Page 118 of A Darkness So Sweet

The king nodded. “I will send for my son, and you will get us all the information we need about your sister. The scouts should be able to find her easily enough, and we’ll leave her all the information she needs. I will not stand for any more innocent bloodshed of our people. If you are leading us into a trap, I will personally take your head myself.”

Rose nodded, but it didn’t escape his notice that Gunnar seemed a little flustered by what the king had said. Even as their ruler turned to head back to his throne, Gunnar’s hand curled perhaps a little possessively around Rose’s arm before he tugged her back to the door.

The three of them headed out of the castle, and Ragnar waited a while before he said, “Would you like to come back to our house? We’ll have dinner together.”

Gunnar obviously didn’t want to do that. His brother was still angry at what the king had said, and that was surprising. Gunnar didn’t respond like this to any woman, at least, not that Ragnar had ever seen. But Rose looked up at Ragnar with hopeful eyes, and he knew his brother would give in.

“Would it be too much of an imposition? I would like to see Maia.”

He grinned. “I’m sure you would enjoy spending time with another human. How long has it been? A week?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Rose replied. “There isn’t a sun here. I can’t tell how long it has been since I’ve been here.”

Gunnar shouldered him aside and started walking to their house with Rose in front of him. The space he made between Ragnar and her was ridiculous. Still, he hadn’t seen his brother this upset over a woman before and it had Ragnar grinning as he followed them.

“It’s been a week,” his brother grumbled. “You know how long it’s been. I wake you up and tell you every morning.”

“Oh. I just don’t remember—that’s all.”

“I try to make sure you know exactly how long it’s been and where you are,” Gunnar said as they reached Ragnar’s home. “I take care of you.”

“You do!”

What an adorable conversation he was listening to. Ragnar didn’t even try to get ahead of them. He just let his brother lead the little woman up to their front door and push it open like he owned the place. Which, in the eyes of the king, Gunnar technically did, most likely. But that was a bridge they would cross later.

All three of them strode into the house that was filled with the scent of fresh baked bread and some sweet thing that had gone into the oven recently. While he’d been gone, Rota, Inkeri, and Hulda had taken time to put the entire house back together. His couch and chairs were plush again. The rugs were perfectly clean, and no stones remained. Although his ceiling now had a massive chunk taken out of it, the women had convinced the wisps to gather up there like a dripping chandelier.

“Stay here,” he said as he headed toward the kitchen. “We’ll bring the food out to you.”

He wanted to give them a few moments to themselves, but also, he wanted to see his wonderful troll wife.

Maia was in the kitchen puttering away, making the bread that she was so good at and leaving the rest for him to cook. Ragnar had learned recently that while his wife was an incredible baker, absolutely anything else she made was so overly cooked that it was burnt to a crisp. After a few meals like that, he’d taken over cooking the meat and she could manage the desserts.

He caged her in his arms, reveling in the tiny squeak she made before spinning around to press her back against the countertop. “Ragnar!” she scolded. “I’m just finishing up.”

“I know you are.” He lifted her fingers and licked the sugar off them. “But I wanted a few moments with my wife.”

“You can get those moments when I’m done.”

“How long until the pie is finished?”

She blinked up at him. “I’m not sure. Likely ten minutes or so. Why?”

He tilted his head to the side, measuring the time before grinning down at her. He grabbed her waist and lifted her up onto the counter, just like he had all those weeks ago. “It’s a challenge I’m willing to take.”

Tossing her skirts up, he bit the inside of her thigh. But when she moaned, he tsked, “We have company, wife. Keep yourself quiet if you can.”

“We have company?”

“The door’s closed. Now stay quiet, fire hair. I want to have dessert before dinner.”

Before agreeing to marry her, he hadn’t known how easy life would be with her in it. Not because she cooked or cleaned, but because he could indulge every sense in her for hours on end if he wanted. And because moments like this, where the both of them were giggling and laughing, trying to remain quiet while they sought out pleasure as well, were sparks of light in his life.

Even if the pie ended up burnt.

Epilogue

The shadows clung to him.He wasn’t sure when they had woven themselves into his very soul, but at this point, they were part of him. A darkness writhed in his chest, wriggling deep into his bones. The shadows were who he became in a place like this.

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