White Stag (Permafrost #1)(63)

“How many of you are out here?” I narrowed my eyes, voice hard.

Seppo put his hands up in a submissive motion. “Look, I’m not with them anymore. Promise.” He pulled out the stiletto he’d given me earlier. “Here, I took this to fight the n?kken. Take it back.”

I snatched the weapon back, though unease still turned in my stomach. “You were the ones responsible for the ambush, for Rekke’s death.”

“That’s how it is, Janneke.” There was sadness underneath Soren’s calm tone.

“I thought you were on my side with this! We both knew she wasn’t going to win.” I turned and punched a rock wall, pain shot up my arm, and I clenched my wrist. “Go fuck the crows!”

Seppo glanced at Soren. “Is she usually this…” He searched for the right word.

“Finish that sentence, Satunpoika, and I will shove that feather staff up your ass,” I spat.

“Yes,” Soren answered.

I scowled. “So, you were the ones who attacked us. Have you been stalking us the whole time?”

Seppo shook his head. “No, we were on the mountain for another reason.” A drop of sweat fell from his forehead as he hushed his anxious tone. “And it’s got to do with what I need to tell you.”

I crossed my arms. “But there are more of you.”

“More of them, yes,” Seppo said. “Lydian has about twenty-five, or well, I guess twenty-one men at his disposal. We have three.”

“There is no ‘we,’” I growled.

Soren stepped in between us. “All right, all right. I can’t believe I’m the one saying this, but both of you just calm down. We need to get out of here, and we need to know what Lydian is planning. If he’s planning anything.” He shot a glance at Seppo. “I know when you lie to me.”

Seppo rolled his eyes. “I’m all about cordiality.”

Soren raised an eyebrow at me.

I gave Seppo a withering look. “I won’t shove your feather staff up your ass.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Come on.” Soren sighed. “We shouldn’t stay here. The water is riling us up.” He headed for an opening in the chasm, one that glittered with blue light. “The darker the ice, the lower we are. I know that.”

I followed, boosting myself up into the crack and squeezing in after Soren. Seppo was right on my tail, and for a long time we climbed up the dark, cold slit in silence. The sides soon opened up, and bright light dazzled me.

The last ledge was within my reach, but when I stretched, the rock underneath my feet gave away. Before I could fall, Seppo dove ahead, catching me with his broad shoulders. “That’s three times now,” he said.

“Are we counting?”

“Yes.”

I snorted with contempt, and with muscles burning, I flopped down onto the solid ground of a cliffside cave. Still wet from my swim, I was chilled to the bone from the arctic air. I rubbed my arms but nothing worked.

Soren watched from where he sat, frowned, then came over and set me in his lap. One of his hands gently brushed back and forth over my shoulders.

Heat rose from my body. It was so human. When I turned my questioning gaze to him, he smirked. “You’re cold. I’m not. We lost all our supplies.”

Seppo eyed us with a mixture of disgust and curiosity. Glaring, I mouthed feather staff, and whatever he was about to say died on his lips. Instead, he shook himself and said, “So, now that we’re all above ground and nice and cozy, let’s talk about Lydian.”

“I can still push you off the cliff, you know.”

Seppo’s eyes narrowed.

“So, Lydian. What does my dear uncle have in store?” Soren’s voice was dark with fury. For all I knew about him, very little was about his relationship with his uncle. They hated each other as plain as day, but otherwise Lydian’s name was never spoken in the manor.

I sat up, leaning slightly against Soren’s shoulders. Whatever happened, his scent of woodsmoke and pine needles calmed my restless heart. Lydian can’t hurt you. You’re so strong now.

Soren purred. “You being close.” One of his hands wrapped around my waist. His fingers splayed and stroked the bare skin underneath my tunic, and I shivered in delight. “I like it. A little too much, I think, for this conversation.”

“Sorry.” I began to straighten and move off him.

“No, stay where you are. We can hear about the plotting of my horrific uncle and have our skin touch at the same time. I can multitask.”

I almost laughed. If someone told me a year ago this would happen, I’d say they were absurd. But now, it was almost as if I were the absurd one. But the happiness would die a quick death if Lydian came anywhere near the throne, so I straightened despite Soren’s protest and leaned back against the dank cave wall.

“Lydian,” I said. “What’s his game plan? How come you know it?”

Seppo twisted his fingers around the fringes of his tunic. “Satu was originally invited to go along with him, but she declined. He’s been chasing her for years, and she figured even the dumbest goblin could figure out she meant no if she sent the son of her human lover. I agreed to go, mainly because when he’s not a raving lunatic, Lydian’s kinda fun to mess with.”