Siren Slave (31 page)

“This had better be good.” Freya looked away, and Siegfried knew what she must be thinking. If swan wings made them think she was demonic, what if they knew the truth?

“I hung around for a little while to see what was happening. My first gift is information. Pompey’s put Odilia in charge, Chieftess of the Remi. That is no real surprise. I’ve snuck back to Folkvang a few times. They are searching everyone. I had to hide in a cart filled with goats, but it was worth it. People are disappearing. The Romans come in the night, and no one knows what happens to them. Executions possibly. But Roman ships are always leaving, so some are probably taken to Rome as slaves.”

Freya sniffed, her gaze distant. “Not all of them. Some are being sacrificed in those catacombs. The catacombs from which Siegfried rescued me.” That’s where the “disappearing” prisoners had gone to, the catacombs for Odilia’s sacrifices.

“Second gift, proscription lists.” Hartwin reached into his fur cape and removed a roll of parchment. He seemed in a hurry to distract Freya from her anger.

“Proscription, Freya, is a Roman practice,” Siegfried said. “They place any dissidents or anyone they don’t like on the lists. These people are stripped of their property and often executed.” He grabbed the lists from Hartwin, poring over them. Etainen’s name was on the list, so this had been written before they’d discovered the real Etainen on the
River Queen,
when the list’s writers would have believed Siegfried was Etainen
.
He did not know most of the people listed, except Hedwig. Near the top, under his real name, was Freya’s.

“Oh, good, there I am,” she said. “I would’ve felt left out if I wasn’t included. Not like it matters if I’ve been proscribed or whatever with these Marks.” She gave a shrug.

“The last gift is one that should make you happy.” Hartwin patted her thigh. Siegfried wondered when he was going to rest his head there. “In a leather sack in the tent, you’ll find all the scrolls I could take. I couldn’t get them all. I tried.”

“He snuck into your chamber,” Faramund said. “After it was searched. Odilia had some of your scrolls sent to Rome.”

“A few Romans took some of them, too,” Hartwin said apologetically. “They’re being read around fires at night.”

“Oh, no. Please tell me you’re jesting.” Freya’s face was scarlet, and she sounded panicked. He felt her shame through their link.

“I’ll fetch you more stew,” Hartwin said. “Eat something.”

Aye, Hartwin. I imagine you’re very good at fetching.

“The stuff in your mattress was burned,” Hartwin said. “They were wondering how you could sleep on it.” Freya’s humiliation deepened. She lowered her head, hands tangled in the hair at her temples.

“What was in those scrolls and the mattress?” Siegfried asked. She was still hiding more from him?

“Shit,” Hartwin said. “No, shit wasn’t in her mattress. That’s not what I meant. Sorry again, Freya. I keep messing up.” He spooned her stew in a fresh bowl and brought it to her. “Here. If you need more, tell me.”

“Where is Hilde?” Siegfried asked him. Was Hilde aware Hartwin was in love with Freya?

“Hilde?” Hartwin said. “Who’s that?”

“You’re not seeing her any longer?” Freya asked, lifting her head to face Hartwin. She turned to Siegfried. “Hartwin has a lot of women lusting after him. Has to beat them off with a stick. He’s bad at remembering their names.”

“So he has you pick up sex items to use on women who mean nothing to him. I see.”

“Oh,
that
Hilde,” Hartwin said. “I found her between two Romans, so I no longer know her name. No wonder she asked for that item.” He shot Freya a helpless look.

The man was a horrible liar. So what
was
Freya doing with a double-edged phallus? She was a virgin, but was she really
that
curious? He’d address this with Freya when they were alone.

“Siegfried,” Hecate said. “Come. Now. No one is going to harm Freya.”

He didn’t want to leave Freya, but he followed her mother some distance from the rock, then leaned against a tree, arms folded over his chest, legs spread, as if he were aboard the deck of the
River Queen.

“I believe it’s time I explain a few things,” Hecate said. She faced him, calm, the raven tresses billowing around her waist in a nonexistent breeze.

“That is an understatement.”

“Unicorns, they know things beyond the obvious. I know you’ve come in contact with Enbarr’s magic. It was Enbarr’s prophecy that made us wait for Freya in the Dark Wood to gift her with her true name. He trusts you greatly if he told me to give
her to you. Gave you the ability to remove the wards I placed.”

“How can you pretend to be at peace with what the Druids did to your daughter?”

“You would complain when life granted you a boon, wouldn’t you?” She raised a black brow. “I spoke, as I said, with Enbarr. Freya has an advantage I do not, in some ways. She will not have to fear losing control any longer, will not have to be afraid of herself. Perhaps, had I not been afraid, Balor would have won that war. She won’t be afraid, because she has you.”

“Enbarr’s prophecy will answer any further questions of yours.
Dark and light hang in balance. The white horse clashes with the red-tailed equine. The spider weaves its web in corners of Shadow. She of the Lightning Fangs bleeds for a cold throne. Only Wave Walker can ride the storm.”

Siegfried paced, holding out his hands. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? Dark and light? It sounds like a child’s story, a war of good and evil. White and red horses, spiders. Lightning Fangs?”

“Light and dark hang in balance—the autumnal equinox. That was the day you came. The white horse clashes with the red-tailed equine—the white horse of the Remi and the horse-ass helms of the Romans, as Freya calls them. Freya is She of the Lightning Fangs. I thought that part would be easy for you to decipher. The spider…could be Odilia. Or it could be Freya’s fey enemy. Shadow in the prophecy is capitalized. Odilia is something of a sorceress and is using dark magic, we call it Oblivion. To the unicorns, it’s Shadow.”

He grimaced. Oblivion… “How do I fit into some prophecy?” He reminded himself he could take Freya and walk away, Lightning Fangs or not. He’d already faced Lightning Fangs. He glared at Hecate, studying the sharp chin, the heart-shaped face, the eyes so murky a green they appeared black. “No matter what you say then, I’ve already played my part.”

“Stop pacing.” She glided towards him, gray skirts rustling behind her. “A cold throne, the Frost Throne in Asgard, her father’s kingdom. She and Balder are Woden’s only two heirs.”

“So, it’s Loki, her uncle then,” he said. “Possibly working with the many others who dislike you. Doesn’t her father know about any of this? Should he not take action against Loki?” Siegfried stared down Hecate, but the way she carried herself made him feel as if she were towering over him.

“When you meet Woden, you’ll understand. Or perhaps he will confuse you more whilst simultaneously infuriating you.” Her red lips twisted into an irritated grimace. “We are going to have to protect her without Woden’s help for now.

“I’ve heard many unicorn prophecies in my time. When they say She of the Lightning Fangs will bleed, it seems to imply that she will die.” She paused, probably to let those words sink in. It was so quiet here, not even the sound of the wind passing through the boughs of the trees, as if all the world had grown silent to listen to these words. “Immortals can be slain, you understand. You’ve seen she can still be injured.”

Siegfried turned to rest his back against the rough bark of a dead pine. The crunching of the leaves under his boots was startling in the quiet.

“Often these prophecies have a part that can alter another.” Hecate closed the distance between them, looking directly into his eyes. “Her life seems to depend upon some role you will play. You already see Balder is not much of a leader. He is playing his role here poorly. He’s hardly acclimated you to the world of the fey. We thought you might trust him given his…non-threatening demeanor. I’m fulfilling my role and keeping him safe, considering his hall has been struck by assassins, too. If Woden would name an heir, there would be so much less difficulty, worrying about only one being knifed. But Woden does not trouble himself over such things. Fool thinks he is invincible. Bah.”

The more he learned of Freya’s father, the less he liked him. Hecate was before him, giving him a mother’s plea. Though that plea sounded more like an order.

“Before you think me cold, Enbarr added his own magic when you and Freya made your pledges, his own blessing. You’ll know if she’s in danger. You’ll be able to intervene.” She looked away and sighed, appearing oddly vulnerable. That only lasted for the duration of the sigh. She faced him, all business again.

“As Enbarr explained it, it’s different than what happened to our people during the Great War. You are the furthest thing from a tyrant, Siegfried. Freya respects you. The same could hardly be said of my people and their…masters.” She snarled the word, her teeth lengthening. “She can feel your emotions and your pain as much as you can feel hers or will be able to once the two of you establish your bond. Enbarr has assured me this will make the two of you stronger.”

“Are you reassuring me or yourself?”

“Both,” she answered with no hesitation.

“I am not a pawn, nor is Freya. Not for you or the horse.” He’d take his lusty little slave aboard his ship. He’d keep her safe from human metal. She’d help him scuttle ships, and he’d…he’d do what? Give her soup?

She rested her hands on her hips. “Freya will be an enemy of Shadow and those who wield it, Siegfried. There are several prophecies about Lightning Fangs. Her dragon form is very obviously a Lightning Fangs. Aside from helping her fit in better amongst the fey, I placed those wards to keep that a secret until the right time. Now she’s used that ability. Hedwig, thank gods for her, at least did some damage control. But I don’t want those risks taken again. That ability cannot be wasted.”

Siegfried knew exactly what she meant. He remembered Freya’s roar against the thunder of the storm she’d conjured, the water sluicing along her feathers as she lit up the night with lightning. He could not help but smile when he remembered Merrick crushed between her jaws.

Hecate’s nostrils flared. “If a dragon is needed, I will do my best to be that dragon. I got your men out of the palace. Tales are whispered amongst those in Folkvang of some demonic creature with red eyes. I don’t think anyone is so frightened as the cleaning staff that had to scrape the victims from the stones. At the very least, Odilia should know she has angered someone. I only regret my journey did not take me to her.” Her eyes flashed a brilliant red. Her nails lengthened into claws for a moment.

“I hate to intervene so openly because I don’t want to remind people of the Fomori legacy. People forget. Time dulls memory. But even after centuries, my powers still respond to anger. Balder isn’t strong enough to handle her. Hedwig is, well…she and Freya would just get drunk. Freya needs guidance, and you have a strong will for a mortal, as you’ve proven.” She rested a chilled hand on Siegfried’s shoulder. “You’re cold and calculating, but she listens to you. I see why Enbarr chose you. I see why
she
did. Perhaps you might be the one to help Woden make his decision. You’re a leader.”

“I want Folkvang, not Asgard.”
Asgard? How have I gone from wanting to free tribesmen to becoming a contender for
Asgard’s
throne?
“I don’t think she wants much to do with the fey either.”

“Your mortal life will end long before Woden’s. You needn’t worry about that. You just need to ride the storm.”

He clenched his fists and stepped away from the pine. “Don’t tell me what I need to worry about. I’m a man, not a tool to be used and cast aside.” Was that the role they expected of him? To assist Freya in whatever she was supposed to do? But what happened to Freya if he was gone?

“Good. You don’t want that then. That’s what I was hoping. Freya will need you much longer than a human lifespan.”

Yes, his
mortal
life would end long before Woden’s. Hecate was a cryptic one. And she was managing to manipulate him. But a forever
riding the storm?

“Needs for those like Freya can become overpowering to distraction,” she continued, and he hoped she could not see where his thoughts were. Not because he feared Hecate, but because she was Freya’s mother. “I imagine it’s much worse for her now that she has her powers…and that curse. No, you’re needed for much more than stud service, Siegfried. Perhaps the Frost Throne eventually.”

He must stick with the course he had charted for himself. Hecate’s words only convinced him of it. He pushed the thoughts of Freya’s smile, of their shared laughter, of their lusty moments from his head. He focused, instead, on his own self-loathing, recalling Julia’s lip curl, the chains he loathed on his own limbs.

“Siegfried,” Hecate said before he could walk away. “I need you to make a decision.”

He leaned against an alder, knocking loose some yellow leaves that slipped to join the others at his boots. “Oh?”

“This isn’t a casual decision. This decision will impact the future of many. I need you to think on this.” Hecate stepped closer. “You have control over my daughter whose life will last long beyond yours under the current circumstances. As soon as you’re gone, she’ll either go insane or another can take control.”

Hecate’s offer of immortality came in a skin that looked like any ordinary wineskin, save for a slip of parchment attached.

“Do you want to be helpless or do you want greater power?” A long nail stroked the skin and he felt temptation. To have powers like Freya… Power.

“Neither,” he answered. “I don’t trust myself with that kind of power.”

“Oh?” She raised a black brow. “Good. Then you answered correctly. I knew you would. Make a choice, Siegfried.”

“Wisdom,” he said, already knowing the contents. The substance that had given Balder immortality.

“Yes. Enbarr has already told me you’ve been angry with yourself that Freya’s had to do so much to keep the both of you alive. You are part of this as much as any of us. You’ve taken custody of Freya. I haven’t had time to speak with her on this, but she will not be able to linger too long in the mortal realm. None of us really belong here, not to stay.”