Nordic Fairies (Novella Series, #1) (2 page)

She lived with Trym until she fulfilled her assignments. He took orders from the top of the chain, and made sure Svala didn’t connect with Viggo before it was time.

“
Why would we be punished for our love, and what would happen?”

“
You must focus on the assignments. That is what’s most important. If we don’t work with making this world a better place, the balance is lost. The Döckálfar might take over,” Trym explained.

“
And what will happen if we disobey?”

“
Then you risk losing each other forever.” He must have picked up on her terrified expression because he put a hand on her shoulder and added. “Don’t worry. You’ll soon find the time apart a small price to pay for eternal love.”

It had been two years since Svala had last seen Viggo. Their previous assignment took over six years to accomplish, yet their union had lasted only three weeks, making the time apart feel closer to eight years than two.

***

Several months before she stood in line at the mall, Svala zapped through channels while eating chocolate ice cream straight out of the box. She slouched on the living room couch back in Washington D.C. and dug her spoon into the almost empty container when Viggo appeared on the screen. She froze at the sight of him and the ice cream slowly slid off the spoon and back into the box.

With her gaze fixed on the screen she shouted in a high-pitched, panicked voice, “Trym!”

Trym emerged from the kitchen moments later. He wore an old apron and clutched two potholders in each hand, his face filled with worry. He opened his mouth to speak, but paused at the sight of Viggo on the screen. The color drained from his face. He turned around and backed up against the couch until he reached it and sat down with a thud.

Together they watched Viggo in tense silence for over ten minutes.

“
My God, what is he doing?” Trym asked.

Svala couldn’t tear her gaze from the screen, and her eyes welled up. “I don’t understand. What does this mean?”

Trym watched her with concern then turned to the TV where Viggo had taken off his shirt, exposing a tattoo on his left shoulder blade they both recognized.

“
I don’t know,” Trym said. “There could be a number of reasons. I... I don’t know.”

“
Shouldn’t we do something?”

The remains of the ice cream had turned into a slow moving liquid at the bottom of the carton. Svala placed it on the coffee table and kept staring at the screen.

“
We have to find out what this means.” Trym said, a worried frown on his face. “And we have to be very careful.”

They waited for Viggo’s next move, the movie premiere. Once they announced the release date, Trym made the necessary arrangements. No one would be suspicious of four sixteen-year-old girls going to the premiere of a movie most teenage girls were dying to see. Svala’s friends had been over the moon when she informed them about the tickets.

***

“
I know it’s difficult, but try to stay out of his sight. The more you can find out without contacting him, the better.” Trym offered a stern look.

They stood in her room while Svala packed for their trip. She fingered a red dress she planned to wear to the premiere. Running a hand over the smooth fabric, Svala sighed. “That’s asking a lot.”

“
I know, but you must.”

“
Would you? I mean if it was...” She trailed off, ashamed for bringing it up.

Trym let it pass, but she knew it was an exception. They both grew silent.

“
I would suggest you wear something less... eye catching.” He nodded to the dress. “And dye your hair. Dark.”

“
How dark?” She didn’t want to meet his gaze again, too upset with him for pointing out what she already knew.

“
Just dark.”

Svala grabbed the end of her blonde hair and groaned. She didn’t mind going dark, but he would not be looking for a brunette.

“
Can I trust you?” Trym asked.

She nodded, her focus still on the dress.

Trym sighed.

“
You have to be stronger than this. You know that.”

She managed another nod and looked at him. Her eyes teared and Trym looked helpless. His shoulders slouched, his gaze never settled. She knew he only wanted to protect her from what he had been forced to go through. She was being unfair.

“
You can trust me. I’m sorry, I...” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I just miss him so much.”

***

They flew to New York for the premiere. Trym told her friends’ parents he would accompany them and make sure they returned safe. To Svala’s friends, Trym was her uncle who raised her since her parents died in an accident when she was five. They’d used that version the last two hundred years, and it worked well. Trym was too young to be her father and too old to be anything else.

“
Mr. Linné, do we have to go back to the hotel right after the movie, or can we stay out a bit longer?” Jen turned to Trym in the cab, on the way from La Guardia airport to their hotel in central Manhattan.

“
I’m afraid I promised your parents I’d have you back in bed by eleven o clock. I won’t be able to go with you to the premiere, so I trust you do as I say.” Trym let his gaze wander over Svala. She turned to the window, hiding her tense expression.

He wasn’t her uncle, but he still decided what she was allowed to do. He had ever since the first time she met him.

“
But what if there is a party after?” Sarah asked. “Could we go?”

“
No.” Trym tried to smooth over the words with a smile. “I need you to come back to the hotel.”

“
But what if we get to meet Viggo Storm in person?” Jen insisted.

Svala bit her tongue and evaded Trym’s worried gaze.

“
Then definitely no,” he said.

Her friends were surprised. Trym was usually more easygoing than the other parents; he didn’t give them a hard time for coming home late or smelling of cigarettes. That was only because he didn’t think of Svala as a teenage girl and sometimes forgot her friends were.

***

Once the other girls unpacked, Trym took Svala aside in the hotel room. He had rented a suite at the top floor of a five-star hotel, a way to compensate for what she was going through. She appreciated the gesture, but he should have known her better than to think it mattered.

“
You need to find out what is going on before you approach him.”

“
I know what to do.” Her response came out more annoyed than she intended.

He leaned in closer and lowered his voice. “If he is only trying to meet you, you have to be stronger. You have to walk away. You understand that, don’t you?”

“
You don’t have to keep telling me. I know.”

Trym stepped back, crossed his arms over his chest and sighed out loud. “I know you do, but I don’t think you know what you’re up against. If he has been compromised by the Döckálfar, and we don’t help him, we might lose him to them.”

“
And if I approach him, I might not be strong enough to resist him and then...” She couldn’t finish the sentence.

“
Then you’ll risk losing him too. Especially after what the two of you did.”

There was a light tap on the door. Svala and Trym turned. It was Megan.

“
Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.” Her gaze flickered between the two of them.

Trym took a step back. “No problem. She’s all yours.” He reached out and stroked Svala’s arm before he walked out.

Chapter 3

“
Try not to think about it. And try to have a good time,” Trym said as Svala and her friends headed out for a day in New York.

After hours of shopping, followed by a stroll down Broadway, they ended up at Dean & DeLuca. Svala ordered a tall Cappuccino and a chocolate-chip cookie, and then took the seat next to Sarah by the window. Outside, people hurried past, missing the whole point of living.

Svala turned away from the window and listened to her friends’ expectations on the upcoming evening.

“
I wonder how close we can get to him.” Jen pushed her long brown hair from her face.

Sarah put down her cup and pursed her lips together. “What if...” Her gaze shifted to the ceiling, and a short pause followed. “What if I tripped and fell on him. Then he’d have to catch me.” She met the others’ doubtful faces. “That could happen.”

“
How could that happen?” Jen asked with a tone of voice indicating Sarah was an idiot.

Svala sat in silence following the conversation, but her thoughts soon drifted to the last time she had been with Viggo, two years ago.

At the time, she had appeared to be twenty, but was closer to nine hundred. Three weeks earlier they’d finished a six year long assignment and reunited. Usually, their union happened much faster. At one time, it had taken only three months to get back together, though normally it took between one to three years. Six years was a long time to wait to be with the one you loved and three weeks not nearly enough to satisfy their need.

This time, Svala moved to Viggo’s life. He’d been living in Los Angles, finishing his Masters Degree in Economics. His assignment had been connected to the current financial situation, and he’d been involved in the team of Ellinor Ostrom, the 2009 year’s Nobel Prize winner in Economics. Svala spent six years working with environmental issues in the Antarctic, and didn’t mind moving from the cold to sunny Los Angeles to be with the man she loved.

She remembered Viggo stepping out from the large tiled shower in their Hollywood mansion. She stood by the sink, finished brushing her teeth. They lived in an enormous house, surrounded by the rich and famous, and their bathroom resembled a spa more than a bathroom. Everything about the house was a bit over the top.

Viggo reached for a white cotton towel, perfectly folded on a shelf beside the shower. He wrapped it around his waist.

“
Do you want to get married this time around?” Viggo asked.

Svala placed her electric toothbrush on the sink, met his reflection in the mirror and smiled. His blue eyes sparkled. Water dripped from his hair onto his shoulder.

“
What?” he asked amused.

She kept admiring the view of him, smiling wider. “Nothing.”

Viggo walked up and wrapped his arms around her small frame. The back of her thin silk robe, blue with a Japanese print, clung to his wet chest. Svala closed her eyes and felt his lips against her neck, his hands searching their way underneath her robe.

“
I love you,” he whispered and inhaled her scent in one sharp breath.

She turned her head and his unshaven cheek brushed against her smooth skin. He kissed the tip of her nose and placed a hand on her hip. She turned, and circled his neck with both arms. The movement made her robe slide slightly ajar.

Viggo looked down with a shy smile. “I think I’m going to have to stay home today after all.”

She chuckled. His arms around her waist pulled her closer. His body was firm, the hair in the back of his neck still wet, dripping onto her hands.

“
You’ve been away from work for almost three weeks. If you don’t go back soon, they might fire you.”

He nodded and rested his forehead against hers. “I know, it’s just... Six years is a long time.” Clasping her face in both hands, he tilted her head back. “I’m terrified you won’t be here when I get back home.”

She reached up and caressed his face, his bristles scraped against her hand. “I’m sure they’ll give us enough time to compensate. We’ve learned our lesson.”

He pulled her into a kiss. Soft yet determined. His tongue found hers. She kissed him back, and allowed him to push her against the sink. She didn’t want him to leave either, but they had to live their lives like normal people now. They had to be responsible.

She placed a hand on his chest and broke the kiss. He eased back and tucked away a blonde string of hair from her face, admiring her. In this life, she had cut her hair in a bob. “Promise you’ll be here when I get back?”

“
I promise.” She stood on her toes and planted a soft kiss on his lips.