Not to mention, I wanted to learn.
Orion had offered to teach me swordplay and I took him up on that too but found I could barely lift a sword, they were so freaking heavy. No one onboard had one I could wield so we decided to leave it at knife play until they could find a sword I could use.
So while Frey spent his days captaining his ship, planning raids and communing with his brethren (when he wasn’t locked in his cabin with me), I spent my time shooting arrows, dancing around the deck while Lund tried to stab me and playing multiple games of tuble and meerkin while all the men taught me how to cheat (when I wasn’t locked in Frey’s cabin with him, where, if Frey and I weren’t doing other highly pleasant things, Frey also spent time teaching me how to cheat).
In other words, I was having the time of my life.
“Right, wee one,” Frey spoke, his deep voice light with amusement, taking my attention back to him, “after you get finished prancing around on deck with your lovely arse on display in your tight breeches, making certain every single one of my men is lying abed in their hammocks at night with their fists wrapped around their cocks and their thoughts on your arse, then we’ll meet back here this afternoon.”
I blinked up at him and whispered, “They are not doing that.”
“They are,” Frey returned.
“No they aren’t.” I was still whispering.
“Finnie, am I a man?” Frey asked.
“Yes,” I gave the obvious answer.
“Then I know they’re doing that.”
“But,” I protested, “I’m your wife and you said they wouldn’t –”
Frey cut me off. “They won’t stare and they won’t make their interest obvious for this would cause my displeasure. But I do not control their thoughts. They see, what they see is a pleasing image that is burned behind their eyes, so they don’t forget.”
Oh God.
“Maybe I should quit wearing breeches,” I suggested but Frey grinned wickedly and dipped his face to mine.
“You do, my love, then I won’t get to watch you prance around on deck with your lovely arse on display and, fortunately, when I’m abed at night, I have a wife who gladly wraps a number of things around my cock that are far, far better than my fist.”
Hmm. This was true.
It also explained why Frey had not said a word against me wearing breeches.
And lastly, it made me warm in a variety of places.
“This is true,” I muttered and Frey threw back his head and laughed.
When he tipped it back down, he lifted his hand, wrapped it around my head and pulled me in and up for another touch of his lips on my forehead.
When he let me go, he caught my eyes and said softly, “Until later, my love.”
“Later, baby,” I said softly back.
He smiled at me and I watched him walk out of the cabin.
Then I went to my trunks, got down on my knees in front of one, opened it and started sorting through in order to decide what I was going to wear that day.
While I was at the trunks, my mind went over the last week and a half and the things I had learned.
One of them was the story of Kell, who was the salty sea dog I’d seen my first night on the ship. Back in the day, Kell had been first mate on the first ship Frey worked on. Frey had followed Kell when he’d briefly captained a vessel for a merchant and then Kell had followed Frey when he’d used the inheritance his Grandmother Eugenie left him to order his first galleon to be built and it was put to sea.
And Kell had been with Frey ever since.
Kell and Frey were tight, I could tell (though Frey also told me). It wasn’t like they did man hugs or bumped fists all the time but there was no doubt about it; that closeness was there. It ran deep and Frey had explained Kell taught him everything he knew and then when Frey struck out on his own, Frey had earned Kell’s respect because Frey lived his life in a way that he kept learning.
Luckily, Frey told me Kell hadn’t been looking at me like he wanted to throw me overboard that first night because he was mentally plotting my murder. Unluckily, Frey told me Kell was looking at me like he wanted to throw me overboard because he did not (at all) like women on board ships and further thought they served one purpose and one purpose only and therefore, although he’d known his fair share of them, all of them practiced the same profession.
By the way, even though most people liked me right off the bat because I was open, warm and friendly, or I could get through to them being open, warm and friendly, Kell had not thawed even a little bit.
The other thing I had learned was that the purpose of this mission was to recover an elfin relic of great importance. Many Lunwynians had been searching for it literally for centuries. There had been many rumors of it surfacing which meant equally numerous operations were launched but in the end these were fruitless. Frey himself had planned and executed three such maneuvers since he started raiding, all ending in disappointment.
He told me he did not hold high hopes for this one either. That said, he also told me that his informant this time was far more reliable than the last three.
Regardless the relic, a petrified branch of an adela tree, or the adela tree, the first one the goddess Adele created, was important enough to make an attempt so that was what he was doing.
We were now out of Lunwynian waters and in those of Middleland. The relic, Frey’s informant told him, was in the possession of Phobin who happened to be the lover of Princess Sjofn’s cousin, Broderick who was King Baldur’s son.
Frey didn’t have a lot to say about Broderick but, reading between the lines, I got the sense he didn’t like him much. He had less to say about Phobin but what he did say you didn’t have to read between the lines. He disliked Phobin flat out. And I got the feeling he would have probably liked Broderick more if he hadn’t chosen Phobin as partner.
Frey had also cautiously informed me that this mission was complicated. And it was complicated because Frey had been to Middleland recently and his last mission there had been dangerous. It had also been secret. Further, it had been politically sensitive. And lastly, my father didn’t know about it nor, incidentally, the one Frey was currently planning.
This was because Frey tended to tell Atticus about these missions after they were successful for if things went awry (eek!), Atticus could honestly claim no knowledge of them. Unless, of course, it was my father who asked Frey to accomplish them.
Though, that said, the last one was so sensitive, Father still didn’t know about it.
King Baldur also hadn’t known about Frey’s previous mission, Frey wasn’t fired up for either brother to know and he was intent upon entering Middleland, hopefully retrieving the relic and exiting without anyone being the wiser about this mission and, with any luck, they were still no one wiser about the last.
As the story goes, Thad had a communication from a woman he had once had a somewhat long affair with and still held in high regard. This communication was an urgent request to aid in the escape of another woman as she was desperate to flee her captor.
Thad, still carrying feelings for his ex-lover and therefore trusting her, agreed to assist without actually getting all the information. Frey had not meant to go, seeing as he was getting married, though he did offer Thad one of his vessels. But, once married and deciding he’d rather be at sea doing dangerous deeds with his men than hanging with a lesbian (in all fairness, I could see this) at his wedding celebration to her and after, he’d changed his mind, deposited me at his hunting cabin and gone.
Once they arrived, they found that Thad’s friend was actually the maid to King Baldur’s personal sorceress, a woman with great power but even so, she was controlled by Baldur.
It was a sad story, actually, because Frey and Thad had learned from the maid that this sorceress, named Circe (totally kickass name, by the by) had displayed she held magic from practically birth. In order to control her power, Baldur had kidnapped her when she was very young. And to make certain to
keep her with no attempts made to gain her return; he’d executed both of her parents.
Yes, executed two people in order to steal their daughter.
It seemed my uncle was a true peach.
Unfortunately for her, not only did she hold a great deal of magic, she also grew into great beauty. So my lovely uncle (not), had started forcing himself on her when she was fourteen and she was still known to be his mistress even though she was more than double that age now.
That was to say, Circe was his unwilling mistress.
Nevertheless, she was a prized possession of King Baldur’s for more reasons than one and assisting her to escape was, as Frey phrased it, “politically sensitive” (but what he meant was politically explosive thus Father still being none the wiser).
However, two things happened. One, Frey was Frey and Thad told me that, upon learning her story, he didn’t hesitate to agree to help her escape. Two, the sorceress’s maid had relayed that Circe had information about the elfin relic everyone was seeking and she would pay for their efforts by providing this information to Frey.
Therefore, Circe was Frey’s source and although centuries of experience with disappointment made him keep his expectations in check, as the days went by and launching the operation came closer, I could feel the men’s restless excitement.
Expectations might be in check but there was still hope.
Yes, this was how important the relic was.
Thinking of all this, I pushed deeper into my trunk to find a clean pair of breeches to wear, pulled some out, a small pouch dropped out of a fold and with it a piece of paper fluttered.
I stared at the tiny, purple satin pouch on the floor by my knee then reached down to pick up the folded piece of paper.
I opened it and read:
Sweet Finnie,
We hope you find this sooner rather than later.
We’ve packed some adela tea for you to use with your husband.
We don’t know if you’ve read about this in your books but in case you haven’t, we’ll explain.
Harvesting anything from adela trees, which grow very slowly and are very susceptible to disease, is strictly controlled. Any adela tree is sacred for they are created by the goddess but also they are the entry point of the elves from their realm into ours. If anything were to happen to the adelas, the elves would be trapped under the earth for eternity and no one wants that so they are handled carefully.
Adela tree branches can be gathered only for wedding bundles and their bark is harvested cautiously and used for a special tea. Adela tea is quite expensive, very rare and not used widely.
We were not able to purchase more than just enough for you to make one cup but one cup, shared by lovers, is just (this underlined) enough.
You see, the tea serves to heighten your senses, touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing, and also it significantly heightens arousal. Alyssa has an ongoing dalliance with the head of the Ulfr House, she is a particular favorite of his and she visits him every time he comes to Fyngaard. Once, he had some tea that he shared with her and she said it was marvelous (underlined twice).
Please do not worry, the affects are not debilitating nor are they lasting. Alyssa says that half a cup each for her and her gentleman lasted several hours, they slept well and woke up refreshed.
With your spirit, we thought this was an adventure you had (underlined three times) to take.
So this is our gift to you and The Drakkar.
Enjoy, sweet Finnie, and we look forward to seeing you upon your return and hearing all (underlined four times) about it.
With love,
Jocelyn, Alyssa, Esther and Bess
I picked up the pouch and fingered the soft parcel.
Then I grinned.
My girls were the… absolute… best.
And this was one reason of many, including the fact that they’d procured and provided me with a powder they promised (because they all used it) that I could sprinkle just a touch into water or coffee and it would keep me from getting pregnant. I had to do it every day and luckily it tasted pretty good, though weird, like a minty orange. Although it hadn’t been very long, so far, so good (since, unfortunately and fortunately, considering it was unfun having your period in this world and I knew that because I’d already experienced it twice – not to mention doing it on a ship with a bunch of guys, but two days into the voyage, I had it and luckily, four days later I was done and this meant I was free and clear… for now).
The door opened, I jumped and looked that way to see Skylar standing in it, keeping well away from me.
“Eggs, bacon and toast, milady?” he asked like he asked every morning for reasons I didn’t know because I’d learned from Frey that unless I picked just eggs and toast or just bacon and toast, or I wanted lunch for breakfast, that was my only choice for the ship’s cook was nearly as cranky as Kell, he wasn’t hot on personal orders and didn’t do anything “girlie” such as pancakes apparently were.
I smiled gently at the boy and said softly, “Yes, Skylar, that would be lovely. Thank you.”
He nodded once and moved quickly out of the room.
I stared at the closed door wondering what, if anything, I could do about that.
Then I decided to talk to Frey about it later.
My eyes drifted down to the pouch in my hand and again my mouth curled into a smile.
Yes, I’d talk to him about it.
Much later.
* * * * *
I watched my dagger skitter across the deck and come to a stop against some rope.
Then I bit my lip and ignored Stephan, Max and Gunner, who I knew would be grinning, thinking this was hilarious, and Kell, who would be scowling, thinking I should be hiding in Frey’s cabin for the duration of the trip repeating to myself that I would never again set foot on the ship that was named after me… or any ship for that matter.
Then I looked at Lund as he pulled out of the lunge he’d used to knock my dagger away and sheathed his own. Then he planted his hands on his hips and glowered at me.
“Finnie, I’ve told you, you have inexperience and lack of strength as formidable weaknesses but quickness, surprise and…” he paused and leaned slightly toward me, “concentration can be used as your strengths. To have quickness and provide surprise, you need to…” he paused again, leaned back and crossed his arms on his chest, “concentrate.”
He was not wrong. My mind was not on learning how to wield a dagger. It was afternoon. My mind was in the cabin where the adela tea pouch was and where, I hoped, Skylar had left a boiled kettle for me (a request, since I was thinking to surprise Frey, I had actually made myself).
“I’m sorry, Lund, my mind is elsewhere,” I admitted.
“If this is so, then you should not be working with a dagger. What just happened, happened because I am good and I don’t wish you harm. In a true fight, a man could take your hand with that maneuver, had he the strength and sharpness of blade. At the very least, he could cut your wrist where blood flows freely. Then you’d be significantly weakened and even face death.”
Ho boy. Death was never good.
“Right,” I said softly.
He uncrossed his arms, got closer to me and I looked up into his gray eyes which, I noted, had stopped glowering and had warmed. I had also long since noted that this was Lund’s way. He could lose his patience in our practice but only when I did really stupid shit he’d told me time and again not to do but he didn’t lose it for long.
“I enjoy our sessions, my princess, but I equally enjoy teaching you how to cut a deck false. If you wish to skip your lesson, we can sit down to cards. All you need do is say.”
God, seriously, he was a nice guy and, spending time with all Frey’s men, I’d found they all were.
Except Kell, who disliked me and Oleg, who was kind of monosyllabic and a little scary but mostly he was okay too.
“Thanks,” I replied quietly and Lund grinned at me.
“Wife,” I heard and since it
was Frey’s voice and that could only be me, I turned to see him striding toward me.
My knees wobbled and not only because he, as ever, looked hot.
“We’ll leave it at that for the day,” Lund muttered, I looked from Frey to him, nodded and smiled and he moved away to collect my lost dagger.
I turned back to Frey who was now very close. He didn’t touch me but he was way in my space.
Hmm. I knew what that meant and that meant firstly, he did not want us to be overheard and secondly, he actually did want to touch me but this was something he avoided doing too much of in front of his men. There were times he did, of course, but in broad daylight in the middle of the waist deck with us having a large audience was not one of those times.
“We have plans, wee one,” he reminded me of something he so totally didn’t need to remind me of. “I need words with Kell. I see your lesson is finished?”
I nodded.
“Good,” he muttered, “I’ll meet you in our cabin.”
My knees wobbled again and my nipples tingled but my head nodded.
He grinned like he knew what was happening in my head and under my sweater and that grin was so good, my nipples got hard and I felt a really nice spasm.
“See you there, honey,” I whispered.
His eyes flared and he whispered back, “Indeed.”
I decided to get to the cabin firstly to make the tea and secondly before I melted into a puddle on the deck in front of everyone at just thinking about what would happen after I made the tea.
So I did that, smiling at Frey then turning my head as I walked toward the bridge deck and calling, “Later boys!”
I got some chin lifts and Max called back, “Until later, Finnie.”
Then I hightailed it out of there.
When I got to the cabin, I saw the good news was Skylar was a really good cabin boy. He didn’t make the bed because there was pretty much no point but he delivered water for washing, took it away, cleaned out the basin, brought food, took away the dishes, cleaned clothes and spent not a small amount of time shining brass.