Chapter 16
Toni yawned as she dragged her ass into the dining room. Dear God, the man was insatiable. They’d made love, what, three times the night before? And he’d copped a feel before he left, making sure she was aware that he wanted more. Too bad she’d been half-dead and unable to respond, but damn had her body tried. Nik truly was a god in the bedroom, so beautiful her heart ached and so skilled he played her body like a champion.
Could you die from excessive orgasms? And would that be murder or suicide?
She chuckled, trying to ignore the fact that she’d basically become his future bride. That, as far as she was concerned, wasn’t an issue, but she planned on dragging it out until Nik realized that he had to ask first, rather than announce it to everyone but her.
Men. Sometimes they were brilliant, but other times they needed the Frying Pan of Truth to smack them upside the head. She’d go with something softer, more subtle, but…yeah. God or no, Nik was still a guy. It would take cast iron to get certain things through his thick skull.
At least he’d told her where he was going before he left her sleeping. Nik was off visiting with some of the men he’d sent out to spy on the craftsmen. He was determined to find whoever had helped Frederica shut him out, and she couldn’t wait for him to deal with his part so she finally hunt Frederica down. Sydney had been in Frederica’s grasp for far too long, and Toni was worried about her. They’d had no contact with Sydney except for that one brief glimpse of her a few days ago when Toni had found the video of Sydney’s kidnapping. They were still as in the dark as they’d ever been and it was driving Toni crazy.
She frowned, studying the crossing hallways before taking a right as she followed the directions she’d been given to the dining room. She was going to need a map to get around the palace, but the servants were falling all over themselves to please her and, through her, Nik. So getting directions hadn’t been a problem. The fawning servants, they were a problem. The men standing at attention and saluting her as she passed, that was a problem.
The nine women sitting at the table and staring at her were, however, the biggest problem of all. The moms had come for breakfast and no one had bothered to inform Toni.
If Nik knew about this and had left before telling her, she was going to kick his lily-white ass.
“Good morning, dear.” The first woman who spoke was fucking stunning. Her hair was shining gold and her skin a golden tan. Hell, even her eyes were golden. “My name is Gjolp, and I’m one of Heimdall’s mothers.”
It was true, then. These were definitely the moms. “Oh god. Not before coffee.” The women chuckled and Toni grimaced. “Did I say that out loud?”
“Yes, you did,” one of the women replied, her expression merry. Her hair was brown, as were her eyes. She looked the most human of the nine women. “I’m Imth, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you.” Toni ventured into the dining room warily. Not all of the women seemed pleased by the woman’s friendly introduction to her, especially the one with the pale hair and skin. Her expression was frosty to say the least. “My name is Toni, Toni Mancinelli.”
“We know, dear.” Gjolp stood and held out a chair between her and the human-looking woman. “Have a seat. You must be starving.”
“I am, thanks.” Toni settled gingerly into her seat. Hmm, something smelled like fresh-baked bread. She scanned the table eagerly. There was nothing like warm bread slathered in butter, but she couldn’t find any. The table was laden with fruits and meat, but no fresh baked deliciousness. “Did someone make bread?”
Imth chuckled. “What you’re smelling is me.”
The woman across from Toni sighed. “You’re prettier than I thought you’d be.”
Toni blinked. The woman looked like she could kick Toni from one end of Nik’s kingdom to the other without breaking a sweat. “Thanks?”
The woman smiled, her teeth almost blindingly white. “I’m Angeyja.”
“Hi.” Toni shook her head. “It’s going to take a while to remember all of your names, so please bear with me, okay?”
“We must be overwhelming, but we couldn’t decide who to send to meet you first so we all came. I’m Jarnsaxa.” This woman had a merry look to her, but there was something about her that reminded Toni of Logan. Maybe it was the reddish-brown hair or the smoke coming from her feet.
Wait. Smoke?
But weirdest of all was the fact that she was see-through. Was she a ghost, or was this some sort of magical Skype session going on?
Before Toni could comment, another one of the mothers spoke. This one had dark hair and silver eyes much like Nik. “I’m Eyrgjafa. We’re very pleased to meet you.” She speared a strawberry on her fork and waved it around the table toward the pale blonde woman who glared back at her. “Even Atla.”
The woman grunted disgustedly. “I just want to make sure she’s the right one, not the current one.” Cold-as-ice eyes landed on Toni. She was more terrified than she could ever remember being. She wanted to run, far and fast, but the women on either side of her had taken hold of her arms and held her in place. “Do you love him?”
Faced with that stare, what could Toni say? “Isn’t that for his ears first?”
God, she was going to die here and Nik would only have his homicidal mothers to blame.
“She does, Atla. It’s written all over her.” This mom wore an iridescent cloak that changed color faster than Toni’s eyes could keep up with. “I’m Ulfrun, by the way, and welcome to the Shadow Palace.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” She really did, because it meant she could break eye contact with Mama Death.
“Don’t let Atla scare you. She loves Heimdall just as much as the rest of us do.” This mom’s skin was the color of snow, and her dark hair glittered with shards of ice. She winked at Toni. “She’s really a teddy bear underneath that hard, cold, dead exterior.”
“Eistla,” Atla hissed.
“What? It’s true.” The answering mom’s green eyes were wise, her blonde hair decorated with summer flowers. “I’m Greip, and now you’ve met all of us.”
“Hmph.” Atla turned away from Toni and began picking at the food on her plate. “I just want to make sure he’s loved.”
Toni’s heart softened. This woman would kill without a second thought but her love for Nik was obvious. To ease her mind, Toni would speak aloud the truth she’d been hiding for so long. “Yeah, I do.”
“Do what, dear?” Even as Eyrgjafa questioned her Atla’s gaze turned back to Toni.
“Love him.” She held a finger to her lips. “Shh. It’s a secret.” She winked at Atla despite the rapid beating of her heart.
Atla’s lips quirked in a half-smile as she nodded slowly. “Good. I’d hate to have to kill you, since he loves you, too.”
Toni blinked as Atla turned back to her food. She didn’t know whether to be terrified over the blatant threat or overjoyed that Nik loved her back. “Okay then.” She gave her attention to the mom on her right, the one who smelled like homemade bread. “What was he like growing up?”
“Precocious,” Mama Bread replied, laughing.
“Dear lord, the things that boy got into.” The one with the smoking feet laughed. For some reason it reminded her of Morgan and Magnus, their joyous laugh almost identical.
“And he was such a rules lawyer!” The one in the rainbow cloak laughed loudly, a belly laugh that almost forced you to smile in return. Her voice was low and her gaze mischievous as she said, “‘Did you see me spill my milk?’”
The women laughed at the shared memory, even Atla.
“We could never sneak up on him,” Eistla added, still chuckling. “He developed that unique vision of his at a young age, so by the time we’d come up to him, ready to punish him, he’d stopped the actions that would get him in trouble and would be quietly swinging his wooden sword or skipping rocks across the Well.” Eistla shook her head, snowflakes falling from her hair.
“By the time he was six it really took all of us to raise him.” The lady to her left—Gjolp?—shook her head, still looking amused. “You’re going to have your work cut out for you if he wants to hide something from you.”
“He kept things from me, claiming that he couldn’t tell me why because he’d given his word.” The women exchanged quick glances, giving Toni the sense that there was far more to learn about her lover than she’d first thought. “Is that something I can look forward to a lot in the future?”
“Sometimes Heimdall needs to keep something to himself for the good of all.” The one with summer flowers in her hair leaned on her hands, elbows on the table. Her expression was serious, her tone even more so. “He will tell you what is allowed when it is allowed, but if he attempts to tell you more than that the repercussions to him will be severe.”
“How severe?”
The women exchanged another glance, and it was Atla who answered. “Very.”
Oh. That couldn’t be good. Even Atla had a concerned expression when she replied, as if she didn’t want to think of Nik hurting for any reason, especially one that concerned a puny human’s curiosity. “Okay. So death kind of things. Got it.”
Atla shook her head. “Visit Helheim. You’ll find that there are some things worse than death, Antonia Mancinelli.”
That kept everyone quiet for a moment, but it was Mama Bread who finally broke the silence. “It’s really not that bad here, Toni. I think you’ll find being the queen is quite…liberating.”
“Liberating how?” Toni stared at her. The woman was clearly mental.
“The Dökk Alfar adore Heimdall, and in turn they’ll come to adore you,” Mama Dark Elf replied.
“I don’t want to be adored. I want to help people.” Toni shot a look at Mama Rainbow Cloak. “You understand, don’t you? I’m a homicide detective. I hunt down the bad guys and bring them to justice. That’s what I do.”
“You’re a warrior queen, then.” Mama Rainbow Cloak—man, she’d really have to work on learning their names—appeared sympathetic, but that didn’t mean she’d agree with what Toni wanted to do.
“Can Nik, Heimdall, whoever, rule without me?” She looked around the table and found varying degrees of astonishment. “I need to work. I can’t sit on my ass all day just looking pretty.”
“Of course not! You’re a Valkyrie,” Mama Flaming Feet replied indignantly. “No one will try and make you do that. Didn’t Ulfrun say so?”
Right. Ulfrun was Mama Rainbow Cloak.
Atla snorted. “She’s worked with them often enough.”
Ulfrun stuck her tongue out at Atla before turning back to Toni. “You aren’t going to be some bird in a gilded cage, not with your temperament. Heimdall will make sure of that.”
Toni almost rolled her eyes, but she refrained. “I don’t want him finding a solution. I need to find it myself. Any job given to me instead of earned isn’t worth spit.”
That got her a look of approval from several of the women, including Atla, who was scaring Toni less and less the more she got to interact with the woman.
Mama Special Snowflake—Eistla? Yeah, Eistla—shrugged. “So earn it.”
Toni sighed and sagged back. “How?”
“You’re a homicide detective, and this is a city. You think the guard couldn’t use your expertise?” Mama Smoky Feet was pointing at her, her gaze filled with real fire. “Teach them what you’ve learned from being a detective. Bring in human technology. Some of us use it already, right?”
She had. The guards at the gate to Svartalfaheim had held modern weapons. “I suppose,” she drawled, her mind whirling with possibilities.
“But remember, you’re still going to be the queen,” Mama Summer Flowers replied. “I’m not sure how much you’ll be able to do with the guard, what with your other duties.”
“What other duties?” Toni glanced between the women.
To a one, they either shrugged or averted their eyes. Only Mama Special Snowflake—damn it, Eistla! Gotta remember that—replied. “Good question. There hasn’t been a queen on the Shadow Throne in… Ever.”
Great. That was awesome. She’d be setting the precedent for whoever followed her. “Gee, that’s awesome. I’m the Neil Armstrong of Shadowland. Do I get to plant my flag up Nik’s ass?”
All of the women laughed at that, even Atla.
Mama Bread winked. “One small step for woman…”
Toni held up her orange juice cup, glad when the rest of them did the same, even Mama Smoking Feet, who she hadn’t been sure could even hold a mug. So she was a ghost, not a magical Skype session. “One giant step for the queendom.”
They clinked their cups, in total accord. Nik was going to shit rainbow puppies when he found out how well Toni was getting along with her future in-laws. “So. Tell me about my ass turning into Snow White.” She pointed to her wrist, which was almost as pale as Eistla’s. “I really need to go makeup shopping.”
“Ooh, shopping trip!” Mama Dark Elf and Greip shared a high-five.
“Look on the bright side,” Mama Bread replied. “There’s no evil queen trying to off you.”
“Yet,” Atla muttered.
Toni sighed. “Great.”