Page 128 of Master of Storms
“Who did you know that was trapped in such a bond?”
She fanned her arms through the water and looked away. Image resurrected itself in her head. Her mother’s desperate face. Siv screaming. And Fornax’s hot blood splashing over her knuckles as Solveig drove her knife through his chest.
Goddess forgive me, I had no choice.
“The gift ofkataru libbuis not always a blessing,” she whispered.
“You’ve spent days watching my sister and her husband moon over each other. It makes me nauseous to watch at times, but even I have to admit there’s something special about the glow in Árdís’s eyes when she sees Haakon. It canbea blessing.” He shrugged. “Cynic that I am.”
She forced herself to meet his gaze. “It can also be a curse. What happens when you’re already mated, with three daughters, when the other half of your soul stalks into your court? What happens then, Marduk?”
“Your… mother.” His lips pressed together. “You don’t speak of her very often, though I heard tell of her tragic death and how it shattered the king.”
“My father loved her,” she whispered. “And she loved him.”
And I killed her.
Suddenly, it was difficult to breathe.
A hand caught her fingers. “Don’t. Don’t shut yourself off. Talk to me.”
Lips brushed against her shoulder. Not so much a seduction, but… intimate in a way. Solveig looked at him helplessly. Sex was easy to negotiate. They kissed. They fucked. They did it all over again. But she had no defense against this.
“You’re affectionate,” she accused.
“You like it. You’re the one who keeps sneaking onto my side of the bed and snuggling in my arms.”
Every time she expected him to deny something or push her away, he surprised her yet again. Solveig leaned her head back against his shoulder. “A… little.”
“It’s confusing for me too,” he whispered, and she stilled. “I’ve never been the one to chase, but with you, I have to be the one to submit first.” He kissed the back of her shoulder, a wet caress filled with teeth, as if to hint that he struggled at the concept of submitting. “Do you know the surprising thing? I like it. I used to think surrender was a weakness, but now I think… it’s strangely freeing. Tell me about your mother,” he whispered. “Please.”
Solveig closed her eyes. “My mother was an amazing warrior. She was dangerous and powerful, and she trained me to be a queen. There were whispers at court that she’d failed my father in presenting him with three daughters and no sons, and it infuriated her. ‘Fuck the court,’ she would tell me as she taught me to defend myself. ‘If these bastards want to bend knee before a prince, then I will teach them to prostrate themselves before a queen.’”
“You.” A smoky laugh echoed through him. “I think I’m starting to see where you get it from.”
“Yes, me.” Solveig blinked her eyes open, finding the shock of the roof above her, instead of her mother’s face. “It wasn’t in her nature to yield, but my father… my father was a wise man. He won her through patience and steadiness. Even as a little girl, I would see the love in the smiles they shared and… I wanted that for myself. It seemed a dream to love someone as much as they loved each other.”
She fell silent.
“And then…?”
“Hearrived.” She could see it all over again. The throne room doors slamming open, a toweringdrekiwarrior appearing between them, clad in the black of theZilittucourt. “TheZilittusent an ambassador. A third son of the royal family by the name of Fornax. And the second he laid eyes on my mother the bond between them ignited on his end. They were two souls promised to each other by the goddess. I watched as the world around them faded. Fornax’s eyes filled only with my mother, but it was her expression that will stay chiseled in my heart. She was horrified. She could sense it too, but she had already pledged to my father. And she raged against the push of fate, determined to make her own choice in the matter.
“The entire ordeal was a catastrophe. My father tried to be diplomatic. It was a great disaster, but he and my mother were happily mated. Fornax, however, wouldn’t have it. He challenged Father to a duel, and my mother threatened to gut him.” Solveig bit her lip. “My father is not a typicaldrekiking. He rules through cleverness, not strength. I’d never even heard of him fighting a duel, but that day… he grimly pushed to his feet and accepted Fornax’s challenge.
“My mother was terrified. I think I knew then that she was scared for him. Fornax was half a head taller. A warrior from the deadlyZilittu. He trained for battle daily, and it showed. He was laughing at my mother as my father slowly stripped his cloak off.” Solveig smiled. “But I knew my father would win. There was a look in his eyes. He wasn’t merely fighting for the right to keep his wife. He was fighting for love. For his daughters. And his clan. He was fighting to protect everyone that he loved.
“And he beat him. Fornax was furious when he realized my father would not yield. You could see the shock on his face when my father met every blow he rained down upon him. ‘I expected a challenge,’ my father sneered. Fornax screamed in rage and ran at him, and my father skewered him.
“They cast him from the court, and my mother ran into my father’s arms.” Her voice softened. “We thought that was to be the end of it. But Fornax would not take no for an answer.” Solveig pushed upright, water sloshing over her. “My mother was his promise from the goddess, and Fornax didn’t care whether taking her would set off a war between clans. He didn’t care if she had three young daughters who loved her or a husband who adored her. He didn’t even care for my mother’s intentions.
“TheZilittuwere not entirely comfortable with the situation either. The previous king did not wish for war, even as his son clamored for them to steal my mother.”
“Nodrekimale has the right to take a female,” Marduk said. “It is always her choice to accept the bond. I can understand why theZilittuking was uncomfortable. Such a demand goes against all our traditions.”
Solveig swallowed. It was easy to speak of the story to this point.
“Fornax couldn’t get to my mother. My father had her locked away so tightly that barely anyone could enter the court.” Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. “But it had been months since the duel. Months of being locked away. And Father hadn’t counted on anyone elseleavingthe court. Two stupid, foolish girls who were weary of being confined. Siv wanted to see the polar bears on the ice for her birthday, and so I promised I would take her.”
