Fantasyland 01 Wildest Dreams (17 page)

Now, he knew he had Sjofn’s beauty in his
bed but with Finnie’s grace, Finnie’s humor and Finnie’s fire.

Yes, this very much pleased him.

What didn’t please him was that, albeit good
news, tonight’s message wasn’t urgent and the elves who approached
his cabin had told him it was of grave import.

This news as it stood could wait to be
passed on.

At the very least, it could have waited for
a bloody half hour.

“
I’m uncertain, Nillen,” Drakkar growled,
“why I was taken from my bed, and
my wife
, to hear this news. It is good, is it not? And it will not
change.”

Nillen’s smile died and he shook his head
but said, “Yes, my lord, it is good. But I’m afraid, not at
present, but in future, it will change.”

Drakkar crossed his arms on his chest.
“How?”

“Your Ice Bride is not in our world for
good, Frey Drakkar, she returns to her world in ten months and two
weeks, switching back with Sjofn.”

The Drakkar’s body again grew tight, so
tight, it went statue-still and it felt like the area around his
heart squeezed. Hard.

“She returns?” he said softly, his voice
low.

“Yes, a deal was struck. They were to remain
switched for a year then return to their worlds. Sjofn has warned
her of you and explained her reasons for your union. She has also
warned her not to get with child as she will see to that duty on
her return.”

Duty.

The Drakkar did not like Sjofn of the House
of Wilde and he liked her less and less the more he knew of her
including her casting his Finnie into a situation that had to
terrify her when she only wanted to voyage to an unknown world in
order to spend time with her parents.

This in particular was a circumstance he was
trying not think of for this type of voyage was gravely hazardous
as evidenced by her finding herself in the situation she faced
practically upon her arrival.

As a man, he regularly sought such ventures.
As a powerful, experienced and skilled man, he bested many perilous
situations.

His Finnie was not a powerful, experienced
and skilled man.

Bloody hell, his wee wife could have been
hurt.

And that didn’t bear thinking about. Not
then. Nor did his actions after he’d wed her bear thinking about.
He’d think about it later.

And, much later than that, he’d discuss
her behavior with her
and
the
fact she would desist in it immediately.

Drakkar turned his mind from these thoughts
and focused on Nillen.

“Then I will not let her return,” Drakkar
decided and Nillen shook his head.

“
The witch from her world who made the
switch is extremely powerful. She holds more magic than most
witches on
this
world,
witches able to practice openly and share with and instruct each
other. True magic is hidden in that world for reasons I do not
understand. But
this
witch, your
Ice Bride’s witch, holds the magic of fifty of
our
most powerful witches. This switch between worlds
does not occur very often, it is
extremely
rare and the reason why it is rare is that it
takes an inordinate amount of magic to perform it thus any witch
attempting it will be depleted of all her power once the switch is
made, placing herself, I’m sure you understand, Frey Drakkar, at
grave risk. If a witch of that world, or this one for that matter,
gathers enough magic to perform the switch, they will be drained
and it would take
decades
for them
to regain such power. The witch who switched your Ice Bride with
Sjofn of the House of Wilde will not face this same weakening. She
holds enough magic to make the switch and switch them back with
only a small dwindling of power and will be at her full strength
again in a year’s time in order to perform the switch again. You
could consult a witch, my lord, but it is unlikely any witch in our
world could bind your wife here with enough power to subvert the
efforts of your bride’s witch to perform the return.”

“All right,” Drakkar agreed, “I can see this
but no witch, no matter how powerful, has magic enough to rival the
elves.”

And this was true. A single elf held more
magic than the evil she-God Minerva of Hawkvale and the benevolent
Lavinia of Lunwyn, witch servant of Alabasta, Goddess of Wisdom and
overseer of the earth combined. The magic of all the elves magic
was only rivaled by the gods… and the dragons.

Slowly, Nillen smiled.

Then he whispered, “You wish us to bind your
Ice Bride to this world?”

“Immediately,” Drakkar replied without
hesitation.

Nillen’s smile widened.

Then it faltered.

“
You should know, at this time, your bride
does not wish to remain in this world. If we bind her here, she
will never go back and you know a spell cast by elves cannot be
withdrawn without sacrifice. She has ties there, acquaintances she
cares for deeply, dreams she wishes to fulfill, belongings that
matter to her. She may not wish this, to be bound to this world, a
world where she has no ties and a world that is
very
different from hers.”

“Leave that to me,” Drakkar stated.

Nillen studied Frey Drakkar.

Then he cautioned, “This is your Destiny and
you know it is our duty to fulfill your command but you should also
be aware that if you bind your Ice Bride to this world, so she can
permanently take her place, you must also relegate Sjofn of the
House of Wilde to live her days in the other.”

“And I should care about this?” Drakkar
asked.

“My lord, it is your due to command us and
it is your duty to make such decisions about your Destiny for it is
known by all elves straight from Keer that the destinies of Frey
Drakkar, Lord of the Elves and his Ice Bride’s intermingle with
every citizen of Lunwyn and every elf who resides deep in the earth
under our frosted country. That said, these are weighty matters you
decide in a heartbeat.”

“This nation’s only princess fled her
country for selfish reasons, thoughtlessly throwing an innocent
into an unknown situation and placing her at risk. Already, my
bride shines a different light on her people than that of her twin
and from what I’ve seen, they bask under her glow. I do not make
this weighty decision without consideration, Nillen, and you know I
never do.”

“No,” Nillen replied quietly, “I know you
never do. I am simply cautioning you that you may wish to delay,
your union with your Ice Bride is new and there may be consequences
to your actions.”

“Leave those to me too,” Drakkar
returned.

Nillen studied his lord. Then he inclined
his head. Then he again smiled.

Then he muttered, “As you command.”

Drakkar inclined his head briefly then
stated, “I expect my command to be executed by the time I join my
new bride in our bed.”

“Of course,” Nillen murmured.

“My thanks,” Drakkar murmured back then
asked, “Do you have more?”

“No, my lord, Frey Drakkar.”

Without hesitation, Drakkar turned to Tyr.
“Good. I bid you farewell and safe journey back to your realm.”

Nillen lifted his chin at his lord after he
mounted his horse. Then all the elves watched him as he wheeled the
steed and set his heels to its flanks, clicking his teeth. The
powerful beast shot into the trees and the elves didn’t delay in
moving to circle the adela.

Then they immediately cast the spell that
bound the Ice Bride to their lord and his world, at the same time
consigning Sjofn of the House of Wilde to the other world
everlastingly.

Once this was accomplished, they moved to
the base of the adela, bent low to touch its bark where the tree
rose from the earth and with a flash of ice blue ending in the pop
of a white spark, they disappeared to their realm.

* * * * *

Frey disrobed before he mounted the
ladder.

As he pulled the curtain back and spied the
loft, he saw the candles still lit but the fire needed to be fed.
He also saw his wife asleep, the long, thick mass of waves of
white-blonde hair on the pillow, her shoulder, down her back and
even in her face.

As she did last night, she straddled the
bedclothes, something that stirred the blood in his veins. This
likely had a great deal to do with the sight of her exposed,
shapely leg. And it likely had even more to do with the sight of
the curve of her rounded, generous arse exposed by the short
nightdress that had ridden up, revealing a pair of tight, miniscule
underwear, underwear he had felt soaked with her excitement caused
merely by the play of his tongue in her sweet mouth and light
caresses that rarely even touched skin.

This made him wonder what deeper tongue play
and more intimate caresses would bring forth from his Finnie.

But becoming as she was slumbering in his
bed and as enticing as the stray of his thoughts, Frey determined
that he and his new wife would be having a conversation much sooner
than the other he intended to have with her and this one would be
about leaving the candles burning while she was asleep.

He moved with practiced ease through the
loft, extinguishing the candles and then he fed the fire.

Then he moved to his wife.

He’d detangled the bedclothes from her
limbs, settled them over their bodies and himself on his back, at
the same time pulling her to his side when her head came up.

She blinked at him sleepily in the
firelight.

“Finnie –” he started to order her to go
back to sleep but in a flash, her face brightened, her eyes
twinkled with excitement and she exclaimed, “You’re back!”

“This I am,” Frey agreed to the obvious.

She shot up to sitting and he barely had
time to contract his muscles to brace when she slapped his chest
then bent over him, her hand at his chest, her hair framing her
face, her eyes dancing, her cheeks pink with excitement and her
voice breathless with enthusiasm when she demanded, “Tell me
everything that happened!”

Frey stared into her animated face as it
settled in his gut that this magnificent creature in his bed
bravely voyaged from a whole other world for reasons of her own,
reasons which weighed in his stomach, but also because their
destinies bound them together.

And there she was, after he’d deserted her
in his filthy cabin and left her for weeks, angry at her twin for
her proclivities and frustrated that he was greatly attracted to
her beauty regardless of them, thinking, but not much caring, that
she would struggle.

But she did not.

Not his Finnie.

She fed on the challenge, bested it and
ended up enjoying herself immensely.

Something about this humbled him as his eyes
moved over her face.

“Frey!” she cried, her hand at his chest
pressing in to get his attention and he lifted a hand, pulling back
the thick, unbelievably soft curtain of hair and tucking it behind
her ear.

When this was accomplished, her body gave a
small, surprised jerk but her lips softened and her eyes warmed in
that way he was getting used to and he liked very much.

“They needed to explain a situation to me
and ask for my command. They did, I commanded and hopefully,” he
lifted his hand again and tugged at the ends of her hair, “they’ve
executed my command.”

“What was the situation?” she asked then
didn’t wait for an answer before asking, “And what was your
command?”

“This I cannot tell you, my new wife, not
now,” he said softly and watched her face fall.

Then, as he was becoming accustomed, she did
not give up.

“Why would they need your command?”

“So they would know how to proceed.”

“And how do they proceed?”

“With magic.”

Her eyes got wide as did her smile. “No
joke?” she whispered and his body shook slightly with his
laughter.

“No joke, Finnie.”

Her face grew dreamy, a look nearly as
endearing as her delighted surprise as she whispered, “That
is
so
cool.
” Then she focused
on him again and asked eagerly, “Do you get to watch?”

“If I wish.”

Her eyes got big again. “Did you watch?”

“No and I never do.”

Her face fell again right before it
immediately brightened.

“Did you ask if I could come next time?”

“No, but I don’t need to. They are at my
command. Sometime in future, when it is appropriate, I will take
you to meet the elves.”

Her smile got so big, it seemed to light the
space as she cried, “Awesome!” Then, almost immediately, she asked,
“Would it be okay if I talk to them?”

“I’m certain they’d enjoy that.”

She smiled down at him before whispering,
“Thanks, Frey.”

“You’re welcome, wife.”

She kept smiling and he lifted his hand,
hooked her behind the neck and brought her closer. As he did so,
her smile faltered but her eyelids lowered, her cheeks started to
pink for a different reason and he heard her breath catch with
anticipation.

He liked that, all of it, very much, but she
mistook his intent.

He brought her close but stopped her when
her face was an inch away and then he whispered his order in an
attempt to soften it, “It is not wise, my wife, to sleep with the
candles burning. Do not do this again.”

She stared in his eyes and she whispered
back, “I was trying to wait up for you. I was so excited about the…
uh, return of the elves I didn’t think I’d fall asleep.”

“Well you did,” he pointed out and she bit
her lip. “They’re easily relit, Finnie. Extinguish them next time.
I like you as you are, that is to say, alive and breathing not
burnt to a cinder.”