And now, taking in Oleg’s expression as he reined in his horse next to their grouping Drakkar did not think it boded well. Oleg had few expressions and this one was not one of the even fewer good ones.

Oleg did not hesitate to share his news and announced on a grunt, “Valeria and Franka Drakkar are at the Keep awaiting you to attend them.”

Instantly, Drakkar’s mouth got tight. He’d been informed his mother had arrived at her mansion in Snowdon two days earlier. He did not visit her and she did not send official word she was in the city. He was hoping she was there to shop. Now he knew she was awaiting Franka as this was the first word he’d received that his cousin was close and it was highly likely she’d just arrived.

He nodded, jerked his chin to Thad and Max, walked to Tyr and mounted. He raised his hand to Finnie who was watching his movements and she waved in return, her smile for him sunny even though he knew she was distracted and he knew this because she almost immediately tilted her head back to Skylar after she waved. Then he and Oleg galloped into Snowdon, through the city and to the Keep. He dismounted at the fountain, tossed Tyr’s reins to a waiting boy and walked swiftly up the ice marble steps and into the castle.

A servant girl was hovering and approached him the moment he entered.

“Queen Aurora is entertaining the Ladies Drakkar in the state drawing room,” she informed him and Frey nodded.

Aurora had intervened and Drakkar found, as he had been discovering more and more every day the last two weeks as he watched her with his wife, that he quite liked his mother-in-law.

He moved away from the girl and walked to the state drawing room, an official room that was elegant but large, cold and never used when it was simply family.

A statement. Aurora didn’t like the surprise visit and was not afraid to let that be known. She was also happy for Finnie to show allegiance to the Drakkars by encouraging her to wear their House red but she was not happy with how Finnie was treated by his father and mother at the Gales and her stamping this visit as official and not familial was her way of showing that.

Yes, he was definitely coming to like his mother-in-law.

He opened the door and walked through it to see both his mother and cousin outfitted resplendently, Franka’s layering of jewels bordering on ostentatious, his mother’s well passed that. Aurora, her clothing stylish and refined, her manner graceful, next to the displays of the two other women still looked a pauper.

All of the women’s heads turned to him the moment he arrived, Valeria’s face lighting with faux delight, Franka’s lips curling for reasons unknown and Aurora’s expression benign but unreadable.

“Son!” Valeria exclaimed while standing and Drakkar closed the door and walked fully into the room.

“Let’s dispense with the artificial sincerity,” he stated without delay, “and instead let us get to why you both are here.”

Darkness instantly swept his mother’s features and Drakkar found that much easier to bear for it was nearly all he’d known of her when he was a child.

“Really, Frey,” Valeria snapped, “minstrels are singing and mothers are setting their daughters to bed with stories of The Handsome Drakkar and his deep adoration for his Beautiful Winter Bride. It’s been months since I’ve seen you and your lovely wife and you do not allow your mother a moment to bask in the glow of her son’s extreme happiness?”

Drakkar stopped, crossed his arms on his chest and leveled his gaze on his mother. “Prior to the Gales, and, of course, your attendance at my wedding at which we did not converse, I had not seen you for over a year and when I did, it was in passing. You made no overtures to me for years prior to that and the only one I made to you since I was thirteen was inviting you to my marriage ceremony and it wasn’t me who did that but Queen Aurora’s secretary. You’re not here to bask in the glow of anything. So, let’s dispense with this farce and tell me why you actually are here.”

Valeria glared at her son and then she sat back down.

“Well, for me, though you didn’t ask, dear cousin, I’m looking after my throat,” Franka put in at this point and Drakkar’s eyes went to her as he steeled himself against showing a reaction to her announcement.

“You have news,” he stated blandly.

“Indeed,” she inclined her head and leaned forward to the table that held a coffee service, china and a bowl of candies. Controlled and calculated, as was her way, Franka took her time selecting a white candy-coated almond and popped it in her mouth, chewed and swallowed under Drakkar’s impatient stare before she spoke again. “Baldur is away to the Southlands with thirty thousand men.”

Drakkar noted that Aurora didn’t move a muscle at this extraordinary news though she could not know it for he knew Atticus told her everything and the king also told him everything. Drakkar didn’t move a muscle either except to raise his brows.

“This interests me because…?” he prompted.

“You may…” she paused, studying him closely, “or may not know that Baldur had a plaything. A delightful specimen called Circe.” At these words, Drakkar continued to regard her impassively but fought against clenching his teeth. “A powerful sorceress but unfortunately for the lovely Circe, Baldur had found a nearly equally powerful witch to bind her powers so she could not use them to harm him or to escape him. Unfortunately for the revolting Baldur, he wasn’t shrewd enough to bind her to him so she could not find others to assist her to escape him. And this she did some months ago.”

“I was called here for you to tell me tales of King Baldur?” Drakkar asked skeptically.

“No,” Franka answered, “you were called here because Circe has been sighted and Baldur is off to collect her.”

Again, Drakkar raised his brows instead of clenching his teeth.

He had not spent a great deal of time with the sorceress Circe but the time he had, he liked her. Baldur had callously mistreated her for years, imprisoned her, used her in a variety of repugnant ways and through all that, by what had to be a miracle, she’d somehow retained her dignity even as four earlier escape attempts were thwarted and Baldur punished her for each in ways it didn’t bear thinking of.

It was not good news she had been sighted and worse news that her sighting had reached Baldur’s ears.

Drakkar had a feeling he would not be taking his bride to his lodge in Kellshorn or loading The Finnie’s cargo holds with Lunwynian water and onward to Fleuridia but instead sailing directly to the Southlands.