Fantasyland 04 Broken Dove (14 page)

“When you have a job?” Apollo repeated her words in a question because he was not sure of every word she’d said, but he thought he was sure of her meaning.

He just couldn’t believe it.

“Yes,” she confirmed.

“A job in Fleuridia or the Vale,” he stated.

“Yes. It’s pretty here but it’s also pretty cold and, uh…well, kind of close to you,” she replied.

Apollo said nothing.

But he felt a number of things and none of them were good.

“I’d actually like to be on my way tonight,” she informed him. “Is that too much of a rush for you? To get me a loan, I mean. That is, if you agree to the loan. If you don’t, I understand. I’ll ask Achilles. Or Derrik.”

He had something to say to that.

“You’ll not be seeing Derrik for some time,” Apollo declared and watched her head give a small jerk.

“Sorry?” she asked.

“You and Derrik will not be in each other’s company for some time,” he stated.

“Um…I…well, I know. As I said, I’m going, like, tonight. And I’m not good at good-byes so if I could ask one more thing of you and that is for you to tell all the guys I said
adieu
and thank them”—she put her hand to her chest— “from the bottom of my heart for being so cool, I’d appreciate it.” Her head twitched again and she clarified. “I mean, I won’t see Derrik again unless I have to ask him for money. After that, I probably won’t see him at all.”

She said this and she didn’t like saying it. There were many ways she was surprising him but that message was clear.

She would miss the men, and specifically Derrik.

Apollo felt his skin start to prickle again.

“You won’t see him again not because you’re leaving to go somewhere to get
set up.
” he said, attempting to keep the annoyance out of his tone
.
“You won’t see him again because I’m not allowing it.”

Her back shot straight and she whispered, “You won’t allow it?”

“No,” he replied.

“But—”

“You’ll also not be going anywhere but Karsvall.”

“I—”

“And you’ll not be working at all. An Ulfr woman does not work.”

She blinked.

Then she stared.

“And you may not be of this world, but you’re an Ulfr,” he finished.

“How can I make money if I don’t work?” she asked.

“If you need anything, you ask for it. It will be provided for you,” he answered.

“But—”

“Now,” he interrupted again. “As for the children—”

It was she who interrupted this time, and she did it by snapping, “Hang on a ding-donged second.”

“Ilsa—”

“No.” She kept snapping and now she did it advancing; her hand up, finger pointing at him and jabbing the air. “
You
listen to me now and stop cutting me off. It’s rude.” She stopped moving and dropped her hand. “You can’t tell me what I can and can’t do; where I can go and who I can see.”

She stopped talking so he requested, “May I speak?”

“Only if you don’t piss me off when you do it,” she allowed and he really didn’t want to find her amusing.

But, damn it all, he did.

He just didn’t let it show.

“I’m afraid what I’m about to say will do that…if I take your meaning as I’ve learned what those words mean from Finnie, Cora and Circe.”

Her head tipped to the side. “Finnie, Cora and Circe?”

“Women here from your world married to men from mine.”

Her eyes got huge and that wasn’t amusing.

It was endearing.

Gods, but he’d made a colossal mistake bringing her here.

“
What?
” she cried.

He drew in breath and explained, “Finnie, the Ice Princess of Lunwyn, Cora, the Gracious, Princess of Hawkvale, and Circe, the warrior Queen of Korwahk, are all from your world.”

Her eyes got even bigger.

Thus more endearing.

Bloody hell.

“Cora, the Gracious is of my people?” she breathed.

“You’ve heard of her,” Apollo deduced.

She threw out a hand and exclaimed, “Hell yeah! Everyone raves about her in the Vale.”

“She’s much loved,” Apollo agreed.

“Totally,” she stated. “Holy cow. She’s from home?”

Apollo crossed his arms on his chest. “Your home, as is hers, is here now, Ilsa.”

“Well, yeah. I know,” she replied immediately. “But you know what I mean.”

“My point is, it would be good to stop thinking of the other world as home.”

She said nothing but the excited surprise drifted from her delicate features as she held his gaze.

He tried not to think that he rather enjoyed the excited surprise lighting her features and reverted to their previous subject.

“As I was saying, I’m afraid I’ll anger you with what I have to say but in this world you are a woman, you are my charge and you are an Ulfr. Further, you’re aristocracy by birth as well as marriage. Your father in Fleuridia was a count. Therefore, all around, you are an aristocrat and must behave in this world as one.”

Her tone was cautious when she asked, “I can assume it’s widely known your wife has passed.”

“It is,” he affirmed tersely.

“So everyone will know she’s not me. And anyway, if I’m not here then I don’t have to behave in any way that’s expected of me.”

“I have decided to explain your…” he paused, “appearance by saying you’re a distant cousin of Ilsa’s with an uncanny resemblance to her but you grew up in the Vale, thus you don’t know how to speak Fleuridian. You’ve come to be sheltered here due to your parents’ untimely demise and your unwed status seeing as your husband also met an untimely end.”

She took another step to him and stopped, saying, “But don’t you see, Apollo? If I just go, no explanations have to be made.”

“You’re not going, Ilsa,” he denied.

She mimicked him, crossing her arms on her chest. “I’m not staying, Apollo.”

He was losing patience, not that he had much in the first place.

“It’s not safe,” he told her curtly.

“I was on the run from Pol for three years. Yes, this world is different but I think I can take care of myself.”

“I’ll remind you that you were on the run and he found you. When first I laid eyes on you, you were not doing so well at keeping yourself safe.”

She clamped her mouth shut and he knew his point was made.

So he moved on.

“It’s my duty—” he began to continue but she interrupted him.

“I’m not a duty. I’m a person.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“And I can work and I
can
take care of myself. And if I can’t, frankly, that’s none of your business. I’ll deal with that too.”

He tried a new tactic and asked, “And how will you feed yourself?”

“I haven’t decided yet but it isn’t like you don’t have restaurants, pubs. I’ll get a job as a waitress.”

His brows shot together and when she saw it, for some reason, she took a step back.

But he ignored that.

“A
barmaid?
” he asked, his voice dripping with derision and at the sound of it, her spine straightened so quickly, it was wonder he didn’t hear it snap.

“Yes,” she hissed. “A
barmaid,
” she mimicked his tone then defended her questionable choice of profession. “It’s honest work.”

“You’re an Ulfr,” he reminded her.

“Yes, that’s my last name given to me by a man I now detest so it’s a name I don’t want. And the other man who has that name, I don’t like all that much. So I’ll be going back to my maiden name and no one will even know I’m an Ulfr. Which is okay by me because the time that I was,”—she leaned in— “
all
of it,” she stressed, her meaning clear, “I didn’t like all that much.”

He didn’t like her meaning. Not at all.

And he didn’t hesitate to take issue with it.

“Did you suffer at my men’s hands?” he asked.

“No, they were awesome. Every last one. But
you
haven’t been all that great.”

“Well, you can rest in the knowledge, my dove, that you won’t have to concern yourself with me,” he returned. “I’ll be away to Bellebryn the minute I drop you at Karsvall.”

“That’s fabulous news,” she replied sarcastically. “But even if I don’t have to concern myself with you, I
do
have to concern myself with your children.”

This time he didn’t understand her meaning, but he knew he didn’t like it.

Therefore, he whispered, “Careful, Ilsa.”

“You know, I’ve lived for over a decade being careful,” she started conversationally then leaned in again and hissed, “And I’m
sick of it.
I’ve also been controlled by a man for over a decade and I’m”—she leaned in further— “
sick of that too.
”

He uncrossed an arm to throw it toward her, sweeping it up to indicate her body, and crossing it again before he stated, “You wear fine garments. You slept in the best cabin on the ship, your passage paid by me. You slept in the finest inns and ate the finest foods that could be found during your journey. I know. I ordered it and my men follow orders precisely. You look well, healthy and rested. Everything that has been done for you since you came to this world has been done with your protection, safety and comfort in mind. And you can talk for the next four days and not convince me you have not been
very
comfortable for the last
four months
all at my expense.”

“You brought me here, asshole,” she fired back. “And left me there.” She swept an arm out in the general direction of the Winter Sea, to the north, not Fleuridia, which was to the south, and she kept talking. “And, just saying, that’s how it all starts, all the good stuff with my
comfort
in mind. Then all the bad shit goes down that isn’t comfortable at all.”

His waning patience began to fade faster.

“I am not him, Ilsa,” he growled.

“No, but you throwing all that in my face says that you believe I’m beholden to you for giving me clothes and food and safe passage. Well, get this through your head, hot guy, you’re off the hook. Just let me go, you’ll never see me again and I won’t cost you another dime.”

“And for you to leave, you need the garments I purchased for you and a loan,” he reminded her, her head jerked and her eyes narrowed to a glare.

He had her.

He almost smiled.

Then she proved he didn’t.

“I’ll walk out of here naked, I don’t give a damn.”

He lifted one of his brows. “And die in the elements?”

“At least that’ll be my choice,” she snapped, uncrossing her arms and planting her hands on her hips.

Apollo drew in breath through his nose.

This was going too far. He had to rein it in.

He let his breath out and, in order to control their discussion, forcing calm, he stated, “We have an issue, you and I.”

“You think?” she asked sardonically.

“Let me finish,” he demanded quietly.

She took her hands from her hips and crossed them on her chest again.

He resumed speaking.

“You can’t see past him. I’m having difficulty seeing past her.”

Ilsa said nothing but a flash in her eyes indicated she agreed.

“Dark times are ahead for us all. It would take some time to explain this to you fully, but I will try to do what I can now.”

When he said no more, she nodded for him to go on and he did so.

“I know that magic is not practiced openly in your world. You may or may not know that it is here. And there are those who have amassed great amounts of power. One, in the Vale, so much she is considered a she-god.”

Her eyes widened at these words and he really wished she’d cease doing that.

With difficulty, he ignored it and kept speaking.

“And the ones of concern do not use their magic for good. Now, they have aligned themselves with a deposed ruler who no doubt has vengeance on his mind. They have also kidnapped the Cora of this world, who is not a good woman, but cold to her bones, selfish and deceitful. This is not a noble brew. They mean ill and they have the power to rain misfortune on the land, the kind of misfortune that has not ever been experienced in our world. The kind of misfortune anyone would hope would
never
be experienced in this world or any other.”

“Holy cow,” she breathed.