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“The queen consort…”
“Former.” Jarnsaxa corrected. “Usually those who taste power have difficulties giving it up.” She then pointed to a small Titan boy by Liv's side, his curly white hair and innocent expression reminding me of one of Botticelli's angels. "That's Magnus, Radorgrin's fourth and youngest son." I recognized him as the boy that had been playing with Thor and Loki lately.
"Ah, so that's who he is," I murmured, watching the boy with interest. "I've seen him around."
"Radorgrin's other children, including his first-born son Ragnar, are hidden away at Thorsten's home, Élivágar Castle," Jarnsaxa continued, her eyes narrowing as she observed Liv. "Don't be surprised if Liv has some scheme up her sleeve to ensure her own son becomes King when this war is over."
I frowned, finding it hard to believe that anyone could focus on such petty power plays amidst the chaos of war. "Thorsten plans to remain King until the war is over," I said firmly. "Then the nobles can install whomever they want. We have bigger problems right now than royal power plays."
Jarnsaxa laughed softly. "Nobles will always keep their minds busy with little schemes. It's how they function. But they're like kittens compared to the Titans in Jötun – pampered and used to getting their way this lot, so it's easy to steamroll them. Let them know that you are the Sage who survived Innangard and flaunt it well. All Sages do."
"Thanks for the advice," I replied with a small chuckle. "But right now, we need to focus on coming together as a family."
As if on cue, Loki tugged at my sleeve, his eyes wide with excitement. "Papa, can I play with that kid over there?" he asked, pointing at Magnus.
"Alright," I agreed, taking Loki by the hand and leading him over to Liv and Magnus. Liv looked up in surprise as I approached, her expression unreadable.
"Your son's been playing with mine," I said with a friendly smile, trying to break the ice. "I'm glad they're getting along. After all, we're family." I glanced at the two boys, who eagerly ran off to play together during the party.
Liv nodded, her face softening. "You're right," she said quietly. "None of this is what I wanted, with Radorgrin hurt and...well you know the rest.... But there's no reason why we can't get along."
I noticed Thor and Janus getting along well too. The boys truly were fitting in and making friends here much faster then back in the human world. Liv studied me for a moment before speaking again. "I must say, I'm impressed you woke up from the Innangard. It wasn't meant for you to awaken."
"I understand that much,"
"Good, we'll get along better if you're not entirely stupid."
"Did you have something to do with Váli proposing that so called trial?" I asked shocked.
Liv seemed taken aback by my bluntness, but then she smiled. "Let's speak plainly to one another, and leave the politicking to everyone else. My eldest son Ragnar should be next in line if Thorsten and Radorgrin fail to find the other members of the royal family."
The fact that she spoke passed it had pretty much given me my answer. "Threaten me all you like," I said, my voice low but firm. "But if you threaten my children, whether a crown sits on your boy's head will be the least of your problems."
Liv looked shocked, her eyes wide. "When I first saw you, Your Highness, you seemed like a frightened mouse. Who knew you had such teeth?" She paused, then smiled genuinely. "We might actually get along yet."
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
KAL
The celebration went on from morning into the evening, and it showed no sign of winding down. I was introduced to more Titan nobles who welcomed me warmly, but the party had been going on for hours, and Thorsten and I were growing tired. We finally decided to retreat with our boys to our royal chambers.
The interior of the chambers was spartan, and Thorsten was eager to remind me that Hrungnir Keep was an old castle fortress built for defense. There weren't many luxuries to be found. The bath water came from a nearby cold spring, so we had to heat up the tubs before we could bathe. The toilets didn'tflush well either; you had to pour water from the tub into the toilet just to flush the contents down.
None of that mattered to me. All I cared about was that we were all together and safe. Even my dad was gonna pull through, so you can imagine how happy that made me.
We put the boys to bed, all of us exhausted from the party and the voyage to here. We put the boys to bed in their private room and quickly made our way to our own. As we settled in, we heard the sound of ravens. I looked up and spotted two ravens sitting on the rafters. I chuckled, so I really wasn't seeing things! They were Huginn and Muninn, they had to be!
"Thorsten, do you see those ravens?" I asked him, startled.
"Of course," he replied, unfazed. "This is an old castle; animals tend to nest here."
To my surprise, the two ravens flew down and perched themselves on my shoulders. Thorsten raised an eyebrow. "I've never seen that before."
"Neither have I," I admitted, examining the ravens. "They're the ones who helped me in Innangard. They have to be."
Thorsten's confusion was evident. "What do you mean?"
"These ravens were the first living things I saw after waking up in Innangard. I'm sure they're the same ones, though I have no idea how they managed to follow me here. After waking up, I sawglimpses of them, but I thought I was dreaming or just seeing things. That maybe it was the poison still in my system."
