Daughters (Nordic Fairies, #4)
Read Daughters (Nordic Fairies, #4) Online
Authors: Saga Berg
Tags: #young adult, #ya, #fairies, #romance, #epic love, #fae
Nordic Fairies
Daughters
By Saga Berg
This is the third part in the novella series
Nordic Fairies
. Previously published in the same series:
Nordic Fairies (# 1)
Freja (Nordic Fairies, #2 )
Döckálfar (Nordic Fairies, #3)
Missing (Nordic Fairies, #5)
If you’re interested in reading any of these parts, click this link.
Disclaimers and Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places or incidents are product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons is entirely coincidental.
2nd Edition
Copyright 2012 by Saga Berg
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing by the author Saga Berg, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
www.sagaberg.com
Front image by Subbotina Anna
License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
1980
New York
“Psst.”
Svala’s shoes squeaked against the grey vinyl floor when she stopped in the empty high school hallway. Viggo peered out from the janitor’s supply room, nodding for her to come inside. Her pulse raced as she gazed down both lengths of the corridor, and approached him.
The door clicked in place behind her. When Viggo grabbed her waist and pulled her close, her adrenaline rushed. His lips met hers, desperate and eager. She moaned and clung to him, surprised by her lack of self-control.
“I’m late for class,” she whispered, but accepted his next kiss.
Viggo pushed her against the left wall and slid one hand under her blouse, cupping her b-cup outside the pink cotton bra. With a gentle squeeze, he chuckled into the kiss. She pulled away and raised a brow. “I’m only fourteen.”
Viggo grinned and kissed her again. “You’re perfect,” he whispered against her lips, his other hand running up her neck until it intertwined into her long blonde hair. “You’re always perfect.”
When their lips met again, she remembered where they’d left off in their previous life, on the kitchen counter in Miami. Her nerve endings stirred and she heard herself groan as he deepened the kiss. He grabbed her waist, about to lift her up against the wall when he knocked over a tin bucket on the shelf. They both paused, mid kiss, keeping their lips locked as the bucket clunked onto the floor. A bottle of chlorine followed with a few bouncing thuds. He winced and stopped it with his foot before it slammed into the door. They stayed still and listened for a few seconds, but resumed kissing when the corridor outside stayed silent.
“We’re not supposed to do this,” she whispered.
He pulled her closer. “I know. So tell me to stop.”
She chuckled and he abandoned her lips to trail a row of kisses down her neck. Svala tilted her head back against the wall, her fingers buried in the soft mass of his thick brown hair. He pushed the sweater down over her shoulder and his slow, affectionate kisses against her skin sent shivers through her body.
Then he paused and peered up, his lips still pressed against her shoulder. “How bad would it be if I made love to you right now?”
She reached out to caress his cheek and discerned his clear blue eyes in the darkness. “Pretty bad.”
His lips lingered on her shoulder before he pulled away with a deep, collecting breath. With his hands clutching her waist, he leaned his forehead against her shoulder, and inhaled swiftly. “What did Trym say?”
Svala placed a hand on his chest, adding gentle pressure. “That I should stay away from you.”
He glanced down at her half-hearted attempt to keep him at a distance and offered a lopsided smile. “Well, you’re doing a great job, honey.”
She chuckled and met his gaze. “What did Alva say?”
He snickered. “Oh, she said go for it.”
She slapped his chest and frowned. “You’re funny.”
“And you’re adorable at fourteen. I’d almost forgotten.”
Svala wrinkled her nose but accepted his next kiss without complaint. She could stand in there all day, kissing him, but it posed too big of a risk and she already wanted more. She pulled away. “What did she say about Freja?”
Viggo’s eyes shifted and his grip on her waist loosened. “She didn’t know. She asked The High Council, but they didn’t tell her much.” He looked up and pushed a strand of hair from her face. “What did Trym say?”
She shook her head. “Same thing. He told me to be careful, but that they didn’t give any restrictions on how to communicate with her.”
Footsteps clomped the hallway outside, like someone running late to class. They paused and listened as the steps faded down towards the science lab.
“Does she recognize you?” Viggo asked.
Svala ran a finger over the neon colored print on his T-shirt. “I don’t know. She looks at me like she’s not quite sure. I can tell she wants to ask.”
“Yeah, she’s been looking at me too.” He nodded.
She fought the urge to smile.
He frowned. “What?”
“Nothing.”
He stared at her, urging her to explain.
“You should probably be careful with that,” she said.
His frown deepened, and Svala arched her brows until his frown morphed into a grimace. “Oh, come on! She recognizes me. Seriously, don’t even go there.” He shuddered.
“I’m just saying. Be careful.” She ran her index finger around the edges of his T-shirt print, avoiding his gaze. “Some of the girls talked about you this morning. They think you’re gorgeous.” She rolled her eyes.
Viggo’s chest moved with a soft chuckle. Svala stopped trailing her fingers over the print and lowered her hand.
“Hey.” He placed two fingers under her chin and forced her to look up. The humor in his voice annoyed her. “Do I detect jealousy?”
“
No
.” She evaded his gaze. “I just didn’t like it, that’s all.” Her gaze shifted back to him, her insecurity surprising her. “Is it always like that for you?”
He said nothing. Instead, he held her gaze until she no longer wavered, and then he kissed her. She blushed and answered with more hesitation than before. Her jealousy was childish, but those girls had ogled him like they wanted to tear his clothes off right there in the hallway. Normally, if anyone paid him too much attention, she’d discretely flash her wedding ring, and most women backed away. Most women. This situation rendered her powerless.
Viggo clutched her face in both hands and smoothed her cheekbones with his thumbs. “Don’t worry, honey. I always save myself for you.”
***
Present time
Washington
Svala thought of those words when she studied Viggo across the hallway in her current high school. He caught her staring over the herd of girls surrounding him and Emma. The moment their eyes met, Svala turned. She had to get away from him or she might act on the temptation to walk over and claim him, mark him as hers. The urge to do just that clouded her judgment.
She hurried to class where their teacher, Mr. Weston, pushed the black-framed glasses up the bridge of his nose and scanned the half-empty classroom through a frown. “Is there a flu going around?” he asked.
“No,” Jayden smirked. “Only a storm rising.”
A chuckle spread through the room, and Jen turned to offer Jayden an approving grin. Svala smiled to herself. For years, Alrik and Trym made that pun every time she and Viggo reunited, though with a different subtext. Viggo always hated it.
Mr. Weston gazed out the window and squinted at the sun, raising his eyebrow at the sight of the clear blue sky. He shook his head in confusion, and then returned to his students. “Very well. Let’s get started.”
After class, Svala found Freja waiting outside the principal’s office, alone. The hallway was nearly empty, and Svala’s repeated glances made Freja look up. Her eyes narrowed at first, then she seemed to recognize Svala, and smiled.
Jen and Noah stood by the lockers, arguing over the coming weekend’s activities while waiting for Jayden to return from the restroom. Svala seized the moment, abandoned her friends, and approach her daughter.
Freja eyed her, like she couldn’t quite place her, then lifted a finger when Svala closed in. “You were in my gem store in New York, right?”
“Yeah.” Svala nodded with a smile of relief.
Freja offered another warm smile. “I thought I recognized you. What a wonderful coincidence. Do you go to school here?”
Svala nodded again, unsure of what else to say. She hadn’t thought this through. Freja studied her through a moment of awkward silence. “I see that you’re wearing the necklace you bought. It suits you.” She looked at the amber jewelry resting against Svala’s red shirt.
“Thanks.” Svala fingered the gemstone in a nervous gesture, her hands sweating. “I didn’t mean to disturb, I recognized you, so I only wanted to come over and say hi...”
“Oh, don’t be silly. You’re not disturbing me.” Freja adjusted the strap from her purse further up on her shoulder. “I’m waiting for my daughter and Viggo. Emma, my daughter, is getting the grand tour around the school, and I offered to wait here. Didn’t want to slow them down.” She pointed to her leg. “Old injury that’s acting up again.”
Svala’s heart sank, and her voice pitched. “What injury?”
Freja flinched back slightly and Svala cleared her throat, and hurried to smooth over her reaction. “I’m sorry. That’s none of my business.”
The frown on Freja’s face dissolved, and instead, a slow smile built on her face. She reminded Svala of herself, on those few occasions she’d lived a life over the age of forty.
Freja studied Svala, head tilted to the side, as if the recognition was mutual. “It’s okay; I fell down some stairs once.” A quick, almost undetectable waver of insecurity passed over Freja’s blue eyes. “A long time ago.”
Svala nodded, and tried to appear unaffected while the questions rang in her head.
Why did she lie? What happened to her?
“I’m sorry to hear that.” She shifted her eyes to Freja’s leg, and her stomach tightened.
Freja shrugged and pressed her lips together. She glanced down the hallway, before returning to Svala. “Is this a good school?”
“Yeah, I think so.” Svala tried not to stare at her daughter’s leg again. “We have some really good teachers, I think your daughter will like it here.”
Freja’s brows shot up, as if she doubted Svala’s assumption. Svala masked her puzzled reaction with another smile, but had no time to consider Freja’s reaction as Viggo rounded the corner up ahead. Two security guards and a small group of girls followed in his wake. When he caught sight of Svala, he quickened his steps, and his eyes sparkled with excitement. The closer he got, the harder Svala’s heart pounded.