Fantasyland 03 Fantastical (48 page)

He was totally a hands-on Dad.

Something which I liked, like,
a
lot
.

I could definitely say that my hot husband
went off-the-charts hot when he was with his son.

Definitely.

It was also safe to say that Tor was
relieved my pregnancy was over. Although I had an easy one, some
morning sickness just after we arrived back from my world, but that
was it, my labor and delivery was not Tor’s happiest memory even if
the end result was spectacular (what could I say? – our son was
gorgeous).

Actually, it wasn’t that bad, although the
labor lasted for eight hours which definitely sucked. But the
midwife explained that amount of time was not unusual and the
delivery didn’t take long at all (though it felt, at the time, like
it took freaking
years
).

My prince, however, did not like to see me
in pain and since he didn’t leave my side from start to finish, he
had hours of it, just like me. Furthermore, his father had lost
three wives, his mother had died while having him, my mother nearly
died while having my sister and my sister
did
die.
Therefore, my cries, moans, whimpers and, eventually, shouts were
pure torture to him and he did not hide it. Through it, I did my
best to make him understand it was all natural but considering I
was going through labor and having a baby without fun stuff like
drugs, I wasn’t very successful in these endeavors.

I didn’t like that he so clearly suffered
right along with me (maybe, if it could be believed, he’d suffered
more).

But still, I loved him all the more for
it.

And although relieved my pregnancy was over,
that didn’t mean at his earliest opportunity after Hayden made his
entrance into this world, Tor didn’t go about another attempt, or,
I should say, spectacularly going about a
number
of
regular
attempts (as usual) to get me that way again.

When we were out of earshot and up the first
four of the curving, marble stairs, I whispered, “Honey, what’s
–?”

He cut me off, eyes forward, arms still
engaged in cradling his son and holding me close, “We’ve had
disturbing news, my love.”

Damn.

“What’s that?” I asked and Tor didn’t answer
until we were at the top of the stairs and several feet down the
wide hall.

There, he stopped me and curled me into his
front so my son, my prince and me were all in a close huddle.

This, normally, would make me feel great. At
the troubled look in Tor’s beautiful blue eyes, I didn’t feel
great.

I lifted a hand and rested it on the wall of
his hard chest just as I slid my other arm around his waist in a
successful effort to make our huddle closer.

“Frey Drakkar and Apollo Ulfr of Lunwyn and
King Lahn of Korwahk are all here,” he told me and I blinked.

I knew of Lunwyn and I knew of Korwahk. In
fact, I knew quite a bit about both considering much had happened
in Lunwyn (the icy country to the far north of the continent where
Hawkvale was), the former Middleland (which had been its own
country until a recent war meant it reverted back to Lunwyn) and,
obviously, Korwahk. Tales had spread widely of what had gone down
in Lunwyn, Middleland and Korwahk and all of this had something
directly or indirectly to do with the now deposed and really not
well-liked King Baldur of the former Middleland who was currently
in exile on some island somewhere.

I also knew of these places because,
obviously, Circe of my world was the Korwahk Queen.

“Why are they here?” I asked.

He took in breath through his nose but
didn’t lose eye contact before he started, “Firstly, I have just
received the news that Frey, who is a long time friend of mine, is
wed to the Ice Princess of Lunwyn.”

I nodded, knowing this including the fact
that Frey Drakkar was a friend of Tor’s and also knowing he sounded
like one seriously cool dude considering he commanded dragons
(awesome!) and elves (also awesome!) and he was like a Viking or
something to boot. Further, everyone had heard of him and the
Princess of Lunwyn considering their love match was a tale told far
and wide seeing as their marriage was arranged and yet, within
months, they were clearly, obviously and unguardedly head over
heels in love.

Tor went on, “That isn’t the news, Cora, the
news is, I learned from Frey that Princess Sjofn, he calls her
Finnie,” his arm gave me a squeeze and his voice dipped low, “she
is of your world.”

I blinked and felt my lips part.

Then I whispered, “No joke?”

Some of the intensity in his eyes shifted as
his lips twitched and he whispered back, “No joke, love.”

“Wow,” I breathed.

Cool!

He gave me another squeeze and the intensity
came back into his eyes as he continued, “You will meet her very
soon. As you will meet Circe, who came with Dax Lahn. They’re all
in my study.”

This time, my mouth dropped open.

Cool!

Tor kept talking, “They do not come with
good tidings, Cora.”

My mouth snapped shut and my heart
squeezed.

Then I whispered, “What?”

His head dipped closer as his arm held me
and our son closer and he said gently, “Those who hold magic in
Korwahk and Lavinia of Lunwyn, a very powerful witch, received word
from the gods. These were promptly communicated to Dax Lahn and
Frey with all due haste.”

Word from the gods? The gods of this world
talked to people?

I had no chance to ask this but Tor answered
it anyway. “This is highly unusual, in fact, I have never heard of
this happening before, my love, not ever.”

Oh boy.

Tor kept going. “Not knowing the others had
received like communications, due to what was communicated, they
all immediately moved to come here to meet with me to form an
alliance at the same time sending out several scouts to ascertain
if the information the gods communicated is correct.”

“What information?”

Tor did not hesitate to reply. “The
information that Baldur has escaped his island and aligned with
Minerva and two malevolent witches of Hawkvale. They have seized
Cora, the Exquisite for reasons we do not currently know and they
are very close to instigating some nefarious plan, the results of
which they hope to achieve, we also do not know.”

I stared at him as my body got tight.

Then I asked, “Was the information
correct?”

He held my eyes and said carefully, “The one
scout who returned, a Korwahk warrior, confirmed it was.”

The
one
scout?

Oh my God.

“Tor,” I whispered, pressing closer to him
and our still sleeping son.

“These witches are known, Cora,” he told me
softly. “They are not good women. They have been watched and it is
known they have been amassing power for decades. We are not unaware
of this situation.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Yes, love, it is. What is not good is that
we
have
been taken unaware by their recent movements which
were entirely covert. Further, we have no idea what they intend to
do, we have no idea why they have taken Cora, the allegiances they
have made are more than a little concerning, including Baldur, who
was not a good man before by any stretch of the imagination but who
now more than likely has vengeance on his mind, and, lastly, they
hold massive power.”

I closed my eyes.

“Sweets, eyes,” Tor whispered so I opened
them. “Lavinia of Lunwyn is also very powerful. So is Frey, the
power at his command is beyond anything considering he controls the
dragons and commands the elves. And lastly, Lavinia has called to a
witch of your world, a woman named Valentine, a woman Lavinia says
is the most powerful witch she’s ever seen. She is also a woman who
has agreed, for payment, to help.”

“Well that’s good too, isn’t it?” I
semi-repeated.

Tor nodded.

I slightly relaxed.

Tor kept going, “Over the months since our
return from your world, I have also received many reports that
Minerva is weakened, significantly. The power it takes to move
beings between the different worlds as well as the armies of
vickrants and toilroys she was forced to create when she was
playing with us has reduced her to her weakest in centuries.”

I relaxed a bit more and whispered,
“Good.”

“Further,” Frey continued, “my warriors have
had years of peace but they are warriors. Even in peace, they train
and keep sharp. And they know battle, they also know triumph. They,
too, are formidable.”

I relaxed more and nodded.

Tor wasn’t done. “And Frey’s men are also
highly trained in a variety of ways, including using daggers, bows
and swords but also cunning and stealth.”

I sighed, relaxed even more and nodded yet
again.

Tor still wasn’t done. “And Frey’s cousin,
Apollo, is a revered strategist.”

“So we’re good,” I whispered and I felt him
still so I instantly went back to not relaxed.

“I fear, sweets, we face war and in war,
until victory is achieved, you never make the mistake of thinking
you are…” he hesitated then finished, “good.”

Damn.

His head dipped so his forehead was touching
mine and he murmured, “I do not wish to concern you but I do need
to prepare you.”

I sucked in my lips and nodded again, my
forehead rolling against his, his arm gave me a squeeze and he
lifted his head an inch but held my eyes.

“It does not escape me, Cora, or the men in
my study, that we are all married to women from your world, our
feelings for our mates run unusually deep and the loss of any one
of you would be devastating not only to us, your husbands, but also
to each of our countries. For the gods of the countries of Korwahk
and Lunwyn to speak to the witches of these places and warn them of
what is happening in Hawkvale, instruct them to come to our aid…”
he trailed off.

I held my breath.

Tor finished, “Frey, Lahn and I, as well as
Apollo and Lavinia, feel this is not a coincidence.”

I let my breath out on the guess, “Minerva
isn’t done with us.”

He confirmed my guess. “Minerva isn’t done
with us. In fact, sweets, I would assume our victory over her and
her carefully laid plans, the amount of power she had to use and
still not win, is sticking in her throat. And Baldur is not done
with Frey, Finnie, Circe and Lahn, all of whom he holds deep
antipathy for for a variety of reasons. But there is more, this is
larger than both Minerva and Baldur, we just do not know how large
it is or what, if anything, it has to do with you, Circe and
Finnie.”

Great. Just great.

“So, what now?” I asked.

He studied me a moment.

Then he said, “Now, you meet your
compatriots, their husbands, their children and then you amuse the
women, as only you can do, while the men prepare for war.”

Great.
Just
great.

Still, on the bright side, I was looking
forward to meeting Circe and this new chick, Finnie. Spending time
with folks from home would be awesome.

And anyway, I was a princess and, someday, I
would be queen, I was also a warrior’s wife (and a part-time
warrior princess not too long ago) so I had to suck it up.

Not every minute could be a fairytale even
in a fantasyland, I’d learned that the hard way.

So, I sucked in breath, pulled slightly away
from my husband, bent to kiss my (still! he was such a good baby)
sleeping son’s forehead, squared my shoulders and through this, I
held his gaze.

Then I said, “All right, baby, let’s go do
this. I’ll amuse the girls so you boys can plan to kick some bad
guy ass.”

Tor stared at me a moment before his eyes
warmed with a light that could only be described as proud right
before he started to chuckle.

Then he leaned in, brushed his lips against
mine, turned and guided me to his study.

The double doors were opened and we walked
right through, took two steps in then we stopped.

And, for my part, I stared.

And I did this because there were three men
in that room that were hotter than hot. Tor, of course, beat them
all in the hot department (mostly because he was my husband) but
not by much.

Lahn was huge, dark, fierce and, I will
repeat,
huge.
Frey was only slightly less huge and fierce,
dark-haired, brown-green-eyed (or green-brown-eyed, I couldn’t say
which, exactly, but I could say I could happily spend some time
trying to figure it out, up close, if I already didn’t have my own
hot guy who ruled a city-state and would eventually rule a nation)
and g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s
gorgeous.
And Apollo was also slightly
less huge but no less fierce looking than Lahn, green-eyed
(definitely green, gorgeous green,
unbelievable
green) and
h-a-n-d-s-o-m-e
handsome
.

And there were also three women and
considering their men held two of them closely, protectively, the
same as Tor was right then holding me, I knew which ones were
Finnie (white-blonde hair, ice blue eyes, stunning, wearing
breeches, boots and an old-fashioned shirt, her husband cradling a
baby just like mine was doing with ours) and Circe (gold hair, gold
eyes, beautiful, wearing a kickass sarong (a sarong!) sandals, a
thin-knit, short-sleeved sweater type thing, really cool jewelry
and she
and
her big husband were cradling babies, his
swaddled baby had blonde hair, hers had black).

And after taking them all in, including
Lavinia of Lunwyn who wasn’t claimed in a close cinch by a hot goy,
it was Circe whose eyes I caught.

And when I did, I smiled and whispered,
“Harold says hi.”

Then I watched her remarkable eyes get
bright and her big, badass, hide-shirted, hide-pants wearing, sword
bearing, knife belt sporting husband pulled her even more
protectively closer as she smiled back.