Page 44

Andor

The world has changed when the morning rolls around.

My senses have always been heightened because of the suen, but I’m starting to think that Brynla is her own kind of drug.

The air smells fresher, feels warm like a midsummer morning, the straw mattress softer; the sound of her steady breathing is like hearing the fairest music.

I feel as if I’ve been elevated to a higher state of being and it’s all because of her.

You’re in over your head , I chide myself as I carefully adjust my position on the narrow bed, not wanting to wake Brynla up.

Her body is naked, her back against mine, and in the dim light of her room, lit only by a flickering torch that is running out of fuel, her lavender hair spills around her like a sunset turning to dusk.

The sight of those scars from all the pain she endured at the convent mixing with her beauty makes a violence rise up inside me so tightly that I can barely breathe.

Fuck. Definitely in over my head. That’s not unusual for me—I always leap before I look—but I’ve never felt so infatuated with anyone before.

While I’ve garnered a reputation for loving them and leaving them, I’ve always wanted to feel that heady rush of obsession.

I wanted something more. I just never found it with anyone before Brynla came into my life.

It’s like I have tunnel vision and all my focus is sharp and narrowed precisely on her.

The rest of the world, the rest of my problems, the very problems that brought her into my life, have faded away.

If I could spend the remainder of my days in bed with her, than I would die a happy man.

But nature calls.

I shift beside her and she stirs, letting out a low moan that goes straight to my half-hard cock. Damn, she makes it hard to leave.

“What time is it?” she murmurs in a sleepy voice, her eyes half-closed as she raises her head enough to look at me over her shoulder. I meet her gaze and my heart jolts in my chest.

Calm down, Andor.

I place a kiss on that bare, tempting shoulder, my lips lingering on her soft skin, relishing the taste. “I have no idea,” I admit softly, my eyes closing briefly.

“I think I got used to all the daylight in Norland,” she says with a yawn. “I could sleep for days.”

“Go back to bed, no need to get up,” I tell her, pulling away slowly.

She gives me a sleepy smile before her eyes flutter closed and she lays her head back down. Somehow this makes it harder to leave her.

I get up and survey the dim bedroom, wondering what the time is. We were fucking like there was no end for what felt like the whole night and my body seems to think it’s morning, but without any natural light this far underground, it’s hard to tell.

The rest of the abode is quiet as I make my way to the latrine, though by the time I’m finishing up, I hear the snuffle of Lemi’s muzzle on the other side of the door.

I open it to find the giant dog crouched down, wanting to play. Before I can pet him he bounds off down the hall and disappears into thin air. I then hear Ellestra laugh from the kitchen where he’s obviously reappeared.

The smile fades from my face and I let out a long breath.

I suppose this morning is as good a time as any to try to win over Brynla’s aunt.

If we’re going to stick to our plan, then she has to understand that we’re all leaving today and heading back to the ship.

Not just for Brynla’s own good, but for Ellestra’s as well.

I make my way to the kitchen, pausing in the doorway to assess the scene.

Ellestra is over the stove, stirring something in a pot, as the kettle beside her whistles gently.

She takes it off the fire and without looking up says, “Are you just going to stand there and stare, or do you have something to say?”

I offer her a smile she doesn’t notice. “I’m known to blurt out the first thing on my mind. I don’t think I’d get very far with you if I didn’t take my time and choose the right words to say.”

She chuckles lightly at that, which I take as a prize.

“That’s where you’re wrong. I don’t want carefully selected platitudes.

I want the truth. So give me the truth, Andor Kolbeck, as blunt as you’ll throw it.

” She looks up at me, her gaze intense as she meets mine.

“What are your plans for my niece? Other than what you were doing throughout the night.”

I ignore that last part. Should have figured that sound travels well down here.

“We need Brynla,” I inform her as I take a seat. “And she needs to work for someone better than House Dalgaard.”

She gives me a twisted smile and leans back against the counter, her arms folded over her long beige linen robe. “Remind me again why House Kolbeck is so special?”

“Because we’re not monsters, despite your view of the houses and the other realms. Because she can really thrive in Norland. As can you.”

She shakes her head, breaking eye contact. “All I have to go on is your word. I can’t take your word for it or I would be a fool. And I can’t take Brynla’s because she’s been compromised by you…in more ways than one.”

I don’t need to infer her meaning.

“Then you at least have to understand that she can’t stay here. For her own safety. If Sjef Ruunon finds out that she’s been with me…”

“And whose fault would that be?” she snaps at me, eyes blazing. “You put Brynla in this position by taking her and using her for the gains of your house. If she’s leaving, it’s all because of you!”

“You’re right,” I tell her as she stomps over to the pot on the stove and starts angrily stirring again. “It is my fault. Which means Brynla is my full responsibility now, as is everything she cares about, which means you and Lemi.”

At the mention of his name, Lemi thumps his tail from the dog bed.

Ellestra doesn’t say anything, just keeps the scowl on her face as she fusses about the stove.

“Listen,” I say gravely, letting out a heavy sigh as I press my palms together in a plea.

“We have reason to believe that Sjef Ruunon is building an army for an invasion north.” This finally seems to get her attention, and she puts the wooden spoon down.

“I know that war was before both our lifetimes, but the Dalgaards’ bloodlines are thick and Ruunon is no different than his forefathers.

If I had to guess, he wants Altus Dugrell in its entirety.

He succeeded in fracturing it once before. ”

“Why should that concern us? We’re the Freelanders. We mind our own business. We don’t concern ourselves with wars in other realms.”

“But it will become your war in your realm. They will come north by ship and by land. They’ll spread out to Vesland and Esland, taking both sides of the world.

The southern tip of the Banished Land will be their landing point.

Do you really think they’ll march straight to the capital without stopping by the Dark City?

Without taking the people here for their own army? ”

“Then we will fight!” she says, brandishing her spoon. “We can fight against the Soffers, we can fight against House Dalgaard.”

“Not this army,” I tell her. I pause, knowing I haven’t shared this with Brynla yet.

“There’s a reason that Sjef Ruunon has doubled his interest in procuring suen.

It’s not just that he has an army to power.

He’s looking for something in particular.

And whether he finds it on the Midlands or in the guarded galleries of Esland’s infamous convent, once he gets it there will be no stopping him. ”

She frowns at me and puts the spoon down, her stance cagey. “What is this thing in particular?”

From the way she’s asking the question, I feel like she might already know the answer.

“To be honest with you, I thought it was just a rumor. We always thought it was just a rumor. But we have gotten more credible intelligence over the years. Have you heard of the slangedrage? The two-headed dragon that was thought once to exist?”

Her stony expression doesn’t change. “The dragon no one has seen in centuries?” she asks carefully. “A legend, like other things.”

“So it would seem. After all, the only proof we have of their existence are the paintings people left behind on the Midlands. I’ve seen one of these paintings myself, a blue two-headed dragon sketched into a cliffside.

They say once upon a time there were more paintings, perhaps left by Magni himself when he lived there with the dragons, but they no longer exist. As if someone was trying to erase their existence, or perhaps the rocks they were painted on have been squirreled away somewhere, so that people forget and turn it into legend. ”

“Where are you going with this?” she asks pointedly.

“The very same people who may have stolen the paintings, who have created tapestries and sculptures honoring these fabled dragons, may have something else in their possession. Something that all the realms would be fighting for, if only they knew it was real. A slangedrage’s egg.

An egg that only provides one type of magic.

The one of immortality. Everyone who consumes it will become immortal.

” I pause to let it sink in. “In the wrong hands, immortality is disastrous. In a war, it is the key to winning, the key to taking over the world.”

“You think suen can grant you immortality?”

“This suen can. I know it exists. And Sjef Ruunon knows this too. It’s just a matter of who finds it first.”

“So you think you can beat them to it.”

“I know I can. Now that I have Brynla.”

A knowing look comes over her face and she nods. “Ah. The real reason why you want her.”