Page 123 of Master of Storms
“I’ll tell the king the entire truth. If the elves have the key, then they’re going to try to open the portal at World’s End. We’ll need to gather all our warriors and surround it. Word shall have to be sent to everydrekicourt in the lands. We don’t know how many of them there are.” She hesitated. “They found Andri’s body.”
Jesus. He’d almost forgotten. “Is he—?”
“Alive.” Árdís bit her lip. “Though that is the best that can be said of him. Mother stabbed him with thekunuk la’atzu, and hid his body in one of the tunnels. There’s no sign of the soulstone, or the knife.”
“She has it. How bad is he?”
“He won’t wake,” she admitted. “His body is there, he’s breathing, but… his soul is gone. Sirius is sitting with him. We need to find thekunuk la’atzuand hope his soul is still trapped within the stone.”
“Mother never casts away a weapon she can use.”
“Thankfully.”
Marduk sighed and dropped his head into his hands.
A hand came to rest upon his shoulder. “Areyouall right? You’ve barely lifted your head.”
He looked up sharply—and nearly fell off the bed as a wave of blazing pain went through him. But there was sincerity in her face.
Árdís cared.
She truly cared.
And he laughed under his breath as he realized that his mother had wrought more damage upon him than he’d ever realized.
For months he’d resided at Hekla, doing what he could to assist his family in repairing the fractured court. But Solveig had been right. Maybe her walls were cold steel, but his heart was just as guarded.
Because even though he’d been there physically, he hadn’t let them in.
“I’m fine. Just dabbling with magic I shouldn’t touch. I missed you,” he said. “I wish I’d taken you with me when I fled the court all those years ago.”
Sorrow darkened her eyes. “I wasn’t ready.”
“I shouldn’t have given you a choice.”
“But then I would never have met Haakon. Then I wouldn’t be carrying his child within me.” She pressed her hands to her abdomen, her smile beatific. “Without rainy days, one wouldn’t appreciate the sunny ones as much as one should. I survived. We all survived. And maybe that bitch isn’t quite finished yet, but I don’t doubt the four of us can destroy her.”
“Whoever thought you would turn out to be the pragmatic one?”
Árdís ran her hands through his hair with a smile. “Whoever would have thought you would turn out to be the rescuing-dreki-princesses one?”
“Oh, I’ve rescued more than a fewdrekiprincesses in my time.” He glanced down at the still figure on the bed. “Though never one who doesn’t want to be rescued.”“She means something to you, doesn’t she?”
He took one of Solveig’s hands in his. “Do you ever feel like your life keeps circling back to onedreki?”
“Not adreki, no, but one man? Yes.” She brushed the hair off his temples. “Haakon has always been the eye of my storm. Even when I was fighting against my fate, I couldn’t escape him.”
“She’s always been the eye of my storm, but I don’t feel…anythingelse.”
It was a confession that soured his soul.
And Árdís knew exactly what he was talking about.
“Some true matings take time,” she said hesitantly.
“Sirius knew. Rurik knew. But it’s been ten years, and while I’m drawn to her, there’s nothing… more.”
He’d heard others speak of the blaze of lightning that ignited within them when theirdrekiknew they’d found their other half.
