Verlan looked affronted. “I heard that.”
Unnur smiled sweetly at him.
Another meeting was held several weeks later, once the initial rush of mundane administrative tasks had been taken care of in between the hungry world media’s demands for news and more news.
“We’ll need a communications division,” Charlee told Asher, after working her way through draft press releases for more than an hour.
Asher laughed.
“I’m serious,” Charlee said, lifting the pile of papers.
His smile faded. “Very well. Put Darwin on it. He’s the only man in the hall with a formal human education and degrees after his name.”
So Darwin was tasked with hiring communications people and setting up the division, and much of the delicate public relations work shifted from Charlee’s desk, as did many other areas of concern to a big organization, leaving them with more time to consider the important aspects of the Kine: their future and their priorities.
Asher requested that Lucas attend him in the great hall, and he and Charlee dressed in traditional Kine clothing. But they did not sit in the great chairs. Not yet. Asher had insisted that they not take the symbolic seats until the right time. Instead, they stood at the foot of the dais, while the full assembly of Kine who were aligned with the First Hall stood in attendance.
Lucas presented himself at the appointed time. He wore full Einherjar plated armor, and his extended sword was thrust into his belt. The traditional battle gear looked good on him, and Charlee let the warm happiness fill her at the idea that Lucas would be a part of her world for the foreseeable future.
“Annarr,” Lucas acknowledged, bowing his head.
“Einherjar,” Asher returned gravely. “I have need of your services.”
“How can I assist?”
“You were human such a short while ago that you have not forgotten what it is like to be truly human. I can use that knowledge. I can use you to help forge a bridge between the human military and the Einherjar.”
Lucas frowned. “All of them?” he asked.
“You can hire humans and assigned Kine as you need them. You will need the help, because I also want you to control the New York hall.”
Charlee gasped, for this was news to her. “There is no hall left,” she said quietly.
Asher nodded. “We will rebuild it. This time in the open, in full view of humans, and proudly so.” He looked at Lucas. “I believe a native New Yorker would be the best person to figure out how to go about doing that.”
Lucas grinned. “With pleasure.”
And so Lucas had moved to New York. Charlee ensured there was a permanent portal between the First Hall and New York, and she thought herself content, even though her life wasn’t anywhere close to how she had imagined it might be.
Chapter Forty-Eight
It had only been four years since the last reaffirmation, but it was fitting that all Kine everywhere renew their commitment, so on a night several months after the end of the war, when most of the mopping up had been completed and the Kine had a semblance of organization once more, representatives from each hall assembled in the great hall to swear their oaths, a glass of mead in hand.
The preparations had taken weeks, but finally, Charlee and Asher stood at the threshold to the hall, her hand in his, ready to walk the length of the hall and for the first time take their places on the dais.
The assembled Kine bowed and stepped aside as they walked slowly down the length of the hall. Charlee realized that she knew almost everyone, if not by name then at least by their faces.
The hall blazed with light. It was part of the mystery of this new Valhalla that the sunlight never failed to shine in upon the great hall, no matter what hour of the day it was. The temperature never varied from a comfortable degree and rain clouds never darkened the blue above, which meant that lights and warming fires were not needed.
Charlee lifted the hem of her long evening gown as they stepped up onto the dais, Asher holding her other hand. Nervously, she stood in front of the slightly smaller chair and looked out upon the sea of familiar faces. She spotted Darwin, Ylva, Lucas, and his new stallari, a woman he had chosen who was human and had once been a member of the U.S. Army Rangers. Asher had approved the choice and caused more ripples of interest and concern to run through the halls, but like most of the new ideas he had introduced, this one had eventually been accepted with cautious approval.
Charlee picked up the two glasses of mead sitting on the tray waiting their arrival, and handed one to Asher.
Asher held the glass, but did not lift it. “Tonight, I want you to forget all that has gone before. Tonight, we start again, but this time, we begin in a world that is vastly different from the one that we knew before.” He glanced at the rank of media people and cameras that stood at the side of the hall, watching silently. This had been one of Darwin’s suggestions, which he had argued for with unusual insistence. Charlee was suddenly glad they were here to see this.
Asher continued. “We have a time of peace ahead of us. A time we should use to clean out our stables, shine our shields and prepare. Our purpose is and always has been to defend humans, and now we know that our purpose is not an empty one. Does anyone doubt that others of the nine worlds will not try to conquer small and weak Midgard?”
He paused, and the hall was utterly silent. “We have been reminded of this and by the barest good luck, we triumphed. Now, we can never forget.” He raised his glass high. “We swear fealty to Odin—” he began.
Their voices rose to meld with his, including Charlee’s. “—the first among us, whose wisdom and strength is our guiding light. We swear to protect humanity, whose care was given into our hands. We will remain upon this path, forsaking all others, and forsaking our own humanity in order to provide the strength and valor that Odin has granted us. So say we all.”
Charlee sipped and threw her glass down on the floor, where the shards scattered and mingled with Asher’s.
He turned and kissed her, right there in front of the assembled Kine and the world’s media. “Now our secret is really out,” he whispered.
* * * * *
No one knew where Valhalla was, physically, although Darwin kept arguing it was sited within another dimension and could never be found. Because there was no geographical time zone they could call their own, the clocks in the hall were kept on Greenwich Meridian Time, or ground zero, as Lucas called it.
Asher found Charlee just after midnight and picked up her hand, tugging her toward their suite. The party was still in high gear, but Charlee didn’t mind at all. She was floating along, buoyed by more than the two cups of mead she had drunk.
Inside the suite, Asher closed the heavy door, and the noise in the hall dropped to a murmur. “At last, I can think,” he said and picked up her hand again. “I have something to show you.”
Curiously, Charlee allowed him to lead her through the rooms into their private section and then into the small sitting room just off their bedroom. “Close your eyes,” he warned as he pulled her into the room.
She shut them. He led her carefully around the coffee table and stood her between the table and the sofa, turning her to face the table. “Now look,” he said.
Charlee opened her eyes. The room was a mess. There were work tools all over the coffee table, and drop cloths on the floor. The furniture, including the big TV, had all been pushed to one side, leaving the stone wall bare.
But it wasn’t bare anymore. Charlee stared, her heart doing a little rapid patter. Carved into the stone, so that they stood out in relief, were slim vertical lines. Planks, even with little bolts holding them together, and slimmer cross-braces running horizontally.
“A picket fence,” she breathed.
“I spent the last three days ripping my fingers to shreds,” Asher said. “And lying my head off to you about it.”
“You did this? Wait, this is what you’ve been doing whenever you skipped out on the organization committ
ee meetings?”
“Guilty,” he agreed.
Charlee stared at the stone-carved fence. “It’s wonderful,” she said.
Asher turned her to face him. “It’s the only picket fence I’m ever going to be able to give you. You know that, don’t you Charlee?”
She pressed her lips together and nodded. “But I don’t care,” she whispered.
“We’ve been looking for the way out all these years. Looking for the place where we can build the picket fence and have what we want. But we were looking in all the wrong places.”
His gaze wouldn’t let her go. Charlee caught hold of his lapels, happiness spilling through her.
“We can build the picket fence right where we want it.” He glanced at the wall. “I did build it.”
“Yes, you did,” she agreed.
He dug in the pocket of his suit jacket and then held out his hand. There was a gold ring on his palm. “From now on, we’re going to steal the best of the Kine and the best of human ways. Marry me, Charlee. No Kine-negotiated contracts, no agreements, no verbal understandings. Marry me the human way, be my Regin and help me keep humans safe for the rest of time.”
Charlee closed her hand over his. “I will.”
THE END
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Author Notes
I have taken liberties with some of the landmarks and features of New York city in particular... there is no Mercy General in the Bronx, for example, except in my imagination, and some of the features and locations mentioned do not exist. For fictional reasons, some world events that are part of our history do not happen in this story, for instance, the 9-11 attacks, for their world-stopping scale would have distracted readers from the story in this book. If this omission bothers you, please think of Charlee and Asher’s story taking place in an alternative universe that looks very much like our own.
More epic romance
by Tracy Cooper-Posey
Diana by the Moon
He is Arthur’s man. His duty is his life. She fears and mistrusts him. The only way they will survive is to work together.
Britain, 469 A.D.: Shortly after the Roman legions returned to Rome, leaving Britain open to Saxon attacks, Diana's abusive parents die during a Saxon raid on their villa farm, the same day her brother takes most of the male slaves and servants to join the rebel Celt, Arthur.
Diana, who no longer trusts anyone, must find a way for the women in her household to survive after the enemy has stolen everything. They struggle to eke out a living from the meager provisions remaining.
Alaric, proud Celtic warrior and trusted lieutenant to the upstart British leader, Arthur, has been sent by him to establish and maintain a line of signal beacons — one of which must be built on a strategic hill on Diana's property.
His mission is critical to the security of Britain. Alaric must overcome his hatred of Romans if he is to fulfill Arthur’s ambitions in the north. He forces Diana to agree in return for the protection of Alaric and his men. Diana is pulled into a deadly political net, when Roman British enemies, including the Bishop of Eboracum, take exception to her new Celtic allies.
A haunting tale of two lives touched by the coming of King Arthur, and two hearts and souls struggling to come together against odds as great as those against Britain itself. Only together will they survive, or else be sundered…forever.
This book is part of the historical romance series, Jewels of Tomorrow.
Diana by the Moon
Heart of Vengeance
…and more to come!
__
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Amazon #1 Bestseller, Ancient World Historical Romance
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Night Owl Reviews Reviewers’ Top Pick
This novel drew me in so completely, so thoroughly, time just simply faded. Diana by the Moon is a work of written art. Tracy Cooper-Posey has penned a beautiful story; of one woman’s courageous journey of self-discovery amidst turbulent times. Love Romance Passion
With her dedication and sheer will, Diana is an enthralling and moving character. Alaric and Diana’s hot and delicious romance exceeds expectations. Another “can’t miss” by Cooper-Posey! Night Owl Reviews
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About the Author
Tracy Cooper-Posey is an Amazon #1 Best Selling Author. She writes romantic suspense, paranormal, urban fantasy, futuristic and science fiction romances. She has published over 55 novels since 1999, been nominated for five CAPAs including Favourite Author, and won the Emma Darcy Award.
She turned to indie publishing in 2011. Her indie titles have been nominated four times for Book Of The Year and Byzantine Heartbreak was a 2012 winner. Faring Soul won a SFR Galaxy Award in 2016 for “Most Intriguing Philosophical/Social Science Questions in Galaxybuilding” She has been a national magazine editor and for a decade she taught romance writing at MacEwan University.
She is addicted to Irish Breakfast tea and chocolate, sometimes taken together. In her spare time she enjoys history, Sherlock Holmes, science fiction and ignoring her treadmill. An Australian, she lives in Edmonton, Canada with her husband, a former professional wrestler, where she moved in 1996 after meeting him on-line.
Copyright Information
This is an original publication of Tracy Cooper-Posey
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.
Copyright © 2014 by Tracy Cooper-Posey
Text design by Tracy Cooper-Posey
Edited by Kylie Glessing
Cover design by Dar Albert
Wicked Smart Designs
http://wickedsmartdesigns.com
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
FIRST EDITION: December 2014
Cooper-Posey, Tracy
Branded Rose Prophecy, The/Tracy Cooper-Posey—1st Ed.
Romance—Fiction
Epic Fantasy – Fiction
Paranormal Romance – Fiction
Urban Fantasy Romance - Fiction
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The Branded Rose Prophecy Page 74
