“I think so,” I agreed.
Even if Preyna and the council couldn’t endorse us attacking the Elf King, it was possible that as a council member she might have some useful information for us. Asta’s homeworld did business through the Bifrost quite often, and since Odin and the Elf King had a treaty and business deal, Preyna might know him well enough to be able to give us some insight into what he was like. I was particularly curious to know how his citizens felt about him, and how they might react if he were to go missing.
Either way, I wanted Preyna to know what we were doing. The last time I’d seen the blonde sorceress, she’d been dressed in her party clothes, and she looked like a painting come to life. I couldn’t wait to lay my eyes on her again, even if she wasn’t in an extravagant dress.
The girls and I didn’t bother to pack anything to eat or change our clothes. We were all eager to go see Preyna and find out what she had to say on the matter at hand, so we just set out with the clothes on our backs and the dragons.
The walk into town seemed to take longer than usual as I stared up at the bright blue sky and thought about the little dragon in the King’s dungeon. What was he doing with all those eggs?
It made me think of the council and how they’d found eggs over the years and saved them. Nobody could hatch them until I came along, but they were using them for research. What kind of research could the Elf King be doing?
Wherever it was, I was sure it wasn’t good.
I wasn’t well versed in the ways of the elves, but it seemed odd to me the Elf King would want to keep dragons in his castle. Not only for the obvious reasons, but also because he lived in a realm full of dragons, and while they might not bow to him the way his citizens did, I was sure they knew exactly who he was. Dragons were highly intelligent, and they lived for an extremely long time if well taken care of. The dragons definitely knew who the Elf King was. The question was, did they know he was the one recruiting people to take their children?
I doubted they did. If that was the case, the castle probably wouldn’t be standing anymore.
Blar, Inger, and Uffe walked in front of the girls and I as we made our way through the market and toward the castle. I noticed we got some strange looks this time, but I figured it was most likely due to our dirty appearances. We’d just come from a fight after all, and we had some dirt and blood on us we hadn’t bothered to clean up.
Once we arrived at the castle, we made our way up to the council building. Usually, there were a couple of guards out front who opened the door for us, but this time there was nobody.
I found the lack of guards unnerving, so I gripped the hilt of my sword as my eyes narrowed.
“Get behind me,” I told the girls, and they nodded and complied. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I wasn’t about to take any chances.
I carefully opened the door, and a sliver of light shone on the dark, empty room. The three chairs at the end of the hall were void of their usual occupants, and I didn’t see a single soul in the whole place.
“Hello?” I called out, curious as to why the place was empty.
“Nobody’s here,” Asta whispered.
“This is odd.” I pushed the door open farther and walked in.
“Preyna?” I called loudly. “Beyer? Rinbar? Hello? Is anyone here?”
I waited a second but didn’t hear anything.
“What’s going on?” Kas asked, and her concerned violet eyes darted around the empty hall.
“Did I hear someone calling me?” Preyna’s voice came from behind the thrones, and I looked around to find her.
The blonde sorceress appeared a second later. She came through a small door to the right of the chairs and appeared to be in a hurry, but when she saw me, she stopped cold in her tracks.
“Oh,” she said softly, and her cheeks went red. “Rath. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Where is everyone?” I asked, and I kept my hand tightly on the hilt of my blade. I wasn’t about to let go until I knew everything was alright.
“Oh, Beyer went with Rinbar on some trip to the other side of Asgard and took most of the guards with them for protection,” Preyna said with a wave of her hand. “It’s just me here today, only not many people have shown up. I was just in the other room having some tea. Would you all care to join me?”
“Tea sounds lovely.” Asta smiled brightly and bounded toward the door.
“It’s good to see--” Preyna’s voice trailed off as she looked me up and down, and her blonde eyebrows pinched together with concern. “What happened? Are you alright?”
“That’s actually why we came to talk to you,” I explained. “We just came from Alfheim, Asta’s homeworld.”
“You were in a fight.” It wasn’t a question, but an observation. The councilmember looked at my women as well, and a frown settled on her plump lips. “You all look worse for the wear. I’m presuming you won, though?”
“Of course,” I chuckled.
“Alright.” Preyna nodded. “There’s a washroom back here, you all clean up while I get some tea ready for us.”
“Thank you.” I smiled at the beautiful sorceress.
Preyna led us into a large sitting room. There were two couches near a raging fireplace, and a large wooden desk sat to the right. On the far wall was another door, and she pointed to it and told us to wash up.
The girls and I went into the large washroom and cleaned our hands and faces. I hadn’t thought about it, but the councilmember was right, we were filthier than I’d expected. Also, Kas hadn’t taken the spell off to disguise our ears, which explained the strange looks we’d received when we walked through the marketplace earlier.
After we’d washed up, we headed back to the sitting room and took seats on the couches. The little dragons were already sitting with Preyna and happily devouring little pumpkin cakes. Blar was in her lap with a treat between his front paws, and Inger was right next to him while Uffe sat a couple feet away as he slowly savored his sweet.
“Now,” Preyna said once we were seated. “What is it you need to discuss with me?”
The glow of the afternoon sun flooded into the room from a skylight above our heads, and I couldn’t help but stare at Preyna for a moment in the light. The blonde sorceress was absolutely gorgeous, and she looked even better with my dragons strewn across her lap. Her long blonde hair hung down around her shoulders, and the length of it settled on the couch next to her. She wore a deep red tunic with short sleeves that hung off her shoulders, and a long slit ran up one side so I could see her slender legs. Her light-brown eyes regarded me coolly, but her chest rose and fell quickly, and her cheeks flushed with color when she saw me looking at her.
“We’re here about the dragon trade.” I cleared my throat.
“That’s why you were in Alfheim?” the sorceress asked, and her face grew serious as she quickly collected herself.
“Yes.” I nodded. “We went there to see if we could find some of the smaller dealers.”
“That must have been dangerous.” Preyna’s eyes scanned me for injuries. “You completed the quest with the wells?”
“I did,” I agreed. “And now I can see through the eyes of other dragons.”
“That’s how we knew to go to my homeworld,” Asta said over her tea cup.
“What an extraordinary gift,” Preyna breathed.
“It is.” I nodded.
“What did you see that sent you to Alfheim?” she pushed.
“I saw a dragon in a cell,” I explained. “Asta confirmed the cell was in the dungeon of the Elf King.”
“I’m not surprised.” Preyna let out a deep breath. “I should have known Alsin had his greedy hands in that business.”
“What makes you say that?” Kas asked, and her head cocked to the side quizzically. “Do you know him?”
“I’ve met him several times when he’s come to do business with Odin.” Preyna nodded. “He is a smug, arrogant man, and I’ve never liked him.”
“Did he do something in par
ticular to make you think he would be involved with the dragon trade?” Kas asked.
“I never expected that of him, but I’m not surprised.” Preyna shook her head. “I knew he was greedy and horrible, but I didn’t think he was quite that bad. I’ve never heard him mention anything about the dragons, but he’s always trying to broker new deals and get more and more coins. He’s greedy.”
“He has more than just the one,” Asta added, and her dainty fingers tightened around her cup. “Rath saw more dragons in there. Babies.”
“Those poor things.” Preyna’s lips tightened, and she petted Blar and Inger a little more vigorously. “What can I do to help?”
“We were hoping to talk to you about Asgard’s dealings with the Elf King,” I said.
“You want to free the dragons from his castle.” Preyna closed her eyes and nodded. “Unfortunately, the council cannot condone such actions, of course. Odin, and Asgard as a whole, has a treaty with the elves of Alfheim. There is to be no war between us on either soil.”
“Do you think Odin knows of the King’s dealings with dragons?” Kas asked quietly.
“I’m not sure.” The blonde sorceress shook her head. “But even if he did, I doubt that would change his mind in any way. There is too much at stake here. The elves of Alfheim supply the Kingdom with a great deal of magical weapons, as well as plenty of other goods. It has only been in the last hundred years the two worlds have made peace. Odin would not be happy to lose such a hard to gain ally.”
“Right,” I sighed.
“We can’t just leave them there.” Asta frowned and set her tea cup back on the table.
“Absolutely not,” Preyna agreed. “But it would be foolish to attack him outright. I’m sure his castle is a fortress, much like Odin’s.”
“It is well protected.” Asta looked down, and I thought about how awful her time in the Elf King’s dungeon must have been.
“Besides,” the blonde sorceress continued. “If you were to free the dragons without killing the Elf King, then he would just find more. He is the King, after all.”
“Those were my thoughts as well.” I nodded. “But if we kill the Elf King, then it could start a war between our two worlds.”
“It almost certainly would.” Preyna frowned. “I’m afraid for the time being you’ll have to find some other dragons to free. It’s not feasible to attack the Elf King right now.”
Asta hung her head, but Preyna reached across the table and firmly gripped the elf girl’s hand.
“That is not to say we will not punish him for what he’s done,” the sorceress said firmly. “When the time is right, the Elf King will suffer for his crimes against the dragons.”
“Right.” Asta smiled weakly and squeezed Preyna’s hand.
“I suggest you continue to look for smaller dragon dealers,” Preyna said, and she leveled her gaze at me. “You most likely will want to do some reconnaissance in the area. Try and find out where the King gets these dragons from. I also suggest you keep those ears on while on your quests, that way if you need to kill anyone else, it won’t reflect poorly on Asgard.”
“I forgot we had them on,” Kas chuckled and pulled out her spell book so she could remove the ears.
“They fit you well.” Preyna smiled and looked me up and down.
I could see the hunger in her eyes, and I knew it was in mine as well.
“We can go back tonight and stay there,” Kas suggested after she’d removed our ears.
“Oh, Eira, your old warband leader, was here just earlier.” Preyna smiled. “You might consider asking her to assist you with your mission. The woman is quite powerful, and the council has recruited her many times to retrieve eggs for us. She is trustworthy.”
“She’s beautiful, too,” Asta giggled. “She had dinner with us last night.”
“Did she?” Preyna asked coolly, but I could see her chest rise and fall a bit faster than it had been. “Rath, you haven’t invited me to your home yet.”
The beautiful blonde sorceress looked at me with narrowed eyes and slightly pursed lips. She was a council member, though, and I doubted she’d want to see the small cottage where we lived. Her room in the castle was larger than our entire home, so I hadn’t even considered inviting her over.
“Oh, um, I’m sorry,” I stuttered. “Of course, you’re welcome to come to our home whenever you please.”
“I will hold you to that promise.” Preyna smiled playfully as she eyed me up and down once more.
“Do you know where we might be able to find Eira?” Kas asked. “It would be nice to have her accompany us. Both you and Rath speak of her so highly.”
“Yes,” Asta agreed, and her yellow eyes sparkled. “When she accompanied us to Jotunheim, we saw she was an excellent fighter.”
“She is far more than that,” Preyna said. “She is clever as well. And that is the deadliest combination there is. Eira is most likely at one of the pubs in town, she said something about getting a pint.”
“I have an idea of where she might be, then,” I said. There was a pub in town where all the warband men went after a good fight. It was usually packed with soldiers, even if there hadn’t been a fight that day. I’d only gone a couple of times, but I’d seen Eira there before, and I suspected that was probably somewhere she felt welcomed and respected considering her role as a warband leader.
“We should get going if we want to get back to Alfheim tonight,” Asta said.
“Yes,” I agreed. “It’s going to be dark within an hour or two.”
“Would you all like me to get a carriage for you?” Preyna offered.
“That’s not necessary.” I smiled at the council member. “The bars aren’t too far from here, and we can walk home. I’m sure it will be a nice night.”
“Allow me to send you with some extra treats for the dragons, then,” she said, but when she picked up the tin from the cushion next to her, she realized it was empty. Then the sorceress laughed when she looked down and saw Blar, Inger, and Uffe all sprawled out across her lap with round little bellies.
“I’m sorry,” I chuckled. “I wasn’t paying attention to them while we were talking.”
“That’s quite alright,” Preyna laughed and petted the little dragons. “They are sweet, and they deserve something as sweet as they are.”
“They’re rude,” I joked, and Blar half opened an eye to look at me. “What do you tell Preyna?”
The little blue dragon slowly rolled over and sluggishly placed his front paws on Preyna’s shoulder so he could nuzzle his face against hers.
“You’re very welcome,” the blonde sorceress chuckled.
Inger nuzzled Preyna’s face as well, but Uffe opted to gently place his head on her hand instead.
After a moment more of nuzzling, Preyna led us out to the doors we’d come in.
“Please inform me of any new information you receive,” she said. “However I can be of assistance, all you must do is ask.”
“I appreciate your help.” I smiled.
“Yes, well, we all appreciate you, too.” Preyna’s lips parted slightly as her brown eyes locked onto mine.
I could sense her want for me, and I smiled back at her.
“Thank you again,” I said after a long, tense moment, and I tore my eyes away from her, bowed my neck slightly, and headed through the door.
I needed to get away from her, and quickly. Just the sight of the beautiful council member was enough to drive me wild with lust, and I knew she felt the same way, but there was still more work to be done.
We needed to find Eira.
I led the girls down the white steps of the castle, out the gate, and into the street. The afternoon sun made its way to the trees, and it dipped just below the horizon as we walked.
It was only half an hour’s walk into town, but it was nearly dusk by the time we arrived at the large pub. The place was made of gray stone, and it had a dark-brown wooden door with the words “Bimith’s Mead & Things” etched on it.
I’d met the infamous Bimith both times I’d been there. He was a short, stout man with bright red hair and the most monstrous beard I’d ever seen. He was always behind the bar, and I had to admire his work ethic. The pub was plenty popular, so I had no doubt he could afford to hire someone else to work there, but he seemed to truly enjoy what he did.
I wasn’t sure if I should have Kas and Asta wait outside or come in. The pub was usually crowded with warband men trying to show off, so it wasn’t a great place for two beautiful women. Then again, they were probably safer with me than on their own.
I opened the door, and immediately my ears were overwhelmed with the noises of the bar. Men hollered and laughed and slammed their mugs on their tables, and a small group played instruments in the corner while patrons yelled at Bimith behind the bar.
I glanced around quickly and found Eira at the bar with a half empty pint of mead in front of her. The beautiful redhead had on a short green tunic, knee high boots, and her sword on her hip. She looked as sexy as ever, and I thought about our kiss the night before. Her lips had barely touched mine when we’d been interrupted, but I remembered how soft they were, and how sweet she’d tasted.
Just the thought of our interaction made my stomach tighten with anticipation. I wanted to kiss her again, and I wanted to do it right then.
“There she is.” Asta smiled and bounded over to the redhead. “Eira!”
“Asta,” the redhead chuckled before she glanced past the elf girl, and her eyes landed on me. “Rath.”
Blar, Inger, and Uffe ran over to the bar stool, and Eira leaned down to give them each pets.
“I was hoping we would find you here,” I said.
“Oh?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, and then she took a swig of her mead. “You were looking for me, were you?”
“I was.” I swallowed and tried to quell the desire that flared up inside me. “Preyna told us you were at one of the bars in town. She suggested we ask you to accompany us on a mission.”
“And what mission might that be?” the redhead asked with a smile.
“We’re going to Alfheim, my homeworld,” Asta explained.
“We need to look for dragon dealers,” Kas said quietly, and her eyes darted around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. “Preyna said you might be able to assist us.”
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