by S. T. Bende
“I travel light.” Maja patted the satchel she wore around her chest. “Besides, you’re the queen. I’m sure your ladies-in-waiting can help if I forgot something.”
“I don’t have ladies-in-waiting. I’m low-maintenance, remember?”
“Uh-huh,” Maja said drily. “I see you’re still wearing the necklace I made you.”
“You said I might need it again someday.” I shrugged. “Figured wearing it was a good idea.”
It had been almost a year since Maja had fashioned the necklace from a protection crystal. She’d told me I could use it to control the light and dark energies she’d taught me to blend, then wield as a defense. Like me, Maja was a dark faerie—half Alfheimian, half Svartish—and was uniquely able to balance the dueling energies within herself. Although I’d learned to do the same, I’d never be the master that Maja was. In all likelihood, I’d be using that necklace as a crutch for the rest of my life.
“Well, it suits you.”
My breath stilled at Maja’s rare compliment.
“It’s kicked your aura up a notch—it’s considerably less muddied than it was the last time I saw you.”
“Um, thanks?”
“What about me, cousin? How shiny is my aura?” Viggo’s lips quirked upward.
“Dull as your wit,” Maja retorted. “Now, are you going to show me this castle of yours or what?”
“This is just the school,” I said as I walked toward the entry. “The ‘castle’ would be the royal residence. It’s about a twenty-minute jog that way.”
“I just flew eight hours. I’m not up for a jog.”
“I didn’t say you were. I was just trying to—”
“I’m kidding, Aura,” Maja said. Then under her breath, she muttered, “Kind of.”
I never knew where I stood with her.
“How’s that friend of yours?” Maja studied her nails. “The guy who fought off the guards in the cave last year?”
“Ondyr? He’s my cousin, and he’s great.” I grinned. “Kicking butt in the training ring, graduating with honors, and, hopefully, coming to work with me and Viggo in some Verge capacity—though we’re still figuring out what exactly that will be.”
“Mmm. And how’s the other one who fought in the cave?” Maja asked. “The tall one who took down two guards with one sword?”
“You must mean Zara,” I said. “She’s great, too. She wants to be a Protektor after graduation, and I’m hoping she’ll want to come on as one of my personal guards once I’m, well . . .”
“Once you’re queen of all Alfheim?” Maja arched her brow.
“Once I’m officially co-ruler, yes.”
“Can’t the queen take care of herself?” Maja asked.
“This one can,” Viggo said with a grin. “But protocol dictates she have two full-time guards, just in case. Aura hates the idea of some strangers looking out for her, so she convinced the powers that be to let her choose her own Protektors. She’s bringing in Professor Bergen, obviously, and she’s asked Zara to take the second spot.”
“And has Zara accepted?”
“She’s thinking about it,” I said. “She’s an action girl, and I think she’s worried guarding me will be less exciting than, say, doing undercover work on Muspelheim. Which is fair.”
“Ondyr’s working on her though.” Viggo opened the castle door, and gestured for us to head inside. “They’re training partners, and they’ve grown really close during the past year. He’s going to be working with us after graduation, and I know he wants her to stick around.”
“I always did like my cousin.” I grinned.
“So, this is the entrance to your school?” Maja looked around as Viggo closed the door behind us.
“It is. And the great hall’s this way.” Viggo pointed. “Let’s start our tour there. Lunch just ended, but I’m sure they still have plenty of food. You’ve got to be hungry.”
“Starving,” Maja confirmed.
“We’ll give you the tour after lunch then.” Viggo followed us down the hallway. “And we’ll fill you in on the latest development with our allies.”
“Oh, no. What’s happening in Vanaheim?” Maja glanced at the main staircase, where a group of first-year students ogled her openly. To be fair, she was the only one not wearing the regulation uniform.
“How’d you know he was talking about Vanaheim?” I waved the first-years away, and they shifted their focus from Maja back to each other.
“Alfheim only has one ally.” Maja’s skirt swished as she walked. “Asgard still regards us with caution, Midgard doesn’t know we exist, and Nidavellir won’t trust us for another two decades.”
“Really?” I hung a left at the big bay windows. “So, we will earn the dwarves back, then? How do we do it? We’ve got a foreign affairs team that can—”
“I thought you didn’t want to know your future,” Maja said wryly.
“I didn’t. I don’t. But if it’s a matter of solidifying relations between the realms . . .”
Viggo’s disapproving look stopped my thought.
“Oh, fine. We’ll do it the hard way,” I muttered.
“The right way’s not always the easiest,” he reminded me.
“You stole that from a bumper sticker,” I accused.
“What’s a bumper sticker?” He cocked his head.
“Midgardian thing.” I sighed. “Never mind. We’re here, anyway.”
I led Maja and Viggo through the ornate doors of the great hall. Most of the tables had been cleared and reset for dinner, but one near the window wall remained empty. We took three of the four seats, giving Maja the best view of the forest that backed up to the school.
“Three place settings, please,” I said to nobody. A trio of plates, stemware, and glasses appeared instantaneously, along with a massive bowl of salad.
“What the Helheim?” Maja’s eyes widened.
“Telepaths take care of the tables,” I explained. “If there’s something special you’d like for lunch, let them know and they can send it up.”
Maja shook her head. “This place is bizarre.”
“You don’t know the half of it.” I dished a heaping pile of lettuce, carrots, jicama and croutons onto Maja’s salad plate, then did the same for Viggo and myself.
“You don’t have servants to do that for you?” Maja quirked her brow. “You’re the queen.”
“I’m not officially the queen for another month,” I corrected. “And I told you, I’m low-maintenance.”
“We’ll see about that.” Maja forked her lettuce and took a bite.
“She’s mostly low-maintenance.” Viggo’s eyes sparkled. “She does get pretty demanding in the training ring.”
“Only when my partner is being lazy, and needs to be reminded that the safety of our realm is directly proportional to the amount of effort he puts in at the Verge center.” I speared a carrot.
“Mmm. Who holds the record number of wins in hand-to-hand combat?” Viggo’s dimple popped.
“And who holds the record for aerial sequences?” I countered.
“I get it. You’re both competitive.” Maja set her fork down. “Now what’s the situation in Vanaheim?”
Viggo quickly filled her in on the recent security breach.
Maja’s eyes narrowed. “Do you think the specter is tied to Narrik?”
“We don’t know,” Viggo said. “And we don’t know why the specter wants into the castle. I’m assuming he’s trying to gain access to someone more powerful than the household staff. But to do what, we just aren’t sure.”
Maja put down her fork. “What are you planning to do about it?”
“We’re going to Vanaheim. All three of us,” I announced. “Viggo and I have finals next week, so this has to be a quick trip. If we go this weekend, we can be back by Sunday night and home in time for our first test on Tuesday. I hope.”
“You hope because you’re looking for a quick resolution, or you hope because you have exams?” Maja asked.
“Both.”
“Aura. An existential threat faces your realm, and you’re worried about your grade-point average?”
Well, when she put it like that . . .
“Regardless, I can work with the time we’re given.” Maja closed her eyes and went perfectly still. I knew her well enough at this point to realize she was meditating. Or looking into the future. Or doing . . . whatever it was she did.
“We’ll leave early Friday morning.” Her eyes opened as she made the announcement. “That will give us a full three days. Four, if we need to stay on to question any suspects.”
“I doubt the specter stuck around.” I blinked as a plate of open-faced sandwiches suddenly appeared atop the table. “Thank you,” I again said to no one.
“I’m sure he didn’t.” Maja lifted a sandwich onto her plate. “But he may have accomplices—plants somewhere within the realm.”
Viggo filled his dish. “Idris was pretty sure none of her household staff would betray her.”
“Who said we’re only interviewing her staff?” Maja asked.
Ooh. Smart.
Maja bit into her food. “Mmm. This is good.”
“Everything is,” I admitted. “I don’t know what I’m going to do when I graduate and have to cook for myself.”
“You’ll be the queen. I doubt you’ll be cooking for yourself,” Maja said.
Oh. Right.
“If you came to work with us full-time, you’d have access to the royal dining hall too . . .” I dangled the proverbial carrot.
“I told you I’d think about it. We’ll see how things go over the next few weeks.” Maja took another bite, then glanced at Viggo. “What are you doing?”
“Getting us Bifrost clearance for Friday,” he answered. He finished typing on his wrist communicator, then tucked into his food.
“Are off-realm transports still difficult?” Maja asked.
“Nope. We’ve worked through all the barrier issues, and now it’s just a matter of getting the foreign affairs and the transport ministers to sign off on our—”
A ping from Viggo’s com interrupted my explanation.
“We’re all set.” He looked up from his watch. “We’ll leave at seven a.m., and signal for a return transport sometime on Sunday. They’ll keep us on their scanner.”
“Good. And after lunch, tell me everything you know about Vanaheim’s royal family. Friendships, relationships, hobbies, areas of interest—maybe there’s something in there that could flag a link.” Maja took a drink from her crystal glass. “Are all your place settings this fancy?”
“Yes,” Viggo and I said in unison.
I sighed. “Overkill, right?”
Maja just shook her head.
We ate in silence for the next few minutes, filling our stomachs with bread and cheese and meat. When we were done, I set my napkin beside my plate and turned to Maja.
“We’ll definitely brief you on Idris and her family. And we’ll give you a full tour of the academy.” I glanced at my own com, which had a slew of incoming messages. I discreetly flashed the last one at Viggo. “But first, you have some friends who want to catch up with you. Quick stop-over in our common room?”
Maja dabbed her napkin to her lips. “I’m not big on friends.”
“Well, we are. And you’re here now, so get over it.” Viggo stood.
Maja quirked her brow. “My, my, cousin. You’re becoming quite the leader.”
“Just get up and follow me.” Viggo rolled his eyes. “If Jande doesn’t get to see you, we’ll never hear the end of it.”
Chapter 5
HEAVY GREY CLOUDS SHADOWED the sky when the three of us touched down in a Vanaheim meadow. The unseasonal weather shift had made entry difficult, and queasiness wracked my stomach as I stumbled out of the Bifrost. It was only my second transport—my first without the barrier in place—and though I knew inter-realm transit wasn’t easy under normal circumstances, I had no desire to travel in a storm again. Ever.
Maja and Viggo walked out of the rainbow wind tunnel, both looking considerably more in control of themselves than I felt. While I struggled to stand upright, Maja checked the com we’d given her and scanned the area.
“If we head due south, we’ll be there in less than five minutes,” she announced.
“We’re off target. Oh, well. Are we flying or walking?” Viggo rubbed tight circles on the small of my back. “You okay, Glitre?”
“Never better,” I groaned. “Please say walking. I have zero interest in flying right now.”
“Fine. We’ll walk.” Maja turned her com off, and headed my way. “You’d better suck it up, princess. Gods only knows what we’re going to find here, and if it’s anything like what I suspect, we’re in for one Helheim of a—”
“Aura! What are you doing way out here? Didn’t we approve your landing just outside the gardens?”
I turned at the sound of Crown Princess Idris’ lyrical voice. She and two men crested the meadow on horseback. The animals loped toward us, their golden manes and tails streaming behind their white fur. It wasn’t until they were nearly on top of us that I noticed the matching horn spiraling out of the animals’ foreheads.
“Unicorns are real?” I blurted.
“Of course they’re real.” Idris knitted her brows together. In her all-white riding gear and pale blond braids streaked with lavender highlights, she looked like a cross between an angel and a hippie. “Why, do Alfheimians believe they’re not?”
“I—uh—I . . .” I had no idea. But for a girl who’d grown up on Midgard, this was a massive mind blow.
“We are aware of unicorns.” Maja looked at me like I was a complete idiot.
“Yeah, well, the dark elves aren’t. I never heard of horned horses when I lived on Svartalfheim.” Viggo reached out with one hand. “Can I touch it?”
“Bow first,” Idris warned.
“Oh. Right.” Viggo flushed. “Apologies, Crown Princess. I—”
“Not to me. To my unicorn.” Idris laughed. “She’s very protective of me, and if she thinks you’re a threat she’ll gore you with her horn.”
Note to self: stay on unicorns’ good sides.
“Of course.” Viggo folded his hands together and bowed, hinging at the hip. When he rose, Idris’ violet eyes twinkled.
“You should be good now,” she confirmed.
Viggo stepped closer to the animal, and offered his hand. The unicorn sniffed delicately, then lowered her head for my boyfriend to pat. Her two unicorn friends tilted their heads in seeming curiosity.
This is insane.
“That’s it. I’m bowing too. Can I pat any of them, or is yours the alpha?” I had no idea how unicorn hierarchy worked.
“She is,” Idris confirmed. “Start with Sparkles—once she knows you, you can move on to the others without the formalities.”
“You named an animal Sparkles?” Maja’s disdain was evident.
“Of course.” Idris stroked Sparkles’ mane. “What do you name your animals?”
I flashed back to the behemoth elephant-sheep that populated Maja’s homeland. My hand flew to my mouth, but my snort escaped nonetheless.
“Sorry,” I mumbled through my laughter. “You two just come from really different worlds.”
“That’s fair.” Idris crinkled her eyes. “Do you want to pat Sparkles or not?”
“Oh, definitely yes.” I bowed deeply. “May I please pat you, oh most beautiful Sparkles? I’ve never seen a real unicorn before, and—”
“She said bow,” Maja reminded me. “Not talk.”
I righted myself and reached out with one hand. “Maja, I have seriously got to get you to appreciate the small stuff. Or the big stuff—seeing a real unicorn is—oh my gods, she is so soft!”
“She is.” Idris beamed. “They all are. Go ahead. See for yourself.”
I glanced up at the stone-faced man sitting atop one of the creatures. “Is it okay with you, or—”
“Hans doesn’t
speak,” Idris offered. “None of them do. But Blossom won’t mind, will you, beautiful?”
“Got it.” I transferred my attention from Sparkles to Blossom. “I take it these are your newest guards?”
“Yep.” Idris sounded resigned. Her parents were the overprotective type, and they’d saddled her with sets of indistinguishable guards for as long as I’d known her. For security purposes, they insisted on switching the teams out every few weeks.
“Ah. Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you Hans and, uh . . .” I stared at the second guard, but he remained silent.
“I’m going with Hans and Jans for this team.” Idris shrugged.
“Fair enough. Good to meet you both.” I offered a cheery smile.
Jans glowered back at me.
Gulp.
“I like him,” Maja announced.
“You would,” Viggo said. “What’s the third unicorn’s name?”
“Barry.” Idris didn’t bat an eye.
“Barry?” I stared at my friend. “Their names are Sparkles, Blossom, and Barry?”
“I named him after my favorite uncle—Barrylius.”
“Okay.” I choked back my laugh. “Great to meet you Barr—ooh, he’s even softer than Blossom! Jeez, what do these things eat?”
“Organic hay, four-leaf clovers, and daffodils. But I think it’s the rainbow dust supplements that really give them their shine.” Idris stroked Sparkles’ mane fondly.
“Rainbow dust? What is that?” Viggo asked.
“Dust. From a rainbow.” Maja crossed her arms. “Are you even listening?”
“I know we’re family, but I swear to Frigga, Maja, if you don’t drop the sarcasm I’m going to—”
“How does one collect rainbow dust?” I interrupted the brewing fight.
“In sieves, of course. We scoop them through a rainbow, and the fibers harvest the dust.” Idris looked at me curiously. “Do you not have rainbow sieves on Alfheim, either?”
“You guys can touch your rainbows?” I balked. “How is that even possible?”
“We have rainbow sieves.” Maja gave me her idiot look again. “You probably just don’t know about them because you grew up off-realm. Midgardians lost access to their rainbows centuries ago.”