Page 181 of Master of Storms
Solveig turned to him. “What if—”
He captured her face and kissed her. “No more ‘what if’s’. Be brave. Trust me. You are mine now, and She will not take you from me.”
“Absolutely unbelievable,” she breathed. “Yourdrekipride thinks you can defy a goddess.”
He merely smiled.
Solveig pushed away and straightened her shoulders. So be it.
But in her heart of hearts, she wanted to be free of this curse so badly it ached. She’d made her choice. She wanted him more than anything, and if that meant never coming home then… she would pay that price.
But he’d insisted.
“This is where you belong,” Marduk told her, striding forward to push the doors open. “You’re mine, Solveig, and I won’t let you go, but I don’t intend to see you suffer. Now let’s go greet your father. I promised I’d bring you back to him, and I’m trying not to break my promises anymore.”
“It’s always all about you,” she grumbled.
There was that smile—the bane of her existence. Her heart fluttered, even as he winked. “Of course.”
Marduk swept the throne room doors open and offered her his arm.
Her entire court stared back at her. Her father sat on his throne, flanked by both Aslaug and Siv. They almost looked like they’d been expecting her, clad in fine raiment. Indeed, the entire court seemed to be swathed in velvet and silk and dozens of diamonds.
It stalled her nerves.
Solveig set one hand to the hilt of her sword as she strode inside, her other hand tucked in Marduk’s elbow. “What is going on here? Did we interrupt preparations for a ball?”
Why would they be celebrating?
Or what?
The gates to Álfheimr were shut, but the cost had been astronomical, and with a brewing war sitting on the horizon like a rumble of dark clouds, this was hardly the time for dancing.
“Who knows?” Marduk led her forward. “Your father is a very wilydreki. Maybe he’s got one last trick up his sleeve.”
He sounded smooth and unhurried.
The golden prince in all his glory.
But sheknewhim.
“Did you do something?” The muscle in his jaw twitched at her words. “You did, didn’t you? What is this?”
Marduk swept her beneath his arm and then presented her to her father with a flourish. If she hadn’t spent her entire life training with a rapier, she might have tripped over her boots.
“I bring her back to you. As promised,” Marduk said, bowing his head respectfully to her father.
And then he pushed her in the back.
Solveig’s feet kept moving, carrying her onto the dais, and she was incredibly grateful they did. But she paused there, her heart on edge, listening for any hint of rumbling disapproval in the distance.
It did not come.
“Father.” She swallowed the tight knot in her throat. Hundreds of eyes watched, and she stiffened her shoulders.
Later. She could definitely kill him later.
“Daughter.” There was a glint of humor in her father’s eyes. “Welcome home.”
