“I sought your mother after Gersemi’s death, but we couldn’t get through. So I went to Skadi. She was living a quiet life in the human realm, having relinquished the throne to your mother. Itwas far from all of this, and I was too grief-stricken to raise another baby. The last I saw him was when I left him with her at the Hall.”
“Does he know?”
“He will soon,” she answers, stroking a finger down the image of her daughter’s face. “Torin’s gone to tell him.”
I know the shock he will feel, having gone through it with my own parents. I need to be with him. Freya looks back up at me. A small smile grows on her face, understanding in her gaze.
“Go,” she urges.
I stride swiftly towards the oak doors. Books slam shut, and a chair grates along the marble floor as Luna and Mina stand to follow.
Torin is in the dining hall when we walk in. He sits alone at the long table. His head is lowered between his shoulders. There’s an eerie stillness surrounding him.
I want to run to him, to comfort him.
“Torin?” My voice floats across the table.
His stoic face lifts to mine, there’s a bleariness to his eyes.
“Did you tell him?”
He nods.
I take a step closer, resting my hand on his shoulder.
Tears slip down his face. Mina, Luna, and Freya give us a pretense of privacy as they stand behind me.
“Did he not take it well?”
Torin clears his throat and shrugs. “Better than you’d expect.”
Lilah, the young girl who usually serves my plate, slides a plate in front of Torin. It’s Lachlan’s sandwich he had made for us at our last family dinner.
Torin smiles at his plate before grabbing it and standing. “I’ll eat this on the terrace. I could use some fresh air, and he should be in shortly.”
I dip my chin. “As you wish.”
Torin smiles in return before walking out of the dining hall. There’s a lightness in his gait, as if the magic is easing his tired joints. I wish it would have healed Gran. I stop that thought right in its tracks.
The rest of the women take their seats and servants place plates of food in front of us.
“Torin didn’t look too much older than Lachlan the last time I saw him,” Freya says.
“That’s what happens when you live in the human realm,” I respond between bites of lingonberries. If I had been quicker at restoring magic, would she still be here?
“Is that where your mother raised you?”
I nod and try to quiet the whirlwind of thoughts. “Doyouknow why she left Idirhalla?”
Freya’s brows crease as she studies me. “I heard rumors it was because of your father’s family. They had attempted to assassinate them both. But that was a century ago. There’s no telling if that’s the truth.”
“A century ago?” My heart pounds in my chest.
“I don’t know all the details.” She waves me off.
“I’m 21. Wouldn’t they have aged like Torin and Gran?”
Freya nods, chewing a bite of her food and swallowing. “Yes. But I don’t think they were in the human realm the whole time. We came here after the mists appeared to speak with her about them, but we found Odessa on the throne. She told us they were out looking for answers.”
