Chapter Seventeen
As he disappeared from beside her, the echo of Gwyneth’s cry rang in Ragnorak’s ears. The power inside that allowed him to shift rock and compress air was beyond his control now. He whirled through space against his will, tumbling through the air and landing on a hard stone floor. He dragged himself up from an awkward sprawl to stand on shaky legs and face his summoner.
Midas, garbed in gold and wearing a lavish necklace of jewels in a gold setting, stood before him looking every inch a monarch. But looking into his eyes, Ragnorak could see his character was weak, spoiled, selfish, cruel and all thing unkingly. He didn’t deserve to rule and certainly didn’t deserve a wife and daughter like Gwyneth and Brea.
Ragnorak had been unable to resist the call of his name, but that didn’t mean he had to bow down and obey this man like some spirit uncorked from a bottle. He was a king in his own right, ruler of the entire underworld. He straightened his shoulders, aware of his naked torso and glad he’d happened to put on a pair of drawers before being abruptly pulled from his bed.
“You called my name…brother?” He glared with hard-eyed intensity at Midas.
The other man glanced nervously at the guards standing nearby and ordered, “Seize him.”
Obediently, two soldiers approached Ragnorak. He held up a negligent hand, to solidify the air and block their approach. He was behind an invisible shield of his own making as he’d been the time he’d come to claim Gwyneth.
“You may have the power to summon me, Midas, but you can’t imprison me. Our mutual father asked my mother to grant this boon—a bond between us, if you will—hoping I might come to your aid should you ever truly need me. Mother graciously granted the request, weaving the power of summoning into my name. But this is a one-time use only. You can’t use the summons again.” The last bit was a lie, but Midas didn’t need to know that. “Now what is it you want from me?”
“My wife back! She’s been imprisoned in your realm by some demon. Find her. Return her and my daughter to me at once.”
Did the man really not know it was he who had taken Gwyneth? Ragnorak studied his face and weighed his options. He meant to return Brea and Gwyneth to the topside world anyway, but not to this undeserving man. Somehow he must secure their freedom from Midas, making certain Gwyneth and Brea lived happily at last.
“I could grant that request, but I’m not here to serve you. This is a negotiation between us.”
“I don’t play games unless I know I’ll win,” Midas said flatly. “And a king doesn’t need to negotiate. He takes.”
“He negotiates with the monarch of another kingdom unless he wishes to provoke a war.” Ragnorak imbued his words and glare with as much threat as he could muster, which was considerable. He didn’t really intend to create a conflict between the lower and upper worlds, having worked too hard to overcome the enmity between them. But again, what Midas didn’t know could be used to manipulate him.
“As I said, I could return your wife and child,” he continued, “but I sense there are things you’d find more valuable. My realm is full of the minerals and stones you apparently deem valuable.” He indicated the opulent neckpiece Midas wore. “Gold is a poor mineral as far as my people are concerned. It’s not hard enough to be of great value to us.”
“You’re suggesting I trade my adored wife and baby for jewels and gold? What sort of man would do such a thing?”
“A man who loved a woman only when he thought she could spin straw into gold. I’m telling you now, Gwyneth does not have that ability. I fulfilled the task you set for her. The woman has no special powers beyond what every woman has.”
“You lie. You’re the one who took her and you want to keep her for yourself!”
“No. I want her to be free, and I’m willing to bargain for her freedom.” An idea flamed to life in his mind, a way to appease Midas while securing Gwyneth’s safety.
“What kind of a bargain? I have a kingdom that skates on the verge of financial collapse. I would need great incentive to sacrifice my cherished family for wealth to support my country.”
Ragnorak folded his arms over his bare chest and stared at his half-brother. “Your people will admire you for making such a noble sacrifice on their behalf,” he said dryly. “How much would make it worth your while to divorce Gwyneth—who, incidentally, has already divorced you according to our laws—sever your parental rights over Brea and allow them to leave the palace and live comfortably in a home of their own?”
Realizing he had something Ragnorak desired seemed to restore some of Midas’s lost bravado. He strode toward him, heels clicking on the flagstones, and stopped only when he reached the invisible barrier. From several feet away, he stared at Ragnorak. “You fancy yourself in love with the wench? How amusing. What is it about you lowborn demons that draws you to the light of our world? You don’t belong here, and no one from here can ever belong to you.”
Ragnorak was growing impatient. He wanted to make the deal and be done with it, cut Gwyneth cleanly from his life and slink away to lick his wounds. “I know that,” he said through gritted teeth. “Thus the offer of a deal.”
He could almost see the wheels turning in Midas’s head as he tried to calculate how much he could get away with. Ragnorak realized right then that no matter what figure he came up with, however many bushels of diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies or pounds of gold and silver, Midas would always think he should have held out for more. And Ragnorak could never feel certain Gwyneth and Brea were truly safe.
“This arrangement will be ongoing,” Ragnorak suggested. “I’ll return Gwyneth and Brea to the castle and fill one storeroom with gold. In a month, my proxy will check on their wellbeing. If their situation meets with his approval, I’ll fill your storeroom again. After that I’ll check on their progress yearly. As long as they’re safe, secure and content, I’ll supply a roomful of metals or gemstones, per your request.”
“What happens if either should fall ill through no fault of mine?”
Ragnorak smiled, and he knew his smile could chill the blood and make a man cower in fear. “You should hope they remain in good health—and happy. Do we have a deal?”
Midas paused a moment, searching for an angle, a way to push for just a little bit more than the already generous offer.
“My patience wears thin,” Ragnorak thundered, leaning toward the other man. “And if I leave now, I keep everything. The only way you would wrest Gwyneth or the gold from me would be through full scale war between my nation and yours. Trust me. You don’t want to rouse my ire.” He sent out a wave of power from his hand that shattered the stone mantelpiece with a crack, sending shards of rock and dust raining to the floor.
“Yes. All right. It’s a deal,” Midas agreed quickly. “A yearly supply of gold, and I’ll leave the woman alone.”
“Done!” Ragnorak released the protecting air around him and stepped forward to grasp his half-brother’s hand and give it a firm shake. Then he sent out a powerful wave that shaped both air and stone to his will and disappeared with a clap of thunder.
Gwyneth had been pacing the room with Brea held to her shoulder, rubbing the baby’s back for what felt like hours, ever since Ragnorak had inexplicably disappeared from beside them.
She’d felt the suction of a vortex as his solid form evaporated to be replaced by nothing but air, but she and Brea had not been pulled along with him to wherever he’d gone. Why would he leave them so abruptly between one breath and the next? She found it impossible to believe he’d gone of his own will. Some force had drawn him away from her—but to where and would he return?
At last she could take worrying in solitude no longer and was about to go find Karnak and explain the situation. Perhaps he or Agnet would have some insight into where their lord had disappeared to. Gwyneth laid the now sleeping baby back in her cradle and turned to walk from the room. At that moment, Ragnorak reappeared with a whoosh that set the air rippling as if a stiff breeze had swept through the room.
He stood in the center of the bedroom—no longer a fearsome figure garbed in deadly black, but a half-nude and vulnerable man. His guise had been stripped away, and Gwyneth knew him now for who he really was with all his strengths and weaknesses. Ragnorak was a ruler who cared for his people and tirelessly worked toward a better world for them. His kingly mantle made him a bit arrogant at times, but beneath it was a streak of self-doubt about his ability to lead. He was acutely aware of his half-blood status and felt somewhat of an outsider even among his own people. He was passionate, lonely, brave, reserved, powerful, uncertain. He was so many things, but most importantly, he was hers.
She rushed to him and threw her arms around him, pressing her cheek to his hard chest and listening to his strong heartbeat. “What happened?”
“I was called away.” A humorless chuckle vibrated through his chest. He held her for a brief moment before grasping her shoulders and pushing her back.
Gwyneth looked into his face. “By whom?”
“A relative.” He met her gaze, then glanced at Brea sleeping in the cradle. “There’s something I haven’t told you. I guess now I can’t put it off any longer.”
Her hands rested at his waist and she rubbed her palms over his warm skin. “Tell me.”
“As I said, I needed an heir because I can’t reproduce, being of mixed blood. My human father was King Gordia.” He fell silent, waiting for her to understand the import of that.
It took a moment for Gwyneth’s numb mind to make the connection. “King Gordia, Midas’s father? You are Midas’s half-brother.” Her mind whirled at the concept.
He nodded. “My name is imbued with summoning power, which is why I never share it. But somehow Midas discovered it and called me to him just now.”
Gwyneth’s stomach clenched as she tried to sort through what this meant. “Does it give him control over you? Do you have to do his bidding?”
Ragnorak paused before answering. “Something like that. We’ve made an arrangement at any rate. I will return you and Brea to him, but he will divorce you so you might live your life the way you choose—at last, no husband or father controlling you.”
He smiled slightly as he waited for her gratitude.
“You will ‘return us’ just like that, like property or possessions you’ve tired of and want to give away?” Hurt was followed quickly by anger bubbling up inside her. Here he was, offering her the gift of freedom but treating her once more like an object to be manipulated and moved as every man in her life had done.
“You’re not pleased?” His smile weakened at the corners.
“You didn’t ask me. You told me this and expected me to be ecstatic.” She took her hands from his waist and folded her arms over her chest.
“It’s what you wanted. For Brea’s health and yours, you can’t live underground, and you said you didn’t want to return to Midas.” His smile was long gone and a frown furrowed his brow.
“I don’t. But I also don’t want you to decide for me.”
The frown became a scowl and he looked nearly as formidable as when he was dressed in black. “There’s no decision to be made. This is best for you and the child, and an agreement has been made. You will go to the topside world where you belong.”
She wanted to continue to argue, to refuse to go and remind him they’d exchanged words of love not so very long ago. But she also knew he was right about the long term effects of living underground. This world was not hers or Brea’s. Torn by the impossible situation, she sought some solution, but Ragnorak didn’t give her a chance to think of one.
“The deal’s been struck. You’re leaving now. Take the child in your arms so I might send you back.” His voice was as hard as granite. He picked up his discarded shirt from the floor and put it on, then shoved his legs into trousers and boots.
Gwyneth spoke not a word as she lifted Brea from the cradle and held her close. Her world was spinning and he hadn’t even sent her through the vortex yet. Her desire for her daughter’s freedom warred with her own wish to remain bound by love. On her own, she would live the rest of her life in this underworld, sacrificing sun, sky and fresh air to remain with her lover, but she had Brea to consider. And right now Ragnorak was so cold he felt like a stranger again—one who was pushing her away with his rigid, distant demeanor.
He stood before her now, fully clothed in black once more, and spoke in a coolly polite voice. “I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you. I want you to know I’ve enjoyed your company. I’ll miss you and Brea, but this is for the best, as I’m certain you’ll agree.”
Before she could respond, reach out to him or even formulate a thought, he was gone—or actually she was, rushing through space. He hadn’t even taken her hand. She didn’t know he could do his magic without leading her through the space he made between the worlds.
Gwyneth felt a shock up her legs as her feet landed on solid ground. She clutched Brea tighter and fought for balance. The baby let out a squawk of annoyance.
Gwyneth looked around and found she was in the garden of the castle. It was nighttime. The moon shone overhead, a beautiful array of stars sparkled and a light breeze caressed her face and ruffled her hair. She lifted her face and inhaled a deep draught of the first fresh air she’d tasted in weeks. It smelled like freedom…and felt like a prison sentence. She was back where she’d wanted to be, but without her beloved demon.
She would never see Ragnorak again.
From the way he’d acted, he didn’t even care.
Chapter Eighteen
Ragnorak lifted the bottle and drank. He’d long since given up on pouring the wine into a goblet. What was the point?
Or the point in getting dressed when he wasn’t planning on leaving his room?
Or the point in living, really, since all light had been extinguished from his life?
He knew he was acting like a weak, miserable, useless, lovelorn, pitiable bastard, but straightening his spine and being a man was too exhausting to consider. At least no one could fault him for abandoning his duties to Elohim. He accomplished all his tasks in a timely manner, met with various committees and signed official documents. If he chose to collapse and drink himself into a stupor on his own time, it was his business.
He let out a loud belch and took another drink.
There was a sharp rap on his chamber door and Karnak entered before Ragnorak could snarl, “Go away.”
His steward, secretary, friend stood staring at him until Ragnorak was forced to look up at him through bleary eyes. “What is it?”
“You’re a mess, and it’s time you pulled yourself together.” Apparently Karnak was now also acting as his conscience or perhaps his mother.
“Is it?” he drawled and slumped back into the chair, taking another pull at the bottle.
“Yes,” Karnak stated flatly as he kicked aside an empty bottle and pushed dirty laundry from the other chair to the floor so he could sit. “If you won’t let the servants in to clean, you could at least pick up a little.”
“I like it like this.”
“People are starting to worry. Your nation looks to you. Your confidence is their confidence, and if they doubt your ability to lead…”
Ragnorak glared. “Why should anyone doubt? I haven’t shirked my duties or missed any engagements. What do they have to gossip about?”
Karnak pursed his lips and placed his steepled fingers against them for a moment before answering. “I understand what you’re going through. Before I married Guzel, when I was much younger, I fell in love once, hard, for a woman quite beyond my reach. The affair was like none other I’ve ever had,” he lowered his voice, “even my beloved Guzel. I would’ve given my life for that woman, done anything to become what she needed me to be. But it was impossible.”
He paused and waited for some reaction. Ragnorak took another drink.
“The point is, at the time I believed I could never recover, never love again. But I found another, a different woman, but a dear one nevertheless. My love for Guzel grew slowly but steadily and now it is greater than the flame I once felt for my youthful love.” He paused once more then added, “Svartan, you will find another woman. Look among your own kind this time. There are many who would make you a fine wife and a worthy queen.”
Ragnorak threw the bottle across the room, where it crashed against the wall and shattered the mirror, sending shards of glass raining to the floor. “I don’t want anyone else. I want
her
!” he roared.
Karnak looked at the destroyed mirror and back to his friend. “In that case, maybe you should find a way to win her.”
“I can’t! Neither she nor the child could survive down here. I had to let them go.”
Karnak exhaled and drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair. “It sounds as if you’d thought this through thoroughly and there’s absolutely no solution. Hmm. Surprising that a man with your ingenuity couldn’t possibly work out the problem. A little compromise, a little give and take would be out of the question, I suppose.” He shrugged and rose to his feet. “Very well. I’m sure you know best.”
Ragnorak growled his displeasure at his second-in-command’s sarcastic comments. He was in serious pain and deserved sympathy, not flippant remarks. “I’ve given her up because I love her. I’m giving her a chance at a normal, happy life. Isn’t that the heroic thing to do?”
“Certainly, if you want to be a hero who’s alone. All I’m saying is, either put the woman from your mind and move on, or go after her and find a way to make it work. But this wallowing is truly pathetic…sire,” Karnak drawled, taking liberties only a longtime friend was allowed.
The door closed behind him, and the goblet Ragnorak was no longer using crashed against the door. Ragnorak spat a curse before sinking back into his chair. Karnak didn’t know about the other part of the bargain. The gold provided to Midas would ensure the man never tried to invade the underworld. If Ragnorak broke the bargain by taking Gwyneth again, the greedy man might use it as an excuse to forfeit peace between the nations and try for even greater riches.
He pressed his palm against his brow, trying to relieve his headache, but the pressure wouldn’t ebb. He hated when Karnak pointed out the obvious. Of course, he couldn’t pine like this forever. He had to get up and move no matter how exhausted he felt. There was always more work to be done and the people needed him to be a leader in all ways. If he couldn’t have Gwyneth and Brea, he would devote himself to work instead, tirelessly striving to make Elohim the best place it could be. No weakness. No brooding. No more yearning for the impossible. He could live without love. He’d managed to for years.
Rising from the chair, he went to pick up the shattered glass from the floor.
Gwyenth knelt on the front porch of her little house, scrubbing bird droppings from the floorboards. She glanced up at the red-breasted wrens nesting in the corner of the porch beneath the eaves. Were they the same ones from her father’s house? Had they followed her here?
She scowled and clucked her tongue at them. “Go live somewhere else, stupid birds, or at least stop crapping on my floor.”
In her cradle nearby, Brea squeaked, her little noises sounding rather like the birds’ chirps. Gwyneth tossed her scrub brush into the bucket of soapy water and rose, wiping her hands on her apron. She crossed to the cradle and smiled down at her daughter. “You like the naughty birds?”
Brea gave a nearly toothless grin and waved her hands wildly in the air. Gwyneth couldn’t resist her cuteness and scooped her up into her arms, dancing the baby until she giggled and snorted.
Gwyneth held her to her shoulder and jiggled her, singing softly as she gazed across the yard—
her
yard in front of
her
house, dappled in sunlight and shadows from the forest of trees that surrounded the clearing. This was what she’d wanted, her freedom and Brea’s to live life without the interference of a man.
Thanks to Ragnorak’s bargain with Midas, the details of which she still wasn’t clear on, she had it all and was fairly content when she held Brea in her arms like this and surveyed her domain. But she couldn’t say she was happy.
There was something missing—someone—and an aching empty place in her heart where he used to be. It was better during the day when she was busy tending house and taking care of the animals and, of course, Brea. But at night, alone in her bed, she missed Ragnorak with a painful twisting of her insides that felt like it might actually kill her. She could scarcely sleep and couldn’t put him out of her mind: his hands on her body, his lips on her mouth and his hardness pressed deep inside her.
She’d thought he loved her, but he’d given her up so easily. Maybe she’d never been more than a temporary passion for him. Probably by now he’d found a woman of his own kind and had almost completely forgotten her.
Movement in the thick shadows beneath the pine trees caught her attention. A flash of brilliant scarlet like an oversized cardinal. Gwyneth caught her breath as she recognized Karnak, his silver hair flowing down his back, beckoning her into the forest.
She laid Brea down, ignoring her fussy cries, and descended the steps to walk toward him. “What are you doing here?” It sounded like an accusation rather than a polite greeting, but she couldn’t keep the surprise from her voice. She’d never expected to see a denizen of the underworld again.
He smiled and bowed with a flourish. “I’m Svartan’s proxy, checking to see how you are.”
“I’m fine,” she answered absently. “But what are you
doing
here? I thought no one from Elohim could stand the sunlight.”
He gestured at the pines. “I can’t, thus the shade of the trees, but I didn’t want to come at night and disturb you. Everything is well for you then? Midas has fulfilled his promise and found you a home. He has divorced you and severed his custody rights over the child?”
“Yes, he’s done all that.” Gwyneth nodded. “Although I’m not sure why. What did Ra—Svartan give him in return?”
The man shook his head. “I’m not certain, but I do know this,”—he gazed into her face with his pale eyes—“whatever he’s done has been for love of you. You mustn’t doubt that. He only wants you both to be safe and well.”
“We are, but…” She had no more to add. The subject was too personal.
Karnak hesitated then blurted abruptly, “He suffers. He is slowly wrapping himself in layers of stone, growing as cold and remote as he ever was before he met you. As his friend, I can’t stand by and watch this. I wanted you to know.”
She should’ve felt bad for Ragnorak. Instead a bolt of happiness speared through her at the news. He cared. His coolness when he’d bidden her goodbye was just a show. Stepping forward, Gwyneth clasped Karnak’s hand. “Thank you. I’m glad you told me.”
He dipped his head in acknowledgement. “Now, what are you going to do about it?”
Gwyneth approached the palace gates with some trepidation. She hadn’t returned here since her ex-husband had permitted her to leave, but she had a task to perform, an idea to free Ragnorak from whatever hold his half brother had over him. In addition, if she was lucky, she would also convince her stubborn demon lover that there was hope for a future for them together.
She’d left Brea with a neighbor woman while she went forth on this quest and now she walked alone up the paved drive to the castle. Gwyneth noted the gates had recently been plated in gold. She’d already guessed that gold was what Ragnorak had given in order to win her freedom from Midas. The gates confirmed her suspicion that her lover had paid Midas for her new life.
The guards at the gate, wearing expensive cloth of gold, immediately recognized her and bowed deeply as if she were still royalty. Doors opened to permit her entry through the outer wall to the courtyard and then into the castle itself.
One of the footmen rushed to get Wallace to deal with the unexpected arrival of the former queen. As she reached Midas’s throne room, the steward was there to intercept her. He bowed politely. “Madam, his highness is busy right now. Perhaps you might visit him at a later date or in a more private setting.”
He took her elbow and tried to steer her away from the chamber, but Gwyneth shook off his hand and strode forward. “Out of my way, Wallace. I will see the man now.”
Again the guards at the door bowed and opened the door for her as they were trained to do. She marched into the nearly empty throne room to find Midas lounging on his diamond and ruby encrusted throne. Beautiful women sat on cushions on either side of him and one knelt between his legs tending to his cock. No business was being conducted in the throne room today, and Gwyneth guessed this was a party that went on and on.
She knew no tax relief had been given the landowners or their tenants, the artisans or the middle class, despite whatever new riches Midas had accrued from Ragnorak. A bit guiltily, she prayed her suspicions were correct that Midas was tearing through his new wealth as quickly as he had his old. Only if he desired even more would he fall for her bait.
When he saw her, Midas straightened, pushed the woman in front of him aside and tucked his cock into his breeches as he rose from the throne. He waved a dismissive hand and the women hurried from the room.
“Why have you come here?” he demanded, gazing at Gwyneth through bleary, red-shot eyes. “I’m finished with you.”
Gwyenth stopped in the center of the room and gazed at him coolly. “As a subject of this country, I’ve come to seek satisfaction for a wrong that’s been done. That is the purpose of the court. Is it not?”
Midas glared. “You have no rights, and you’re lucky you’ve gotten off as lightly as you did after lying to your king about your magic abilities. That’s treason. I could’ve had you beheaded.”
Playing with fire
, a voice inside her warned, but Gwyneth swallowed the nervous flutter in her throat and pressed forward. She must bait her hook carefully and convince him she had something to gain, too. “As all the world can see, you have palmed off your daughter and me with too little. I need a bigger house and a servant to care for it. It’s the least you can do for us. However, I don’t wish you to…” She cast a glance around her opulent surroundings. “…go short. And so, I have a proposition to make, a bet I dare you to take.”
“A bet?” He laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. You have nothing I want or need.”
“But your brother does. I believe he’s giving you some sort of payment for my freedom. If I can show you the way to treble that amount, would you give me what I ask? A bigger house—just two extra rooms would do—and a servant. Compared with what you’d receive, it would be a drop in the ocean.” She paused, watching the sparkle of greed grow in his bloodshot eyes, then added the extra hook that put her at risk. “In addition, if you win the bet, I will give myself to you for one month—to do with whatever you like.”
Ah, she knew Midas too well. When she’d been his legal wife, he’d shown little interest in bedding her, but owning her as a slave to his whim would fire his desire. He would humiliate and abuse her to make up for having been coerced into setting her free.
“I’m listening.” He leaned forward, gripping the arms of his throne.
Gwyneth drew a deep breath. Now that the moment was here, she was almost afraid to announce her plan. What if Ragnorak refused to participate, or what if he couldn’t answer the questions she posed? What if, despite her seeming to place herself on the same side as Midas by her request for the bigger house, he suspected some kind of collusion and drew back?
“I will summon the Demon Lord here and now and ask three questions of him. If he can’t answer the questions, I’ll give myself to you as stated. If he can, the previous arrangement you made will be broken. You may not accept any more riches from the underworld yet you must still leave me and Brea alone.”