Page 127 of The Seducer
Finn
Athena looked gorgeous in the dress we had found for her in Laura’s closet. Her long red hair stood in beautiful contrast to the blue dress with the slim waistline.
Zeus, the interviewer that had been brought in for this scoop of a story, was the best news anchor in the Northlands and known to keep things interesting with his hard questions during interviews. The man was in his early fifties and had a long impressive beard with small braids in it. In the past our paths had crossed when he had interviewed Khan or Magni to get comments for different stories. I had always thought of him as a professional, but this time, he annoyed me. It was the way he gazed at Athena and showered her with compliments.
“That’s so fascinating,” he said before we went on the air. “You can really read the old languages?”
“Some of them,” Athena said in her signature soft voice. “The neat thing is that when we priestesses meet at our yearly meeting, we can always tell from looking at each other’s forehead what languages we’ve mastered and what areas of expertise we have. The symbols of our tattoos carry messages of knowledge.”
“They are stunning,” Zeus said and marveled at them. “I have to say that so are you, Athena; I love the color of your hair and the brilliance of your green eyes. Finn is a very lucky man.”
“Yes, I am,” I said, not appreciating being mentioned in the third person when I was sitting right next to Athena.
When the camera people started counting down, I rolled my shoulders in an attempt to relax a little. The thought that this interview would be transmitted to everyone in the Northlands, and later to people in the Motherlands too, was unnerving. I could tell Athena was even more nervous than me, so I leaned my head back and asked, “Are you sure my nose is clean?”
It worked to ground her, and with a small smile she assured me, “You’re fine.”
“Great,” I said just as the countdown got to seven, “but you have something on your cheek.”
Her hands flew up to her face. “Where?”
“Five, four.” The countdown continued.
“Right there,” I lied and planted a loud kiss on her face.
“Three.” The last two numbers were counted with fingers only, but Athena was sucked into my smile and didn’t seem to notice. She was grinning back at me and it made my heart hammer faster.
“I’m here with Finn MacCumhail, known to be one of our finest doctors and our ruler’s personal physician,” Zeus started, “but the real star of the day is the young woman sitting next to him.” Zeus turned to Athena and gave her an exaggerated smile. “Athena Kelly, you are not just an ordinary Motlander, but one of the few and very admired priestesses that Motlanders cherish. Isn’t that true?”
“Yes, but everyone is special and cherished in the Motherlands,” Athena said with tact.
“How do you think that your people will react when they learn that one of their priestesses is the fourth Motlander to marry an Nman?”
Athena thought about it. “Some may be confused that I would make that choice, but I’m hoping that the majority will be pleased for me and Finn.”
“Maybe we should point out that when we say you’re the fourth Motlander to marry an Nman, that’s in only a few months,” Zeus added.
“Six months,” I corrected him, but he ignored me and kept talking to Athena.
“We would love to hear the story about how the two of you met.”
Athena reached for my hand and I smiled as I felt her squeeze it. “I met Finn when I was kidnapped and brought here to the Northlands. He was my protector and kept me safe for the five days I spent here.”
“Was that when you fell in love with him?” Zeus asked and leaned in.
“No, that happened later,” Athena said with a soft smile. “It wasn’t until Finn came to the Motherlands asking for my forgiveness, and we spent some more time together, that I fell in love. You see, I asked that Finn would give me five days, just like he took five of my days when I was here.”
Zeus crossed his legs and leaned back. “And he complied?”
“Hey, I’m right here!” I reminded Zeus, but the asshole ignored me again and focused on Athena.
“Yes, Finn complied and agreed to stay for five days and follow my instructions.”
“How interesting.” This time Zeus was looking at me. “What did you do for those five days?”
“Spiritual stuff like meditating and being grateful and those sort of Motlander things,” I gave Athena a teasing smile.
“I think the whole world wonders how two people from such different cultures can have anything in common,” Zeus said. “Athena, do you want to comment on that?”
