FREYA
The Gathering had developed into a full-fledged party.
The music was dizzying, and Freya found herself tossed amongst the crowd of fake smiles thanking her for her service to her people, wishing her luck for what was to come.
None of it mattered to her. She needed to find Aurik. Had he been behind selling her off to the wolves? What else was going on that she needed to know about?
As soon as there was a break in the crowd, she rushed to the dark alcove she had been hiding in at the beginning of the event. Freya attempted to catch her breath and to think about what had happened.
Aurik found her there. He pressed close to her side.
She looked up at him, not sure what to say but knowing she needed him.
âI know a place we can go talk, if youâd like to get out of here?â
Freya simply nodded and took his offered hand as he led her down a deserted hallway. Freya was thankful of the music fading away and the much-needed silence. She was still a little drunk and trying to collect her thoughts. How long had her father known of these plans? Whose idea was it?
For a while they walked along twisting and turning through the interior of the palace. If she had been asked, Freya would not have been able to find her way back through the labyrinth.
âThese are where the guest quarters are. Most are empty at the moment.â He opened a door to a quiet and clean room with a bright red bedspread.
âThank you for getting me out of there. I had no idea this was going to happen. My father didnât say anything.â Freya sat on the bed.
âFreya, I didnât know,â Aurik began with a groan. âI mean, I knew this is what they were planning, but I didnât know it would be you. I had no idea it was you. I met Lonan, but they never said your name.â
Freya looked up at the prince she had begun to think of as a friend, someone she cared about now. He sat way too close to her on the bed.
Freya slid away from him on the bed. âWhat happened? You agreed to give up one of us for peace?â
He ran a hand through his hair, making it stand on end. âOf course I agreed. We had to offer them something. The entire envoy decided on a marriage for peace. I brought the offer back to the Council, and they accepted. And I agreed when the random new member of the Council was asked if heâd give his only daughter. But they never stated it was you.â Now Aurik dropped to his knees in front of her, almost pleading. âI canât let them have you.â
Again, Aurik moved toward Freya, and this time she didnât move away. The champagne and shock of the day were draining every ounce of energy she had left. Aurik was still talking but she wasnât listening anymore. She was so drunk, so confused, and so sad.
She registered the feeling of the rich silk on the bed against her cheek as she lay back on the bed.
Her eyes opened when she felt his lips on hers. Aurik was kissing her, holding her in the strength of his arms.
She was surprised. It was her first kiss, and she kissed him back. It was awkward, but she could feel he liked her. She could feel from the way he kissed her that she meant something to him.
Aurikâs lips were leaving kisses all over her face and beginning to trace along her chin. He pulled the fabric of the dress down, kissing her neck and pulling her body up closer to meet the hardness of his.
This was going way too fast for her. She had no business going to bed with a prince. Not when she was promised to someone else.
âAurik,â she said.
His hand found its way under the bottom of her dress, moving up along the bare skin of her thigh.
Freyaâs heart stopped. The sound of his trouser belt unbuckling woke her out of her drunken fog.
âAurik, no. You have to stop. We canât do this.â She found the strength to push him away.
He moved back enough to let Freya sit up. She was grateful that he had stopped. She stared at Aurik in horror. How dare he?
âFreya, I never would have agreed if I knew it was you we were giving away. I canât let the beasts have you. If youâre mine, then the council canât give you away. They wouldnât dare give my mistress to the Vargar!â Aurik clenched his fists.
~Wait, his mistress? Sheâd heard kings had their dalliances on the side. Is that what he wanted of her? ~
~It wasnât what she wanted. She had thought she could be his friend.~
âThat decision was already made, Aurik, and you were involved in making that decision whether you knew it was me or not.â Freya whimpered as she started to inch back to the headboard.
âDo you not know that I love you, Freya? How can I let you go to those monsters like this? They donât deserve you. Theyâll ruin you!â Aurik was pleading. He reached his hand for Freya as his eyes softened.
She jumped from the bed and far away from the reach of the man that sheâd only thought of as a friend. She knew now that she would never love him in the way Raga had loved Alvyna.
Freya felt hot tears flow down her cheeks. Her back was to Aurik still on the bed. She straightened out her dress because she didnât want anyone to be able to look at her and guess that sheâd let someone touch her.
âAurik, claiming you love me wonât keep me from whatâs been decided and proclaimed in front of the entire court. You know that I have a duty to our people. And Iâll do what I must do to ensure their safety. Iâll never fight in a battle like my sister, but if I can protect the lives of others and avoid another war, I will absolutely do it.â
She paused to take a deep shaky breath. âBesides, we both know I will never belong at your side. You rescued me from my fall, and Iâm grateful for that. You can attempt to make me feel normal, make me feel like everyone else, but I never will be. They would mock you just as much as they do me if I were to become your mistress.â With a sense of finality, she hurried to the door.
She let it slam behind her as she fled.
Her head started hurting as she ran through the extensive palace halls. She had no idea how to find her way back to where her father was, or how to get home from here. She felt the familiar emptiness in her heart as she began to understand that perhaps Aurik never really saw her as a friend in the first place. Had this been what he had wanted from her all along?
It pained her to think that her first friend outside of her immediate family had only wanted a plaything. Freya couldnât keep the silent sobs at bay as she collapsed in a dark corner to weep.