Page 61 of Heart of Fire
Rurik had made it clear he saw her as a conquest. He wasdreki, and she was human. He wouldn’t want her when she was old and gray, and she could not live in his world. There was no future for them. None. So she dried her tears, savored the soup, and then brushed off her apron to complete her afternoon’schores.
Only to find the bloody stables were swept clean, her lambs were feasting on hay she hadn’t provided, and there was an enormous ram bleating in the spare pen, his horns magnificent and his wary eyes rolling as though he’d just had the shock of his life. He probably had. She could only imagine that flight. Freyja stood stock-still in shock. A ram. A cursed ram. She was right back where all of this mess hadstarted.
If only I didn’t go after my ram thatnight....
And the dratted man—dreki—was nowhere to be seen. She never heard him in the house, nor did she ever seehim.
“Stop it!” she called, turning in circles in her empty barn after she found a necklace of extravagant emeralds she barely dared touch. “I promised you one night. Nothingmore!”
Silence remained her onlyanswer.
Freyja snatched up the necklace and shook it, suddenly furious. “You will not charm me, you arrogant beast! There is nothing more I can offer you! Stop this foolishgame!”
“They were your rules, dearestFreyja.”
She spun in circles. Not a hint of him. “My rules? I promised you one night, nothingelse.”
“You promised me your heart, if I could give you your most secretdesire.”
Everything stilled within her. “I didn’t meanit.”
“Are you saying you lied tome?”
“No!” She bit her lip. All she’d meant was to put him off and grant herself space. “I just.... It was a jest, nothingelse.”
“I amdreki, Freyja. Our word means everything, or else we’d have brought war to this world long ago. It is all that keeps us from chaos and we mustabide by ourpromises.”
She turned. “Where are you? Showyourself.”
A caress stroked her back. Freyja spun, but she was all alone in the barn.“Why should I? Unless you plan to thank me properly for mygifts.”
“Thank you?” she growled. “I want to give them back. I’m not keepingthem.”
“I’m not accepting themback.”
“Damnyou—”
“Throw them in the bog for all I care. They were gifts, Freyja. Courting gifts. You may do with them as you like. I daresay your father is enjoying his new boots,however.”
Her heart plummeted through her stomach. “You leave my father out ofthis.”
“Verywell.”
“And you arenotcourting me. Stop this madness. I won’t abide by it. There is no future between us. Nothing but misery. You got what you wanted, so let mebe.”
Another gentle caress cupped her face.“Stubborn, Freyja. I have barely begun, and you know nothing of what I want fromyou.”
“That’s not fair. I don’t wantthis.”
Silence.
She turned, feeling utterly wretched for the words that spilled from herlips.
“You wanted me the other night,”he finally replied, and she had the feeling that she’d almost hurt him. He, with his unshakeable sense of pride and place in theworld.
“That’s not—” She broke off with a curse. “Yes, I wanted it. Once. Something to remember you by. But we have no future, Rurik, and I am sensible enough to admit it. This might be a game to you, but it is very real to me. You will ruin me, if you haven’t already. And... I might have given up on the idea of marriage and children, but I should still like to hold my head up high when I walk into town. You don’t understand what you costme.
“Besides”—her voice quavered—“I’m not the only one who might lose something here. You have dragon hunters searching for you. They know you took me. Haakon and his friends, Magnus and Andri, visited yesterday. They’ll be keeping watchfor—”
