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She risked a sad smile in his direction. “I know that. You don’t need to keep apologizing. I do believe you, Jael.”
His name fell so naturally from her lips, she wondered why she hadn’t used it more often.
Something gleamed in his eyes that she couldn’t quite interpret, but it vanished and left him looking haggard and pensive. “We should talk about what happened.”
The gardens grew a little colder. She rubbed her arms to ward off the unease. “Yes.”
“The problem is: I’m not sure what happened.” He fingered his untidy hair before locking his hands behind his back again. He stared down one of the garden paths with an intent, brooding air.
She drew a careful breath and considered her words. “The children,” she said with a slight hesitation, “were they actually in our dream? Was it even a dream? It wasn’t. Was it?”
He didn’t have to answer because she knew it wasn’t just a dream. At least, it was more than a normal nightmare. They had both been in it, both been aware of it, and when they woke up...
They had been together. At some point, she had gotten out of her bed, and he left his own room and found his way to her and the children.
He exhaled. “It felt real. But the goblinborn...I don’t see how they could have been with us. They aren’t bonded to the Bifrost. They shouldn’t have been a part of our dream.”
“But I could hear them,” she whispered. She clenched her chilly fingers together and wished she hadn’t left them in the water so long. “I couldn’t see them, but I knew they were there.”
“I never saw them.” He shifted to cross his arms over his bulky chest. “I thought it was the shadows trying to deceive us.”
“I don’t think so.” She sucked on her lower lip for a moment before continuing. “At least, not entirely. The children had some awareness of what happened. Rig knew about us closing the door. And I’ve never discussed my nightmares with them. How could they know about any of the details if they weren’t a part of it?”
He faced her squarely and studied her with a frown. “Have you had many dreams like this?” He sounded stern, almost angry.
She wanted to come to her defense: it wasn’t like she asked to have horrible nightmares that may or may not be real. Instead, she only nodded. “They started when I touched the Bifrost. They’re getting worse, though. The first time it felt like a normal nightmare, but now...”
“They’re becoming reality.” He held her gaze and maintained that severe frown. “But is it because of our bond to the Bifrost, or because the shadows are getting stronger? Or have they somehow found a way to use the Bifrost to cross from wherever they are to our world?”
“Can the Bifrost do that?”
“I don’t know. It’s not impossible. I mean, the Bifrost is a bridge between the mortal world and the unseen world. It would not be unreasonable that it might also bridge to other unseen worlds.”
“Like a world filled with evil shadows?” she asked, a little wryly.
He inclined his head. “Unfortunately, so, it would seem.”
“So, what do we do about it? How do we ‘close the door’ on them permanently? Keep them from using the Bifrost to get to us and the children?”
Jael’s lips parted, but no sound came out. They stood there in the middle of the garden, facing one another with only two feet of space between them. Her skin crawled with the awareness of his presence, of him. She couldn’t deny the pull he had on her. For some reason, her spirit wanted to like him, to be near him.
Dare she even admit her heart wanted this as well? Was it the pull of the Bifrost? That must be it, of course. She was sensing the pull of the magic binding them together.
He took a step closer and dropped his arms to his sides. She hitched her breath but held herself still, caught in the spell he wrapped around her. Somewhere nearby, a dragonet trilled its sweet song.
“The children,” she whispered, “how do we protect the children?”
Jael tipped his head to one side, but rather than appear deflected by her blatant attempt to shift the focus from herself, he grew more interested.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said at last as he lifted one hand and trailed his fingers from her elbow down her arm. His inquisitive touch brushed down her forearm and over the back of her hand before pulling away. “I will do anything to protect you and the children.”
Her heart stuttered and dropped. Skadi’s breath!
This was the first time she had ever heard him refer to the goblinborn as children, and the way he tenderly said it, as if he sincerely meant to protect them, that he wanted to, that he cared about them, about her...
She could love him for that.
Skadi help her, she could love him so much.
