Nordic Fairies (Novella Series, #1) (5 page)

Svala’s heart started beating faster.

It had been their sign when he needed her to rescue him out of a social situation. He’d touch the bow of his tie, as if adjusting it, or let his hand smooth over the length of it. Whenever he did that, Svala would come and request his attention elsewhere, thus getting him out of the situation without being rude. It had been especially useful in their life before last when Viggo had been running for office and their attendance to dull functions and fund-raising events had seen no end.

Svala kept smiling. Even if he didn’t recognize her, there was still hope. He remembered something.

Two hours later, they reached the end of the line. Svala urged her friends to go ahead while she turned around and jotted down a message on her hand: the name of her hotel and her room number. She hesitated then added: “Please nod if you recognize me. I’m worried about you.”

Megan stood in front of Viggo when Svala turned around. She had forgotten her speech and stared at Viggo with wide eyes. When he handed her the picture back she yelped, but didn’t move along. A security guard nudged her and told her to step aside for the next girl, Sarah.

Svala faced Amanda Jones, Viggo’s new girlfriend. Up close she was even more stunning. Her smile, however, less honest than it had appeared further back in the line. Svala handed Amanda the promotional picture. Amanda signed it and offered Svala the same bored look she’d given the other girls, then broke out smiling. Beside Svala, Sarah lingered with Viggo.

“
Move along, miss.” The security guard shoved Sarah to the side.

One step to the left and Svala faced him. She met his calm blue eyes, but his smile didn’t differ from the one he’d offered all the girls before her. She handed him the picture, and her hand trembled while it hovered in the air in front of him.

Viggo looked at her hand, paused for a moment to read, then sighed annoyed and grabbed the picture with some force. She pulled back her hand and waited while he signed the photograph. Slower than before? She couldn’t tell, she was too nervous, too anxious to get his nod of recognition.

The pen ended in a perfect ‘m’. He slid the picture across the table, rather than picking it up and handing it to her, like he had with everyone else. He didn’t look at her. He didn’t even offer her the mandatory smile or the nod she expected. Instead, he leaned back and waited for her to pick up the picture. She waited. He looked past her out over the crowded mall, like he still sought someone.

“
Miss.” A security guard put his hand on her arm. “Move along.”

Chapter 7

Svala folded her black dress into her suitcase and placed the signed picture of Viggo on top. Her hands trembled. She lifted them to her chest to calm herself down, and a deep shudder escaped.

Her friends had gone out, making the best of the last hours in New York before they had to leave. Trym was out too, searching for answers, or so he said. Svala told them she wasn’t feeling well.

Svala closed her bag when a violent knock cut through the silence. She jerked back.

Out in the living room she stopped short and stared at the door, too afraid to hope for him, too desperate not to. Her heart pounded; her hands still trembled.

“
I know you’re in there!” Viggo’s voice was deep.

She hesitated, but not for long. When she opened the door, she couldn’t remember walking up to it or even turning the lock. Relief filled her at the sight of him. He wore the same clothes he had worn at the signing, and he looked tired.

“
I recognize you.” His smile was sheepish.

She exhaled, but it came out more like strained laughter. His smile widened and his tensed shoulders relaxed.

“
May I come in?”

Svala glanced out into the hallway, nodded then stepped aside. The door closed behind him. When he passed her, his arm brushed against hers. They both stopped and closed their eyes. Svala’s heart throbbed, her breathing escalated.

“
I’ve missed you.” His voice sounded strained.

They stood perfectly still, her eyes closed as she focused on breathing slower.

“
You scared me so much,” she whispered.

“
I’m sorry...”

Their breath mixed in the silent room and her own heartbeat resonated in her head like a drum. For a moment, time stopped.

She opened her eyes and lifted her gaze. He watched her, his blue eyes intense with regret and longing.

“
Vig...” She swallowed hard. She should’ve stepped back, but couldn’t make herself. “Don’t...”

Viggo’s right hand clasped the left side of her face, his other landed on her hip. With a firm grip he pulled her against him, and leaned his forehead against hers. He caressed her cheek with determined, frustrated strokes. She gasped. His fit seventeen year-old body gave her little to want for.

“
You weren’t there when I came back.” His voice turned hoarse.

She moved her face against his hand to feel the smooth surface of his skin against hers. His breath brushed against her face, and her lips parted. His touch robbed her of all sensible thoughts.

“
God, I need you.” He clasped her face in both hands and eased back to look at her. His lips parted too, and the distance between them narrowed. The kiss landed on her lips, soft and familiar.

She moved with him. Like always, she didn’t grasp how much she needed him until she felt him. His hands moved up and into her hair, entangling her red strands as the kiss deepened. He pushed her toward the couch.

That’s when she pulled away and placed one hand on his chest. She pushed him away. “We can’t. They’ll keep us apart. We have to be stronger than this.”

“
I’m sorry,” he mumbled, but didn’t let go.

“
It’s okay.” She closed her eyes and searched for the strength to resist him.

“
No.” He stepped back and rubbed his face with both hands. “It’s not okay. This is exactly what they want. I can’t believe I did that. I can’t control it. I...”

“
What who wants?” She interrupted.

She knew the answer, but his confirmation made her shiver.

“
The Döckálfar.”

Her face twisted and she took yet another step back. Taking pause she realized. “Oh my God, they got to you, didn’t they? That’s why...”

He closed in on her. “No! No, it’s not like that.”

She raised her hand to ward him off. Their past lives had given her more practice to resist him. It was up to her to save them.

“
Then, what?” She lowered her hand.

He stepped back with a resigned look. Pulling one hand through his hair, he leaned against the back of the couch and slouched.

“
I’m not sure. That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

“
I don’t understand.”

He nodded and glanced up. “I don’t blame you. But that’s not why I came. I came because I couldn’t stand the look on your face today. I couldn’t have you think I didn’t remember you.” He looked at her. “At the same time I couldn’t have them know it was you.”

“
Then why didn’t you just nod? That was all I needed. It’s not like I would have jumped you in the middle of that circus,” she snapped.

Viggo smiled, amused. His reaction annoyed her further. She crossed her arms over her chest.

“
So you’re not going to tell me what’s going on?”

His eyes darted over her crossed arms, and the smile lingered even though he tried to fight it. She recalled how he had always found her temperament attractive.

Svala glanced at the door. Her friends would be back soon, and she needed to know before it was too late.

“
Vig, come on. Tell me.”

Viggo’s smile faded. He bit down on his lower lip and looked past her.

“
Please.”

He stayed in the same position for a while. She shifted her feet and waited.

“
I can’t tell you everything. Not only because I’m not allowed to, but because we’re not sure what’s going on yet.”

Without thinking, she took a step closer. He looked up, and she stopped.

“
We suspect something’s not right,” he said.

“
We?”

“
Alva and I.”

He didn’t elaborate.

“
What do you mean?”

Her hands ached to reach out and touch him. He looked so tired, so much in need of her.

“
Haven’t you noticed things have been off the last century?”

“
Off?”

“
The rhythm. Our lives. Even the missions have been different. Things have happened that didn’t make sense.”

“
Well, things change. We know that better than anyone,” she said.

He shook his head. “No, it’s something else. The Döckálfar are up to something, I know it.”

She gasped, the thought running through her head so unimaginable she had trouble posing the question. “What are you saying? Are you spying on them?”

He met her gaze, his calm eyes confirming her suspicion.

“
Are you out of your mind?” Without any time for afterthought, she walked up and pushed him on his chest so hard he almost fell back on the couch. “What are you thinking?”

Viggo grabbed the back of the couch to keep from falling, and eased back up. “Calm down, honey.” He reached for her. “I know what I’m doing.”

She shook her head and the tears surfaced without her consent. The thought of what he risked made her panic. She accepted his open arms.

“
Please, don’t do this. Don’t risk everything,” she whispered into his chest.

“
It’s not as bad as it sounds. They have no idea what I’m up to.” He stroked her hair. “I would never do anything to risk us, you know that. I’m trying to save us.”

She wrapped her arms tighter around him and buried her face in the nape of his neck. They turned quiet for a while. She listened to his heart beat and breathed in the familiar scent of him.

Then she had to ask. “Is this about her?”

It took a while before he answered. “I think she’s connected to it somehow.”

She leaned back. “You went to see her in the shop.”

He nodded.

“
I did too.”

He pushed away some hair that stuck to the tears in her face. “Did you see her daughter?”

Svala nodded and smiled through her tears. “She was beautiful.” She touched his face. “She had your eyes.”

His thumb smoothed over her cheek. They studied each other.

“
What can I do?” she asked.

“
Nothing. I don’t want you involved. That’s why I ignored you. If they find out who you are, they will do anything to see us fail. We won’t get any more chances, you know that.”

“
Well, I can’t sit and do nothing.”

“
You have to, at least until I know more about what is going on.”

She sneered. “You’re not making it easy for me. Why did you have to go and become a movie star? You’re everywhere. I can’t escape you.”

“
I’m sorry. It wasn’t my first choice, believe me. I needed the access.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Is this your assignment? Becoming a movie star?”

No one told them about the nature of their assignments. Most times they didn’t understand what it was about until it was over; sometimes they never knew what they had accomplished. This time he had to have clearance from somewhere to go public like this.

“
Not really.”

“
What do you mean not really?”

“
I can’t say.”

“
Why?”

He squirmed. “I can’t tell you.”

“
What do you mean? You don’t trust me?”

“
No.” He shook his head, as if it was ridiculous to suggest such a thing. “It’s not that, it’s...”

She waited. He squirmed.

“
It’s because of Trym.”

She eased back, brows raised. “What?”