by Lucy Roy
After he walked off, she faced Collin. “So, what’ll it be today?”
“Blocking,” he said, holding up his arms. “I need to work on my speed when I’m not in my wolf form.”
Freya jerked her chin toward the far side of the yard. “There’s an open spot over there.”
Once in position, Freya and Collin wasted no time falling into the rhythm they’d found as partners. He was very serious about his training, so the flirting or joking she endured when she fought Aer or Laz was entirely absent, replaced instead by solid focus. He put her in mind of her father, in a way, with his determination to perfect moves and timing before shifting to something new, often dominating their sessions. She’d asked him once if he’d ever considered a military career, but his only response was that Maddix males were educators and innovators, not soldiers or politicians.
As it seemed that was a topic he didn’t care to elaborate on, she hadn’t brought it up again.
For the next thirty minutes, they alternated taking hits at one another, using arms, legs, and shoulders to block hits. As a wolf, Collin was sleek, his gray-brown fur a perfect natural camouflage. His speed was superior to Laz’s, although Freya would never admit that aloud, but it was clear he hadn’t had sufficient training while on two legs prior to his arrival at Aldridge. So, each day, he focused on a different skill, and Freya did her best to drill it into him.
When Officer Ristheld began calling out their first round of sparring partners, Freya sighed. For whatever reason, he’d been pairing her with Myria at least twice a week. She wasn’t sure if it was Byrric’s doing or because he felt they made good partners. Whatever his reasoning, Freya had to admit that, despite how irritating the girl could be, she was proving to be a challenging enough partner. The grating nature of her voice combined with her smug looks each time she landed a hit were both things Freya could stand to live without, however.
“You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Myria said now, narrowing her eyes at Freya as she took a sip of water between rounds. “Why don’t you ever use your magic? Or your feathers? You could beat me easily with either, as much as I’m loathe to admit it.”
Freya shrugged. “Those tend to be the easy ways to end a fight and I’m already well-aware of how to use them. Physical fights are different. No two people have the same skill, so I prefer to learn how others work instead of ending a fight quickly.”
Myria arched a brow. “I see. Although perhaps you should start requesting to beat on your prince now and then and give me a break.”
Freya glanced over at Aer, who was laughing with Laz. “I’ve got the rest of my life for that. For now, variety is what keeps me sharp. And I’m not the one who assigned us as partners.”
“You’re going to be queen,” Myria lamented. “Surely you have some say over who you train with.”
Freya gave her an apologetic shrug just as Ristheld began rattling off new assignments, sending half the group toward the archery range and the rest toward target practice. Myria flounced off without so much as a goodbye when her name was called, but Freya was stopped in her tracks by Byrric.
“Come with me,” was all he said.
Frowning, she silently followed her father outside. When they reached the grassy quad, he spread his wings and took off. Freya sighed, gave a quick wave to Rissen and Cecilia who were waiting outside the building, then flew after him, following him in the direction of the lake.
“I’m going to be leaving tomorrow,” he told her once they landed on the beach. “I want you to be on your guard, Freya. Jonas’ interest in you seems to have grown, enough that he’s been heard asking about you at the palace.”
“That shouldn’t come as a surprise,” she said matter-of-factly. “If I were in his shoes, I’d be doing the same.”
“No, it doesn’t.” He sighed and ran a hand over his face in what Freya saw as an embarrassed gesture. “He’s also expressed suspicion that there might be something between you and Lazarus.”
Freya’s eyes widened, then she laughed. “Clearly, his observation skills are quite lacking if he thinks I’m Laz’s type.”
“Regardless, please refrain from walking around with another male’s arm around your shoulders, no matter whose company he may prefer. I’d rather Jonas not race back to his empress with troubling reports of your behavior.”
“Troubling reports,” she huffed. Noticing his silence, she narrowed her eyes. “There’s something else. What is it?”
Byrric leveled a stern gaze at her. “I know you and Aerelius have been sneaking around those tunnels again.”
“Is there a law against that I’m unaware of?”
“No, but it would behoove you, considering your position, not to betray the secrets of your palace to a foreigner we know very little about. The Jotnar are crafty, Freya.”
“Something you’ve drilled into me since birth. Why do you suddenly seem so uncertain about my ability to be discreet?”
“When you and the prince share a thought, you tend to lose your heads a bit, focus only on a whim and not the surrounding circumstances. All I ask is that you take more care with your actions now that there is a guest in the palace.” He frowned. “And no more joking about breaking your betrothal, either.”
“We don’t lose our heads,” she said stubbornly. “Just because we’re fond of one another and share the same sense of fun doesn’t mean we’re incapable of rational thought.”
“Humor me?”
She smirked. “Alright. Aer and I won’t go galavanting through the tunnels while Jonas is around.”
He gave her a knowing look. “Until he leaves Iladel, Freya. Don’t try your word games with me.”
Scowling, she huffed. “Fine. We won’t go galvanting through the tunnels until Jonas leaves Iladel.”
“And returns to Jotunheim.”
She groaned. “Gods above, you ruin all my fun!”
He patted her cheek and grinned. “It’s what fathers do best, Freya. I should be back in a few weeks. Mind Rissen and Cecelia while I’m gone.”
“Mind them,” she grumbled. “I’m going to be queen, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“Meaning you’ll soon have even more guards, so you’d best get used to the ones you have now.”
“Alright, Commander. I’ll mind my chaperones while you’re away. Satisfied?”
“Perfectly.”
Chapter 31
Freya woke the morning of her first dress fitting with butterflies rioting in her stomach. Once the planners had taken over the logistics of the wedding, she and the queen had been going back and forth with Kallan on ideas for Freya’s wedding gown, but today was the first day Freya would see his concepts on her. Until now, each of their sessions consisted of swatches of fabrics, samples of beadwork, and scraps of lace. Kallan had taken down her measurements but done little in the way of testing out his designs on her. With the exception of the corset and slip, both of which were obscenely revealing, she hadn’t seen any aspect of the dress at all.
The only thing that sent her a bit of calm was how excited Lea was to go with her to the castle. The queen had arranged for Kallan to fit Lea for a gown, too, something Lea had been nearly climbing the walls in excitement over.
As they rode toward the palace in the carriage after breakfast, Lea’s excitement continued to grow, but Freya’s nerves started to rattle her again.
When her parents first told her that she and Aer were to be married once he came of age for the crown, she was five and he was a boy whose favorite activity was tugging on the pretty twists her mother liked to weave through her hair. He was very often dirty and was almost always getting hollered at by his governess or the queen. Freya didn’t care that marrying him meant she’d be queen one day—the gravity of that fact was completely lost on her.
As they grew older, they also grew closer, slowly moving out of the stage of their lives where boys were icky and girls were stupid, until eventually, they became friends. By the age of ten, summer vacat
ion in the capital was the thing they both looked forward to because it meant exploration through the tunnels, climbing on the ramparts, and traipsing through the forests.
The summer Freya turned thirteen was when she realized how much she’d come to care for him. The start of the school year had been upon them when her father sat her down to tell her she wouldn’t be coming back until it was time to go to Aldridge. She’d get a year there, he’d told her. One year of studying with the children of politicians and ruling families, learning from the finest educators in Lindoroth, before it would be time to set aside her studies and take her place at the prince’s side.
The night before she’d left for Watoria, she and Aer went on a walk through the gardens where they shared their first kiss. The kiss itself was awkward, a bit sloppy, and altogether strange because it shifted their relationship from friends to something more. Aer wasn’t just her friend anymore—now she knew what his lips felt like when he kissed her, how his hands felt when he curled his fingers around hers, and how, when she was that close to him, he smelled just a little like vanilla.
Freya couldn’t help but smile a bit at the memory. It had been a test of sorts, a way to see if there was any kind of attraction. Or as much attraction as was possible at that age.
She’d noticed the moment she’d arrived that season that Aer had filled out a good deal since her last visit, but, while she could see the budding strength in his arms and torso, he hadn’t quite outgrown the lankiness of youth. And based on how he’d taken her in when she set foot in the palace, he’d noticed the way her body moved differently than it had just a year before, the way it had shifted from the parallel lines of childhood, to the arcs and curves of adulthood.
Not for the first time, he had taken her hand as they walked away from the palace and along the hedgerow that encircled the garden. They’d meandered along the paths, drinking in the warm summer sun on what would be Freya’s last day in the capital for six years.
“I was thinking,” Aer had said thoughtfully as they came up on the fountain. “Seeing as we’re to be married… perhaps you should let me kiss you just once before you leave.”
Never one to shy away from a challenge, Freya had shrugged in feigned indifference and sent him a sly glance.
“Perhaps I should, although I’m not quite sure what would be in it for me.”
“Shall I show you, then, my lady?”
Stopping, he’d taken her by the waist and turned her toward him. The touch of his fingers on her hip had been gentle, his eyes, hesitant. The confident arrogance he wore so well now was only just beginning to peek through back then.
“I think… I might like that,” she’d admitted. Her voice had come out more sure than she’d expected, a fact that she had been proud of, considering her utter lack of experience with the opposite sex. She could see a bit of nervousness hovering in his eyes, and she had the sudden urge to ease it. So, curling her fingers through his, she’d leaned up on her toes and touched her lips to his.
His mouth had curved against hers in a laugh, and she’d nearly shoved him back as she felt her face flush with embarrassment. But he’d tightened one hand in hers and cupped her cheek in the other, then drew her mouth in for another kiss. A real kiss.
As she stared out the carriage window now, watching as the mountains grew taller and the sun rose higher, she thanked every deity in existence that she and her prince had been able to make their way back to that. She thought of Jonas’ sister, the female who’d been forced to marry someone cruel, and acknowledged just how lucky she was that her prince was kind, caring, and invested in her happiness.
“Freya?”
She was jolted from her thoughts by Lea’s voice. “Hmm?”
“Are you alright? It seemed I’d lost you for a moment there.”
Freya smiled. “Yes, I’m fine. Just a bit…” She wrinkled her nose. “Something.”
Lea eyed her dubiously. “You aren’t getting cold feet, are you?”
Freya’s eyes widened. “No! Not at all!”
“Then what were you thinking about?”
“Honestly?” Freya smiled ruefully. “I was thinking about how fortunate I am. When Jonas and I spoke that day we were in Iladel, he mentioned his sister. She was forced into an arranged marriage with someone she didn’t care for, one who wasn’t kind. That could very easily have been me, had my parents chosen someone else.”
Lea gave her an understanding smile. “My cousin is a good person, isn’t he?”
“He really is,” Freya murmured.
“May I ask you something without you getting angry?”
Freya looked at her warily. “Possibly.”
“Are you in love with him?”
Freya frowned, considering her response. Her first reaction was to deny it, but that didn’t feel quite right. To confirm it felt a bit odd, too, considering they’d only just begun to get to get reacquainted.
“I think… if he were gone, I would feel like a large part of me had gone missing. We’ve got a synchronicity that I know I wouldn’t find with anyone else.” She met Lea’s eyes. “I was devastated when my father told me I wouldn’t be returning until it was time for Aldridge. I felt like I was losing my closest friend. Coming back and finding out we could still have that friendship was more than a little relieving.”
“You didn’t have close friends in Watoria?”
Freya shook her head. “Not who I connected to like I did with Aer. He just… understood me, shared the same mind as me. I tried to find that with the people I went through school with in Watoria but it was never quite the same.”
Lea’s expression softened sympathetically. “That sounds a bit like love to me.”
“Maybe,” Freya said, smiling as they approached the drawbridge into the palace. “All I know is that I want him in my life.”
“Well, I’ve seen the way he looks at you,” Lea said. “All joking aside, it’s clear he feels the same way.”
“I wish it had been under different circumstances, though,” Freya replied. “Yes, we got to know each other long before we were expected to get married, and I’m grateful to our parents for it. It would’ve been nice to see how things would’ve unfolded had that not been the case.”
“Has it ever truly felt forced, though?” Lea frowned curiously. “You two finish each other’s sentences, seem to share the same thoughts half the time, and your interests align quite a bit. You can’t fake those things, especially considering you haven’t seen each other in so long. That type of connection is innate.”
“Yes, I saw it in my parents at times.” Sighing, she looked down at her hands. “I don’t know. I suppose we’ll find out soon enough. The mating bond is supposed to be easier for people who already care for one another, or so I’m told.”
Lea nodded. “My mother told me when she and my father had their bonding ceremony that it felt like they were being stitched together, like a connection was being repaired. There was a rightness to it that she’s always struggled to explain. It was strong, intense, but not painful in any way.”
“Yet Aer said his parents’ was more difficult, took more magic to seal.”
Lea laughed. “Well, Aunt Ordona and Uncle Salazar may love each other now, but to hear my parents tell it, they were a long time getting there. I don’t see that being the case for you and Aerelius.”
“Nor do I.” Freya waited a moment while Rissen opened the door for them, then smiled at Lea. “Thank you for the talk.”
Lea grinned. “Anything for my future cousin.”
Freya laughed, then rolled her eyes when she saw Aer trotting across the yard toward the carriage.
“If you think you’re getting a peek at my dress, you’re sorely mistaken!” she called to him, allowing Rissen to help her hop to the ground.
He grinned as he approached. “As it so happens, I’ve got plans with Laz and Collin. For some reason, Collin thinks now would be a good time to teach Laz to hunt pheasant. As my hunting skills are impeccable, I’
ve offered to oversee their excurision.” Touching a finger to her chin, he tilted her face toward his and kissed her. “Hi.”
Smiling, she kissed him again, then frowned. “Laz doesn’t know how to hunt?”
Lea let out a bawdy laugh as she came around the side of the carriage. “Oh, Freya. That might be the funniest thing you’ve said since we’ve met.”
“My cousin has always preferred indoor activities,” Aer said. “Collin is quite the opposite. It’s taken two years, but he’s finally convinced Laz to let us take him hunting.”
Freya looked between them, wide-eyed. “But he’s so good at archery!”
Aer shrugged. “A hobby.” He held out his hand for hers. “Come, Kallan and my mother are waiting.”
Holding Aer’s hand with her left, Freya let Lea link her arm through her right, and the three walked into the palace together.
Despite the mid-autumn chill that hung in the air, the windows in the halls were all flung open, the deep blue drapes billowing in the breeze. The leaves on the trees in the gardens had begun their melt from green to shades of gold and red. Freya could tell from the slight bite in the air that the nights would soon be getting colder as the seasons began to shift.
“They’ve set up in your chambers,” Aer said as they turned down a hall in the direction of their rooms. “Rini and Tyna arrived not long ago and plan to offer all manner of opinion on your hair and makeup.”
“And your mother?” Freya huffed. “With all of this input, will I have any say at all?”
“If you’d like, I can just agree with everything you say,” Lea offered.
“Perfect solution,” Aer agreed with a firm nod. “Do that."
Freya slid a sly look at him. “Even if it involves bright orange feathers?”
Lea chuckled. “You know I won’t let you get away with that.”
They came to a stop outside Freya’s bedroom door, and Aer sent a pointed glance at Lea. Without a word, Lea slipped into the room with a quick “see you at dinner” to her cousin.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?” Aer asked. “I could be a buffer between you and all those people who think they know best.”
