me to say, he reminds me of a young version of your father. Did you see much of Sigfried in Mallenvaar?”

  “No, I met him just the once briefly.”

  “How about Ulrik’s uncle, Lief.”

  Kat shook her head. “Ulrik does not care for him or his cousin. Apparently they have designs on the throne, Oskar is always trying to outshine Ulrik so Sigfried will name him heir instead.”

  “You ran into trouble today, didn’t you?”

  “Yes. An ambush set up to take out Ulrik.”

  “How were your powers?”

  “Passable but I need serious training with them. I tried to recall everything you used to say about controlling blue energy and figured the basics must be the same.”

  “Were they?” Erin asked curiously.

  “Kind of. I need a new sword though. I almost fried mine.”

  “How?”

  “I channelled fire through it, like you run blue energy through yours.”

  “You learnt to do that by yourself?”

  “Yeah. As you said, I think like you.”

  “Will you come back with me to Lokranor tomorrow for Arianna’s banquet?” Erin broached the subject.

  “Will she want me there?”

  “You’re her sister, why would she not?”

  “Because I inherited powers before her, found the missing gateway and delayed her banquet.”

  “It was your father’s choice to delay the banquet. And you cannot be held to blame for finding the sun stone. They select their owners. As for the gateway, if I had run into someone like Ulrik, I wouldn’t have risked losing him by telling anyone.”

  “I don’t think Dad will want me there. I said some pretty horrible things to him,” Kat hung her head in shame.

  “Apologise to him tomorrow and clear the air. He might huff and puff but I know he loves you dearly.”

  Kat snorted in response. “Are you staying here tonight?”

  “You bet. Your father has the added bonus of the twins,” Erin chuckled and got to her feet. “I think it time to see what bad stuff Birdie has lurking in the fridge. I’m in desperate need of chocolate, the darker the better.”

  CHAPTER 12

  Ulrik was getting the inquisition from his father however his mind kept drifting back to Kat. She had been phenomenal in the woods, had it not been for her, his father would probably have been giving him his funeral rites. It was mistake he would not repeat.

  “Are you even listening to me?” Sigfried snapped.

  “Sorry, Father. I could not tell you about the First Realm because it is in a different time zone to us. Had the gateway been to the Second Realm that would have been a different story. Besides, I was keen to learn as much as I could before announcing the presence of the gateway and what the First Realm was like.”

  “Instead we had Lokranor troops ride unhindered through our Realm.”

  Ulrik smiled. “Nothing could have stopped them. Queen Erin has blue energy, she would have decimated anyone who stood in her way.”

  “She does?” Sigfried raised an eyebrow. That was one lady he would like to become better acquainted with.
“No wonder Wilhelm chose her for his queen.”

  “Yes, she has many other abilities too.”

  “And you are now attached to her daughter?”

  “Yes, we go very well together.”

  “The second daughter of the house of Lokranor is a very good catch indeed. It would also unite our two realms.”

  “Before you get any wild ideas, Father, Katya is but seventeen.”

  “A marriageable age.”

  “For the Viking Realms, yes, but not for the First. Katya plans to study and travel before she settles down.”

  Sigfried paced around. “When you visit Muirhead next, please make sure we get that invitation to Lokranor. I would dearly like to see our neighbour.”

  “I will, Father. As would I.”

  “What is Muirhead like?”

  “An advanced society. Katya made sure I was not exposed to too much; there was a great deal I did not understand. Queen Erin’s ancestral home is beautiful, she comes from a long time of warriors.”

  “Yes, Queen Erin is one lady I would like to see a lot more of.”

  Ulrik laughed. “I hope you don’t start inter-realm relations by trying to steal King Wilhelm’s wife.”

  “Sadly I don’t think it would prove beneficial to a lasting peace,” Sigfried sighed. He clasped his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Come, we will talk more about this over dinner. You must tell me everything that has happened between you and Princess Katya.”

  Ulrik resigned himself to the fact that his father would not stop with the interrogation until he knew a lot more.

  Damon was enjoying having the royal quarters to just himself and Arianna. The news that Kat not only controlled a sun stone but had crossed over to the Fourth Realm still had him stunned. Whilst he and Arianna had every archive custodian working to find out more about these missing realms and the locations of the stones, Kat had already found out all the answers. Ruling Lokranor had always been his dream, like his father, although if he were being honest, his father obsessed about it. Now he had temporary charge of it, that feeling of power was diminished. He wanted to be by Wilhelm side as they rode into a new Realm.

  On the flip side, he had Arianna to keep him company. She had sadly removed the exceptionally enticing dress she had been wearing and was now back in her usually black jeans and tunic.

  “I still cannot believe Kat has been dating a prince of Mallenvaar and no-one knew about it,” Arianna grinned. “I never thought my sister could be quite so sneaky.”

  “You are okay with it?” Damon asked cautiously.

  “Yeah, I’m impressed. They always say it’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for.”

  “Are you trying to insinuate Kat is quiet?” Damon laughed. “Compared to you, yes her yelling is probably two decibels lower, but that hardly qualifies her as a shrinking violet.”

  “Watch it,” Arianna giggled. “I now have someone who I can ask to hit you with the full power of a sun stone. Payback is wonderful.”

  “In your dreams,” he grunted. “However your dear sister has helped us greatly in our quest. With the First Realm gateway now uncovered, we can concentrate on finding the one in the Second Realm.”

  “That leaves quite a large area to search.”

  “Not so, I think. I have a feeling we need to concentrate our search around old ruins. And there are not many. The most likely area will be around the Lokranor-Vasmaar border.”

  “I wonder what it’s like,” Arianna sighed, wrapping her arms around her knees.

  “What’s what like?” Damon wasn’t on the same wave length.

  “Mallenvaar, of course.”

  “I would imagine pretty similar to Lokranor and Vasmaar. It was a Viking realm at the time of the rift.”

  “Do you think it has developed quicker than here?”

  “Probably not, it was of lesser importance than Lokranor.”

  “But if Ulrik seemed quite at ease being in Muirhead, it can’t have fried his brain too much.”

  “Perhaps he is the Viking equivalent of the village idiot. That would go some way to explaining his attraction to your sister.”

  Arianna threw a cushion at Damon. “Toad. Don’t you have a home to go to?”

  “No. Didn’t you hear what your father said? I’m ruler in his absence.”

  Arianna snorted loudly. “No. You’re my body guard in his absence.”

  “I will get to rule this Kingdom one day.”

  “The only person who will be ruling Lokranor after my father either passes on or steps down will be the man I eventually marry. Not some halfwit from Vasmaar.”

  “I pity even a half-wit being shackled to you. However, I was born to do my duty, so that onerous task will one day fall to me.”

  “Have you been at Dad’s extra strong wine again?” Arianna shook her head.

  “Yes,” Damon grinned. “It is rather good at removing all sense of feeling in one’s legs.”

  “Some bodyguard you make.”

  “An assailant’s first mistake. I don’t actually need to stand up to be able to kill someone. I can hit them with Loxhadrin from across the room.”

  “If you can focus,” she grunted.

  A short while later, Arianna heard soft snores coming from the sofa, it seemed Damon wasn’t as good at handling Dad’s special vintage as he thought.

  She jumped as the door to the Royal quarters slammed shut with a ferocious thud, seconds later her father stormed across the room.

  “Father,” she stood up, not sure what to make of his icy expression.

  “Arianna,” he acknowledged her curtly and kissed her forehead.

  “Mum and Katya, have they not returned?” she asked cautiously.

  “They are in Muirhead,” he muttered before stalking off to his study.

  Arianna felt a huge wave of disappointment wash over her; she’d been looking forward to interrogating her sister. And if she and mum were still in Muirhead, it meant there had been a major falling out with her father. Just once it would be nice to play happy families.

  She gave Damon a hard prod, he flew off the sofa, hands at the ready, seemingly quite disorientated.

  “It’s lucky no-one burst through that door intent on killing the heir to the Lokranor throne,” she snickered. “You were passed out cold. And there was I thinking Vikings could hold their drink. Then again, you’re only half Viking, so I guess it’s natural you’re flawed.”

  “I am not flawed,” he hissed back. “I was tired not drunk.”

  “From too many late nights frequenting taverns of ill repute, no doubt.”

  “I didn’t realise there were any in Lokranor. You must point them out.”

  “As if you didn’t know,” Arianna rolled her eyes. “Although if you can’t hold your drink, the poor ladies must be terminally disappointed.”

  “I have never disappointed a woman in my life,” he retorted hotly.

  “I would imagine no-one would tell the junior Dark One that he was crap in bed,” Arianna giggled. “Not when you could turn them to dust.”

  “Your father can’t come back soon enough,” Damon complained. “I plan to hit the nearest tavern very hard when he relieves me from duty. That’s what an evening in your company can do.”

  “Then please feel free to leave.”

  “Wilhelm is back?”

  “Yes. Whilst you were bringing the beetles down from the rafters with your snoring, he charged through here like an angry bull.”

  “Ah, I guess now is not a good time to ask him about Mallenvaar?”

  “No. I think my dear sister and he might have exchanged some heated words.”

  “Damn, I wanted to talk with both of them. I guess that will have to wait until tomorrow night.”

  “If that goes ahead.” Arianna raised her hands to the heavens. “With my family, anything is possible.”

  “Then I shall leave you. With your banquet tomorrow, you need your beauty sleep.”

  “Sadly for you, nothing can improve t
hat face. Although I did hear one woman say you got more appealing with each tankard of wine.”

  Daman stalked out the room with Arianna’s laughter ringing in his ears.

  Lief was pacing about his quarters seething with rage. “Ulrik has made fools of us,” he growled. “Whilst we were conjuring up a few monsters for you to fight, he’s been visiting other realms and romancing one of royal blood. Sigfried will never make you heir if Ulrik marries a princess.”