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Joel hastily pulled his shirt back over his head just as Maisy and Eva bounded down the stairs. Before Nyana could stop her, Maisy grabbed the door handle and threw the door open.
Calle and Skaja stood on the other side. Uncertainty pursed his mouth. Peppered with fear and a glimmer of hope. Not once did his gaze pull away from the sweet little girl in front of him.
“Uncle Calle!” Maisy gasped and flew into his arms, and this time, Nyana didn’t try to separate them. “You’re here! I didn’t know you were coming. We just got back from visiting Grandpapa in the forest. The trees are this huge!” She held out her arms as far as they would go. “Papa Joel taught me how to ride a horse. And I got Sunweave to take a few steps all on my own!”
As she continued blabbering about their trip, Calle stooped to her level and watched her closely while Nyana clasped her hands to her chest. Waiting with a pounding heart. He ran his fingers over Maisy’s auburn locks while she continued to speak adamantly. He lifted her chin and gazed into her eyes. He turned her head to glance at her ears. And he watched her mouth move as she talked, each expression identical to his. Especially her smile.
She realized he was looking for the resemblance between them. And she knew he found it because his eyes misted over, and he pulled Maisy into an embrace.
“Oof!” Maisy mumbled against his shoulder. And then, “You smell like hot cocoa, Uncle Calle. Can we go to the palace today? I haven’t been there in forever. The kitchen used to make my hot cocoa with cinnamon. So yummy. Just like Papa Joel’s cinnamon pie!”
Calle’s throat bobbed as he swallowed and pulled away from the embrace. He didn’t ask for her permission this time as he said, “Yes. I think that sounds nice.”
His answer both relieved and terrified her.
At least until he lifted his head and met her eye across the room. “If you don’t have plans later.”
“We don’t,” she croaked.
He straightened. “Nyana, can we talk?”
A nervous breath whooshed from her lungs, and she nodded. “Outside would be best.” Away from Maisy.
“Aww,” Maisy pouted. “I want to go, too.”
“We’ll get hot cocoa with Calle after,” Nyana placated as she grabbed her cloak and slipped on her boots. She paused in the doorway and glanced over her shoulder at Joel for reassurance. He offered a nervous smile. Though, she wasn’t sure if his nervousness stemmed from her speaking to Calle or leaving him alone with a man-killing valkyrie in their home.
At last, she shut the door behind herself and took a deep breath of the chilly winter air. Snow crunched beneath her boots as they walked side by side in silence. Down the path leading from her home, but close enough to stay within view of both Joel and Skaja.
She lifted her gaze from the snowy path and peeked over at Calle. Dark circles lined his eyes, giving away his exhaustion as if he hadn’t slept much last night. His brows furrowed together, his mouth pursed as if he searched for the words to say.
“There is so much I want to talk about,” he finally said, a cloudy breath escaping his mouth. “We never got the chance. I was too afraid.”
“Me too,” she admitted.
Their steps slowed, but he kept his attention fixed to the snow when he spoke again. “I thought about you every day in the Pits. I thought you were dead. I had nothing left to live for.”
“I know the feeling… If it hadn’t been for Maisy and Eva…”
She swallowed.
They shared a few moments of empathetic silence.
“I don’t want to speak of it,” she finally whispered. “It’s too hard.”
Calle grimaced and scuffed his boot through white powder. “I understand better than you know. There are some things I can’t tell Skaja. She would listen and understand. But I can’t go back to that dark place. It was horrifying.”
A sheen lay within his eyes when he met her gaze. She wondered if her expression mimicked his. Different trials. Same lonely, brutal heartache.
“And then Skaja saved you. From the Pits.”
He nodded. “Skaja is my everything.” His gaze searched hers. “But forgive me if I hurt you.”
What strange yet somehow comforting words. “Calle, I was not ready for you. I was injured and broken in so many ways. I was relieved that we would not go down that road again.”
The stiffness in his shoulders visibly relaxed. But when he began shuffling his feet again as he bit his lip, she knew Maisy weighed on his heart. “And then you married Joel.” A kick of white powder. “It threw me for a loop. I hadn’t known you and Joel were courting.” He raised an eyebrow and looked at her from the corner of his eye. “Because you weren’t.”
She decided on the truth. “No. But I wish we were from the beginning. Joel is my everything.” Her voice lowered into a husky whisper. “I owe him everything. I love him.”
