“I only know the other side of these mountains,” Lyrie said softly.

  Lyrie watched the peaks as we continued to hike away from her home, and the mountains shifted behind us until we reached the Black Plains.

  “We still must choose a name for Freesia’s home village,” Elora reminded me.

  “Yeah, I know,” I chuckled. “It’s not as distinctive as some of the other places we’ve named. It’s a pretty ordinary-looking village.”

  “Perhaps we should name it after a person?” Elora suggested.

  “But who?” I wondered.

  We were quiet for a moment as we pondered that idea, but I couldn’t come up with anything.

  “I think we should let Freesia name it,” I concluded. “Or maybe her father or grandmother.”

  “That would be an honor to them,” Elora mused.

  “Well, they’re a part of this new world just as much as us,” I said thoughtfully. “I’ll bring it up with Freesia when we get back.”

  “Ooooh,” Lyrie breathed with amazement as she stared out at the expansive ocean of black rock spread out before us.

  “This was all flowing lava a short time ago,” Elora said.

  “How did it turn to stone?” Lyrie wondered, and she poked at the edge of it with her foot.

  “That’s a wild story,” I chuckled, and I gestured for us to keep moving.

  Elora helped me tell Lyrie the story of the other side of the chasm that led down into the burning depths of Helheim, and I explained who I’d found deep in the bowels of the planet. Lyrie’s black eyes went wide when I spoke Njord’s name, and I could tell she recognized it.

  “Njord?” Lyrie breathed with disbelief. “Truly?”

  “Yes,” I said, and I remembered how surprised I’d been to learn the caged man’s name. “He’d been imprisoned down there for a very long time. He was weak and dying, and he gave the last of his strength and power to quench the lava fields.”

  “But… why?” Lyrie asked, and her footsteps slowed on the black rock. “Why would he do such a thing?”

  “I don’t really know,” I admitted. “I guess he saw something worth saving in us. Maybe he didn’t want to go on anymore, and he thought it was a good use of his energy to help us… Maybe he was out of his mind.”

  “I believe he wanted to give what he could to the new world we are trying to build,” Elora murmured. “Njord was kind-hearted. He was benevolent to those he saw as deserving of his help. I believe he saw the good in your heart, my love, and he found you deserving.”

  “Maybe.” I smiled lovingly at my silver-haired beauty.

  Njord’s words still lingered in my mind sometimes, and I wasn’t sure he hadn’t been entirely mad from decades of torture and isolation.

  Take care of them this time… do not return to your…

  I couldn’t make sense of what the Vanir had meant, and the words haunted me even all these months later.

  I forced my mind to focus on Elora’s words as she described Freesia’s home village that lay farther to the northeast and the coastline that we could see from Castle Levi’s windows.

  A while later, we passed the tustrium fields, and I was surprised that the dwarven blacksmith, Hezzig, wasn’t busy mining every last ounce of the bluish metal from the ground. I figured he must have enough of the stuff at Castle Levi to satisfy his smithing desires for at least a week.

  We fell into silence as the long distance of the journey started to wear on Lyrie, and I had to remind myself she’d probably never walked this far in one day before. The barren wasteland that had been Elora’s home before I’d arrived here was much the same as the last time we passed through here, and a short while later, Lyrie’s footsteps faltered.

  “Goodness,” Lyrie breathed as the shining peaks of the Broken Spire came into view in the distance. “Is that…?”

  “Yes,” I said, and I tried to view the enormous structure through Lyrie’s eyes.

  She’d probably never seen large castles before, and I could hardly imagine what the Spire looked like to her after a life lived in that small village made of gray stones.

  “The Crystal Spire?” Lyrie repeated with disbelief. “I… it is…”

  “Huge?” I suggested helpfully.

  “Yes.” Lyrie nodded emphatically as she craned her neck back and shielded her eyes against the setting sun. “Huge is a good word for this.”

  “We can take you there another time,” Elora offered.

  “Yes,” I agreed. “But for now, we should finish our journey so we can get a good night of sleep before we journey back to your village.”

  “It is not my village anymore,” Lyrie murmured under her breath.

  She gave the Spire one more wistful look before she scanned the area with a questioning look.

  “Which way to Castle Levi?” Lyrie asked, and her voice sounded tired.

  Elora took the lead, and I wondered if the Broken Spire had been a disappointment to the dark elf. She’d most likely been imagining what it would be like all her life, and it was a broken shadow of what it had once been.

  But then again, I found Lyrie pretty hard to read most of the time, so it was possible she was simply exhausted from the journey or overcome by the shock of such a towering structure.

  We doggedly marched up the pass between the craggy mountains that led to my front doors, and without fail, Ingrid greeted us before we even stepped foot on the bottom stair.

  “King Levi, welcome home,” Ingrid said in that kind way of hers. “And Lady Elora, welcome home, and– oh!”

  Ingrid’s pale green eyes went wide as they landed on Lyrie’s charcoal complexion, and I suddenly felt tense as we waited for her reaction to the dark elf.

  But I shouldn’t have worried because Ingrid was as sweet and welcoming as always as she spread her arms wide like she was ready to hug the white-haired woman.

  “Welcome to Castle Levi,” Ingrid said. “You must be one of our new friends from the village.”

  “This is Lyrie,” I said to introduce the two elven women. “Lyrie, this is my housekeeper, and the woman who keeps this place running, Ingrid.”

  “A pleasure to meet you,” Lyrie said, and her tone was hesitant.

  I figured the dark elf was anticipating a prejudiced welcome from the elven housekeeper, and she was probably still waiting for that shoe to drop.

  “Levi!” Freesia’s melodic voice rang out from the top of the stairs. “You are home!”

  “So are you,” I said, and I gave Lyrie a gentle smile before I hurried up the steps to pull my red-haired lover into my arms. “I missed you.”

  “We missed you, too,” Elora said.

  “Oh, Lyrie, hello!” Freesia grinned as she looked past my shoulder.

  I turned to follow her gaze, and I found Lyrie hadn’t moved from her spot at the bottom of the stone steps. Her hands were clamped tight around the leather shoulder strap of her satchel, and I could see the tension in her shoulders from here.

  “I think she’s nervous about how she’ll be received,” I whispered to my ladies.

  “Well, we will have to fix that right now,” Freesia said, and she smiled wide before she hurried down the steps.

  “Hello, Freesia,” Lyrie murmured in a voice that shook just a little. “It is nice to see you again.”

  “I am very glad to see you, too,” Freesia said, and she turned to Ingrid. “We have a room for Lyrie, yes?”

  “Of course, Lady Freesia,” Ingrid assured us all. “I will see to it right away, King Levi.”

  “Thank you, Ingrid,” I said.

  The older elf dipped in a lazy curtsy, and then she hurried into the house to situate a room for Lyrie to stay in during her visit with us. I knew the dining hall would be filled with most of the inhabitants of Castle Levi, and there would be a full spread of delicious food awaiting us.

  Freesia gently took Lyrie’s arm and looped it through hers as she led the dark elf up the stairs.

  “Do not be afraid, Lyrie,” Freesia murmured in the voice she used to soothe her frightened patients. “You will find nothing but kind hearts and welcoming smiles inside the walls of Castle Levi.”

  “And perhaps a few crass jokes,” Elora said with a chuckle.

  “That’s true,” I laughed. “You remember Ayen, I’m sure.”

  “I do,” Lyrie said, and her shoulders relaxed a little. “Is my worry so clear to your eyes?”

  “You have nothing to worry about,” Elora said.

  “Where’s Shalanna?” I asked as we walked through the doors into the large entrance hall.

  “She’s waiting for us in the dining hall,” Freesia said. “One of the guards saw you approaching, and he came to alert us of your return. She tried to come with me to greet you, but I insisted she stay where she was. She’s quite comfortable at the moment, and I saw no need to disrupt her throne of pillows.”

  “A whole throne, huh?” I chuckled at the imagery.

  “Oh, yes,” Freesia giggled. “You know Ingrid does nothing halfway. We have all been taking very good care of Shalanna for you, and I believe she is becoming accustomed to it.”

  “Good.” I grinned.

  Lyrie’s demeanor was relaxing as I joked with Freesia and Elora, and by the time we walked into the spacious dining hall, she looked more curious than anxious.

  “King Levi!” several voices rang through the hall together, and dozens of cups were raised in greeting. “Lady Elora!”

  “Levi!” Shalanna’s voice stuck out in the crowd to me, and I found her right away.

  My black-haired beauty was indeed laying in a throne of pillows, and I wondered how many of the villagers from Freesia’s home had worked simultaneously to create so many cushions. Some of them were made with more skill and finesse than others, but they all contributed to the comfort of my very pregnant lover.

  Shalanna’s left hand rested on the large swell of her belly as she waved at us with her right hand, and her feet were propped up on a second chair beside her. She wore what would have been a loose-fitting linen dress if it weren’t for the extended curve of her abdomen from our unborn child. It was a soft shade of yellow with a tie at the front that she’d left slightly open to reveal the valley of her cleavage inside.

  I gave Lyrie a friendly smile before I hurried over to Shalanna, and I leaned down to kiss her. Shalanna’s hands locked onto the back of my neck, and she kissed me with all the longing I felt in my heart and loins. She kissed me until we were both a bit breathless, and only the sound of Elora, Freesia, and Lyrie’s approaching footsteps made me stand up.

  Shalanna pouted at me, and her silver-flecked blue eyes were filled with the same desire that burned in me.

  “Later,” I promised my horny lover in a hushed tone.

  “Good,” Shalanna cooed.

  I cleared my throat before I turned to look at Lyrie again, and Elora leaned down to hug Shalanna.

  “How are you feeling?” Elora asked.

  “Enormous,” Shalanna said with wry humor. “But good. Everyone has been taking very good care of me. I want for nothing.”

  “Good.” I grinned. “That’s how my ladies should be treated.”

  Elora and Freesia took seats at the table, but Lyrie stood awkwardly nearby until I held my hand out in invitation for her.

  I tried not to be too obvious as I scanned the room for Sylmarie, but a quick glance proved she wasn’t in the dining hall. I sighed with a bit of disappointment, but I knew she would find me before I left if she wanted to see me. Patience seemed to be the key with the mysterious woman, and I was willing to wait for her if that’s what it took.

  “Shalanna, this is Lyrie,” I said without taking my eyes off of her dark face. “Lyrie, this is Shalanna.”

  “Hello,” Lyrie murmured in a soft voice.

  “It is so wonderful to meet you, Lyrie,” Shalanna said with a bright smile. “Freesia has told me much about you.”

  “Oh, uh…” Lyrie looked suddenly nervous at that, and she looked around like she wanted to escape.

  “I am very excited to meet a new friend,” Shalanna said in a slightly softer tone.

  “Please, sit with us,” I said gently. “I’m hungry after the journey, and I’m sure you are, too.”

  “Well… yes,” Lyrie sighed, and a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “Alright.”

  The sour-faced woman, Ylva, whose personality had relaxed a lot since I’d first met her, carried over fresh plates for Elora and me.

  “One more, please, Ylva,” I asked, and I nodded at Lyrie.

  “Right away, King Levi,” Ylva said, and she hurried off to fill another plate for our guest.

  She returned a moment later, and she placed the full plate in front of Lyrie with an impressive attempt at a smile.

  “Will there be anything else?” Ylva asked as she tucked a stray lock of gray hair back into the tight bun at the back of her head.

  “No, thank you,” I said.

  Ylva walked away a moment later with the sour look squarely back on her face, and I smirked at how far she’d come. The woman had been loudly distrusting of me in the beginning, but she’d come around to accepting not only my presence, but my leadership. I suspected the fact that I’d kept her and her husband alive, and I’d provided them with a safe place to live and enough food had a lot to do with the shift in her opinion of me.

  “She seems… nice…” Lyrie said with a little grimace.

  I burst into laughter at the dark elf’s quick observation.

  “Don’t worry, Lyrie,” I assured her. “It’s not personal. Ylva doesn’t really like anyone.”

  “Or much of anything,” Freesia added.

  We shared a good laugh about that before we turned to our plates, and I enjoyed watching the curiosity and pleasure play across Lyrie’s face as she inspected and tried each of the new dishes on her plate.

  “Are you enjoying the food?” Elora asked.

  “Yes,” Lyrie said between bites. “We have been living off stored food and dried meats for a while now. It is a treat to have such fresh food to enjoy.”

  “You’d better get used to it,” Shalanna teased in a friendly way. “Now that you and the others are a part of Levi’s Kingdom, you will have only the best New Asgard can provide.”

  “New Asgard?” My eyebrows raised at my human lover.

  “Yes,” Shalanna said, and her pale cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink. “Freesia and I were thinking that since we have begun to name the regions around us, our world deserves a new name, too.”

  “We can call it something else, if you prefer,” Freesia said, and she blushed under her freckles.

  “No,” I assured them. “I like that. It’s appropriate and familiar. New Asgard it is. Actually, we were talking about how your village still needs a name, and I thought maybe you, your father, or grandmother might have some ideas.”

  “Oh, well, I suppose I had not thought about it much,” Freesia said, and she sat quietly for a moment. “I suppose my father would wish to name it after his horses in some way. Perhaps after his first horse. My father always compares every stallion to Hvar, and none of them live up to the legend of that stallion.”

  “Hvar?” I tested the name. “That’s not terrible.”

  “What about Gardsbyg?” Shalanna suggested.

  “Svören,” Freesia suggested. “That was Eirlina’s father’s name. I believe he was among the first to settle the village.”

  “Svören,” I said. “You know, I like that. There’s a nice history there, it honors your family, and it’s not impossible to pronounce.”

  “A very important attribute,” Elora laughed.

  “Svören,” I tried the name again. “Alright, yeah, Svören village.”

  My ladies smiled at me, and we returned to our plates as I reached over to lift Freesia’s hand to my lips.

  Lyrie was quiet as we enjoyed our food, and I could sense that she was still fairly nervous at being in a new place. I watched as her black eyes slyly scanned the other inhabitants of the castle, and it was clear to me she was interested in the dwarves. She studied their long braided hair and beards, and smiled as the young blonde dwarf, Clara, teased the burly twins, Ginen and Grorec.

  “There’s a lot of diversity in our community,” I murmured to the dark elf. “You’re not the only one who’s different here.”

  “I am the only dark elf,” Lyrie said, and her white eyebrows drew together in a frown.

  “That’s not exactly true,” Elora said, and her pale blue cheeks turned slightly purple as she blushed. “I am half dark elf, you see.”

  “Truly?” Lyrie asked with wonder in her black eyes as she looked up and down Elora’s frame. “But you look so much like… Well, I suppose your eyes…”

  “My father was a dark elf,” Elora explained, and she gave a much less detailed story of her family history. “My mother told me the only physical trait I inherited from my father were my eyes. The rest of my complexion is from my mother’s side.”

  “That is fascinating,” Lyrie mused. “I have never met someone like you before, Elora.”

  “I have never met someone like you, Lyrie,” Elora said softly. “I am very glad to call you my friend.”

  “As am I,” Freesia said.

  “I look forward to us becoming friends, as well,” Shalanna added.

  Lyrie smiled, and it looked like she finally let go of the anxiety of being around new people as she enjoyed the rest of her meal.

  We briefly discussed the events that led to such an assortment of people living under the same roof, and Lyrie started to look at me with more and more awe as my women explained each monstrous creature I’d defeated.

  “Why do you look so surprised?” Elora giggled. “You have been in battle beside Levi, you have seen for yourself his strength and power.”

  “Yes, this is true,” Lyrie admitted, but her eyes remained wide. “But it is still astonishing to hear all of your victories lined up in a row this way.”

  “Speaking of victories,” Elora said in a sly tone as she glanced between Freesia and Shalanna. “We defeated another frost giant this morning.”

  “And you are only now bringing it up?” Freesia nearly shouted. “Tell us what happened!”

  I chuckled, and together, Elora and I explained about the frost giant, his escape from the chasm, and the battle with the dark elves to kill the beast.

 

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