Page 82 of The Seducer
“I hope that if they do send a group to the Northlands, we get to follow them on the news. I’m curious to see what it’s like there, and Tristan won’t stop talking about it,” Karina said and sighed. “Randa Christine is blaming me for letting her son meet Finn in the first place. I wouldn’t have allowed it if I’d known that Finn would plant obscene ideas in the boy’s head. Tristan is now convinced that he’s really the son of an Nman, and yesterday he raised his voice whenRanda Christine refused to let him move to the Northlands. As if that’s just something you do.”
“I’m sorry about that,” I said. “I blame Magni, though. He is the one who invited Tristan to the Northlands.”
“Magni – wasn’t he the one who kidnapped you?”
“Yes, look to Pearl’s right, Magni is the tall blond man with a tattoo up his neck.”
Karina gave a small shriek. “Oh Mother Nature, no wonder you were scared. That man is huge, and look at the way he scowls.”
I watched him for a second and she was right. Magni was shifting his balance from foot to foot with impatience, his eyebrows pulled close together, and his eyes scanning the area in front of him.
“Finn says that Magni is a warrior,” I said. “I’m not sure what that means in detail, but maybe it’s made him a bit paranoid. He looks like he’s expecting someone to attack them at any point.” The moment the words left me, clarity struck. “Wait, no, I take that back.”
“Take what back?” Karina asked.
“Magni isn’t afraid someone’s going to attack them, he’s looking for someone.”
“Who?”
“His wife Laura, of course; she lives on this side of the border and I’ll bet he’s hoping that she’ll be in the audience.”
CHAPTER 26
Disaster
Finn
Hans and I had flown for hours to get to the border in time for the closing ceremony. I was nervous because I didn’t know if Laura would show or not.
To my surprise, our farewell ceremony was given with a lot more pomp than our greeting had been. Hundreds of people had gathered by the border, and it was an odd mix of media people, spectators, and officials from both the Motherlands and the Northlands.
Bruce Lee and his pretty mediator, Antoinette, looked intimate as they stood to the side whispering together. His forehead was leaning against her hair, and her hands were snaked around his waist.
Images of Athena showed up in my mind, and my feet grew heavy as I walked closer to the border wall that would effectively separate me from her.
Hans walked next to me and when he greeted Bruce Lee and Antoinette, she lowered her face with embarrassment and pulled back.
“Hey, why didn’t you leave them alone?” I grumped. “Couldn’t you see they were busy?”
Hans turned his head and apologized to the couple. “I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he called out, but then he spotted Isobel and waved at her with eagerness before he jogged off to say hi.
Khan and Magni waited for me next to their large drones, which stood parked right in front of the crossing to the Northlands.
“Good to see you again. We’ve got a large cold beer with your name on it back at the Gray Mansion.” They chuckled and both gave me bear hugs, as if I’d been gone for a month.
“Where is Laura?” Magni asked eagerly. “Did she come with you?”
“No, I haven’t seen her yet.” The three of us scouted around the area.
“I don’t see her,” Magni said with disappointment, and rose up on his toes, which seemed excessive for a man who was already close to seven feet. “Do you?”
“No, but she’ll be here,” Khan said and smacked Magni’s shoulder. “Stay positive, man!”
“Why don’t I go and see if I can charm something out of Isobel?” I suggested and went in the direction where I’d last seen the chairwoman of the Council.
As expected, she was in a conversation with Hans, and the first sentences that I picked up on made me curious enough to eavesdrop without them seeing me.
Isobel had her hair in a tight bun and stood wearing a long shawl in warm red colors. Her voice was soft and kind, like always. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you kept Finn under control, Hans. Pearl kept telling me he would do fine, but to be honest he was the one I was most worried about.” Isobel lowered her voice. “Honestly, Finn’s first visit was a bit of a disaster and I was worried he would only return to chase women.”
