“Aye. I thought if I could just prove how much I missed her, and how much I needed her...” Da shifted. “I do need her, you ken. I’ve a plan, a plan I’ve been thinking on for a long time. It will set our family up for the next few generations, should it all go well.”
“A plan for what?” I demanded. “Da, you don’t need to scheme and sneak, not in the name of helping the family. We’re comfortable as we are.”
“For now, yes, but we can always better our situation.”
His voice trailed off. When I looked back at him, he was asleep. “Poor, sad man,” I said, patting his hand. Then the snoring started up, every bit as loud and awful as his singing was. It was a wonder Mum hadn’t gone deaf.
I pulled a blanket over Da, then I approached the library door. “He’s asleep.”
Mum opened it all the way and leaned on the doorframe. Her hair and gown were a mess, and her eyes were as red as Da’s. “We should leave him be. He will be better when he wakes.”
“Why are you hiding in the library?” Mum never once hidden from Da, not when he was drunk or in a rage. Often times they would rage together, going toe to toe until one of them gave in, or they both gave out.
“I am not hiding,” Mum said, “but I’m also not as strong as I once was. I-I didn’t... Bod doesn’t understand how much weaker I am. Not yet.”
Ah. Despite her protests she was hiding, and for a good reason. “Are you sure you want me to leave him here?”
“Yes,” she replied. “He will be much more reasonable when he’s sober.”
“All right, then. I will get the rest home and out of your hair.” I turned to go, and felt Mum’s hand on my shoulder.
“Thank you, Anya.”
“Of course.”
“I mean it,” she continued. “You shouldn’t have to deal with this. This business between Bod and I... It’s awkward.”
“What’s family if not messy?”
“Aye, and ours is a right slop.”
“All the same, it’s a slop I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
“Me neither.”
I patted her hand, then I left the apartment in search of Maelgwyn. He had remained in the antechamber, which was now blissfully quiet. My brothers—those who hadn’t passed out—were grouped together in the center of the room under Christopher’s watchful gaze.
“Da is asleep,” I told Maelgwyn. “Mum thought it best to leave him be.”
“I trust Beira knows what she’s doing,” Maelgwyn said. “As for the rest, most seem able to make their way home.”
“Wonderful,” I said, then I realized who wasn’t in the room. “Where’s Robert?”
“I sent him to fetch the walker, so she can send them all home in one fell swoop,” Maelgwyn replied. “I do hope they bring Faith when then return.”
“You’re quite taken with her.” Maelgwyn had adored Faith from the moment he first set eyes on her. As a result the flat was packed with gifts from him, each more extravagant than the last.
“That I am,” he agreed. “Karina said I’m like a fairy godfather. I tried explaining that I am not fae, but she insisted it’s more of a title than a hard and fast description.”
“Yes, and a good title at that.” I left Maelgwyn to his grandfatherly musings and went to Christopher’s side. “Were they any trouble?”
“They’re happy drunks, so no,” he replied. “The only troublemaker is one stone cold sober Angus.”
I narrowed my eyes at my oldest brother. He stuck out his tongue. “Well, this has been an exciting first day with Da and the rest.”
“It sure has.” Christopher draped his arm around my shoulders. “I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.”
I thought about Da’s mumblings of a plan, and decided not to mention it. After all, it was probably nothing but a drunk man’s ramblings. Da couldn’t have a scheme worked out again, not so soon after he gained his freedom.
Could he?
Chapter Eight
Chris
THE NEXT MORNING, I woke up in heaven. At least, it felt that way.
When Anya and I decided to move out of our flat and stay at the Winter Palace full time, I’d been supportive, if a bit skeptical of how us living in an oversized snow fort would play out. Rina and Rob’s house in Crail had been all but destroyed by Fionnlagh—which was somewhat poetic, since he had given them the house in the first place—and Anya offered them the flat to stay in while their place was being rebuilt. Along with my sister and the gallowglass came baby Faith, of course, and Rina’s best friend Colleen, who had come out for Rina’s baby shower and never went home. Scotland had that effect on people.
The addition of three adults and a baby made our previously spacious flat seem like a tiny studio in the city, and being that Anya and I had an entire palace at our disposal we decided to relocate. As soon as we’d gotten Rina and the rest settled in, we moved a few things to the Winter Palace, and started fixing it up.
Being that the palace was primarily made of packed snow and ice, Anya did most of the remodeling. I’d worried that living in and around all of that ice would be cold, but the palace was always pleasantly warm. What’s more, after we’d started dragging the furniture out from storage and into their proper rooms, and airing out the linens and rehanging the tapestries, the palace started to feel like home. No portion of the palace was cozier than our bedroom.
It wasn’t really a bedroom so much as a series of rooms for Anya’s and my private use, tucked away in a wing on the second floor. There was a parlor, two dressing rooms, a solarium, and a library in our suite. All of those rooms led to our quiet sleeping chamber, fitted with heavy oak doors that locked out the sounds and problems of rest of the world. Beyond that door was a truly enormous bed bedecked in soft sheets, pillows like so many marshmallows, and an actual white fur coverlet. Every morning I woke up feeling like I’d slept on a cloud, then I rolled over and saw the most beautiful woman in the world sleeping next to me.
With mornings like this who needs heaven?
On that morning she was sleeping late, which wasn’t surprising. The prior day’s adventures of setting her family free, only to round them up again at the Unseelie Court, left both of us exhausted. At least Anya could let herself rest now. For a long time, she couldn’t.
When Anya first became the Queen of Winter a combination of anxiety and poisoned tea meant she hardly slept at all, but the closer we got to winter, and the more her powers settled, the more relaxed she became. Finding out who was poisoning her and having him removed from the picture also helped.
Now Anya was like a cat, always ready to stretch out in a sunbeam and take a nap. I wondered if her body was making up for her lack of sleep a few months ago, or if she just naturally needed more rest to balance out her new abilities. Either reason was fine with me. I just wanted her to be happy.
I moved closer to Anya and tucked a length of her buttercup yellow hair behind her ear. She stirred, but didn’t open her eyes. Deciding to leave her to it, I moved to rise. Shortly after we moved into the palace, and I realized there was no place for me to plug in my laptop, I brought over a typewriter and few reams of paper. My next book’s deadline was drawing near, and I had plenty of work left to do. Might as well get to it.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I glanced over my shoulder. Anya was smiling at me.
“I thought you were sleeping,” I said as I put down my notebook. Work could wait.
“Can’t sleep all the time.” She stretched, arching her back as the coverlet fell back and bared her to her waist. I slid back under the blankets and kissed her. A moment later she was underneath me, my erection pressing into her belly.
“Now?”
“Not yet.”
That was fine with me. I kissed her again as my hands roamed across her body, one cupping her bottom while the other tangled in her impossibly soft hair. Anya broke the kiss, grinned, and flipped me onto my back.
“Now,” she said as she s
lid down my cock. Yeah, heaven can wait.
Afterward we lay together, Anya’s head on my chest while I ran my fingers through her hair. “You know, I was going to get some writing done.”
“I was thinking about the souls of the damned.”
“During sex?”
She pushed herself up so we could look each other in the eye. “Not during, but before. And now. Why do you think Fionnlagh was collecting the souls?”
“Honestly, I have no idea.” I noted the wrinkle between her eyebrows. That wrinkle always meant she was thinking hard on a problem. “Why?”
“That’s just it. Why do it at all? Why not just leave them to wander?” She fluffed a pillow and set it against the headboard. “The Wild Hunt is an enormous undertaking. It’s why it’s only done once every seven years. Fionnlagh must have somehow benefitted from collecting the souls. Otherwise, why would he even bother with such an event?”
“Maybe the souls are the ones that benefitted,” I said. “What if he, evil though he is, was actually doing them a service? Just because he was an awful person doesn’t mean everything he did was bad.”
Anya’s forehead wrinkle deepened. “I hadn’t considered that.”
“What brought all this on?” I asked. “You said Beira never collected souls, so you don’t have to either. Right?”
“That’s correct. But, should they be collected? Is the world better off without the Wild Hunt, or is it worse?”
“I... don’t know.” I scowled at my typewriter; never had I so acutely felt the lack of an internet connection, and the information I could call up with a few keystrokes. My gaze traveled to our closed doors, and I remembered what lay beyond.
“What kind of books are in the palace’s library?” I asked. “And are any of them in English?”
“They’re in a range of languages and subjects. Why?”
“Maybe some have to do with the Wild Hunt, or souls. Maybe there’s an encyclopedia or dictionary sitting on a shelf that will tell us exactly what you’re supposed to do with a collected soul, damned or otherwise.”
“Are you proposing a research session?”
“I’m a teacher. It’s what I do best.”
Anya leaned close and kissed me. “You have many other talents, beloved,” she said against my mouth. “And the vast majority of those talents are much, much more fun than research.”
My face warmed all the way down to my neck. “Which talents are these?”
“Let me show you my favorites.”
BY THE TIME WE MADE it downstairs for breakfast it was closer to brunch. I’d wanted to begin going through the library right away, but Anya had insisted we eat first. In addition to us needing sustenance, she also reminded me that the library was not only vast in the number of volumes it held, this volumes were written in many different languages. Since I could only read English and Latin, she suggested we have one of Sarmi’s people go through the inventory and separate out all the books in English, so we would have a solid starting point. Naturally, I agreed with my brilliant girlfriend.
Anya delivered our requests to Sarmi, then we finally headed downstairs. Seated at the head of the dining room table was Rina, with Faith snug in a carrier against her chest.
“Good morning, winter rulers,” Rina said cheerfully. I noted the coffee service and tray of pastries on the table. Knowing my sister she’d charmed the staff and they were now preparing a three course breakfast featuring all of her favorite foods.
“Good morning to you,” I said. “How long have you been here?”
“Not long. I’ve only had one cup of coffee so far.” Rina loosened the carrier and handed Faith off to Anya.
“My darling snowflake,” Anya cooed to Faith. “Have you been good?”
“Anya gets to hold her first?”
Rina shrugged. “What can I say, she’s a queen.”
I poured myself some coffee while Anya fussed over the baby. “Where’s Rob?”
“He is overseeing the reconstruction of our house. And before you ask, Colleen is having a day to herself in the city, so it was the perfect time for Faith and I to visit.” She glanced around the room. “I thought there would be a few dozen brothers hanging around. Did you kick them all out after yesterday?”
“Oh, they’re here,” Anya said. “Knowing that lot they’ll be sleeping it off for a good while, yet.”
A parade of servants entered the room bearing platters of pancakes, bacon, and a tureen of scrambled eggs. Anya watched them set out the food, confusion plain on her face. Then Sarmi placed a crystal pitcher of maple syrup next to Rina’s plate.
“Here we are, Mistress Karina, just as you requested,” Sarmi said. “Are you sure we can’t prepare anything for the bairn?”
“She’s good,” Rina replied. “This all looks wonderful. Thank you so much.”
“It was our pleasure, Mistress,” Sarmi said, then the servants bowed and left. Anya watched them leave, then said, “They didn’t even ask if I wanted anything. It’s like I’m the queen of nothing around here”
“That’s the Rina effect.” I grabbed Anya’s plate and started filling it. “She can charm anyone at any time.”
“I shall remember that,” Anya said. “I am glad you requested a hearty breakfast. I’m starved.”
Rina smirked at me. “I bet.”
“Anyway, younger sibling,” I began. While I knew Rina wouldn’t tease Anya, unfortunately she considered me fair game. “I’m sure you didn’t stop by just for breakfast.”
“You would be correct,” Rina said, then she picked up out mother’s cane and laid it on the table.
Only, it wasn’t really a cane. Mom had carried it everywhere with her, which is why Rina and I assumed it was a cane. Clues that it wasn’t were Mom’s total lack of mobility issues, and that this “cane” was over four feet long, was decorated with beads and feathers, and had runic symbols carved into it. That, and our recent knowledge that Mom was a volva told us that what we’d assumed was a cane was in actuality a wand.
“Your mother’s wand?” Anya asked, and Rina affirmed it was.
“Why did you bring it all the way here?” I asked.
“I was thinking about Mom’s diary,” Rina began, “and her predictions about you. Anya, want some syrup?”
“Yes, please.”
While Anya and Rina drowned their plates in syrup I thought about the premonitions Mom had written about in her diary. Scrawled across the pages were the words “she will kill him and I won’t be able to help.” Apparently I was the one doomed to die, but whoever was going to kill me remained a mystery.
“I don’t suppose you’ve figured out who my potential murderer is?” I asked.
“I haven’t, but I don’t think we have to figure it out on our own. Have you ever heard of the Norns?”
“The what?” I asked, as Anya said, “Of course.”
I glanced between my girlfriend and my sister. “Go ahead,” Rina said, nodding toward Anya. “I’m sure you know way more about them than I do.”
Anya swallowed her bite of pancakes, and adjusted Faith in her lap. “They’re seers, and live at the base of the world tree, Yggsdrasil,” Anya began. “There are three of them, I believe, and they’re said to be the first giants that came to this realm from Jotunheim.”
“Jotunheim?” I repeated. “Isn’t that from Norse mythology, like Thor and Odin?”
“Neither Thor nor Odin are giants,” Anya replied. “Well, not that I’m aware of. I suppose it’s a possibility.”
“If we’ve met Greek gods and fairies I suppose it’s only natural that Norse gods are real live people,” I muttered to my eggs. “Are unicorns real, too?”
“I hope so,” Rina said. “Faith would love a pony.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. It didn’t help. “Okay. So. Norns. How can they help me?”
“Mom had foresight, and they’re the three queens of foresight,” Rina replied. “They keep a well filled with magic water.”
�
��The well’s purpose is to water Yggsdrasil,” Anya said. “The Norns care for the tree, which in turn cares for the world.”
“But why would they help me?” I pressed. “It sounds like they already have a lot on their plates. I’m sure they don’t want some random mortal poking around their business.”
“You are not a random mortal,” Anya said. “Your mother was a volva, therefore she, and all three of you, are their kin. While the Norns aren’t ones to try and change a man’s fate, I see no reason why they wouldn’t answer a few questions.”
“See that?” Rina grinned. “Norns are our only hope.”
“Norns it is. When should we set out?”
“After breakfast is cool with me.”
“What about Faith?” She was sleeping against Anya’s shoulder like a tiny angel. “We can’t bring her.”
“Why not?” Rina countered. “Faith is descended from volvas, too. I feel like this is a strength in numbers mission.”
“I do agree,” Anya said. “The Norse take family very seriously. If your mother was close to the Norns meeting her granddaughter will greatly please them.”
“You think my mother hung around with a group of legendary giants who can see the future? I find that a little far-fetched.”
“Says the guy who sleeps with the Queen of Winter,” Rina said.
I blew out a breath. “All right, the Stewarts are going to Yggsdrasil. I assume you’re coming too,” I said to Anya, then I stopped.
“Because I’m a giant’s daughter?” she finished. “As we’re all now aware, I’m not.”
“Anya, I—”
“It’s all right.” She handed Faith off to Rina and refilled her teacup. “Normally I would enjoy such a trip, but I think it’s best I stay close to home and keep an eye on our own sleeping giants, at least for the time being.”
“Good point,” Rina said.
“Da hasn’t even come home yet,” Anya continued. “Who knows what sort of a state he will be in?”
“How did you used to handle him when he was out carousing?” Rina asked.
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