I instantly pressed in deeper, chest to chest, fingers digging in his shoulders as I felt my eyes go wide, a big smile split my face and I cried, “How cool!”

He grinned then he said, “I must go with them.”

I blinked. Then I asked, “What? Why?”

“They have come to me with a message. It is important. I must go to the adela tree.”

Whoa. Wow. Cool again!

I totally wanted to see an adela tree. Not to mention, hang with elves.

I pressed closer and asked through my still bright smile, “Can I go?”

He kept grinning into my face but shook his head as his fingers gave me a squeeze, “No, wife.”

I felt my mouth turn down and asked, “Why?”

“They have a message for me, not you or us. And it is only me they expect at the adela tree.”

“But –”

“So it will only be me at the adela tree.”

Hmm. Bummer.

As was my way, when adventure was afoot, I didn’t give up.

“Can you go out there and maybe… ask if it was cool if I came with you? I could stand out of earshot,” I offered and he gave a short chuckle but shook his head.

“It must only be me.”

“But you’re big and scary and they’re teeny and not scary and you can stomp on them with your feet if you had a mind to. Maybe you can just tell them I’m coming.”

His brows drew slightly together again and his hands slid from my h*ps to the small of my back as his head dipped to mine and his voice went low.

“Finnie, it is true, I am their lord, but this is not their only form. They have awesome power and I command them but only because they have returned to the surface. They can retreat and I do not wish them to do so. If they want only me, as their lord, I should hear what they have to say and decide, during ensuing meetings, if I will take my winter bride.”

I was staring up with him with what I knew were big eyes when I breathed, “You’re their lord?”

He studied me then said, “Finnie, you know that, everyone does. The Frey of the line of Drakkar always commands the elves.”

Ho boy. I didn’t know and Sjofn hadn’t seen fit to share that tasty morsel in her note.

“They await, wife,” he prompted me on a slight squeeze of his arms.

“Right,” I nodded, “of course.”

I started to push back and then realized my hands on his shoulders and body pressed to his were not encountering cold. He’d been inside for awhile but it wasn’t like we had central heating. It was always a wee bit nippy, even with the fires blazing.

And his skin wasn’t cold. Not even a little bit.

I dropped my head to stare at his chest then it shot back and I stared at him.

Then I whispered, “Why aren’t you cold?”

His head tipped slightly to the side for a second before he quickly righted it and replied, “I do not suffer the cold, Finnie, this you also know because everyone knows it. I do not suffer in heat either.”

Uh.

Wow!

And.

What?

Unfortunately, I couldn’t ask because clearly I was supposed to know. And also unfortunately I had to cover.

“Right,” I said quickly. “I forgot.”

He examined my face while repeating, “You forgot,” in a way that said he didn’t believe me and in a way that said he either thought I was slightly unhinged or highly untrustworthy (or both).

“Uh…” I started to cover further, “I’m kinda freaking out about the elves being back after centuries, Frey. It slipped my mind.”

He stared at me. Then he whispered, “Right.”

Totally didn’t believe me.

So I covered more by smiling at him and I did it big. That worked. His eyes dropped to my mouth, his arms convulsed and the tension went out of his big frame.

I gave him a light push with my hands and said, “You better go. The cool-as-shit elves are waiting.”

That got me another hitch of one side of his mouth then he nodded and let me go.

When he did, I turned and looked around the room, saw his stuff tossed on a trunk and hurried to it.

He followed me and I handed him his sweater. He took it and pulled it on while I blathered.

“When you get back, I want to know everything. This is so cool. I love this. I can’t wait to hear what they have to say.”

“Finnie –”

I handed him his socks and cut him off. “No. Don’t say you can’t tell me. If you hear what they say and you can’t tell me, okay. But maybe you can. Don’t burst my bubble now. You can burst it later if you have to.”

He took his socks but didn’t put them on. He just stared at me.

Then he hooked me with an arm around my waist and I was suddenly plastered against his body and his mouth had crushed down on mine. He gave me a short, hot kiss (with tongues) then let me go.

Then he ordered, “Loft, wife, I’ll be back soon.”

I smiled at him and agreed, “Okay.”

Then I rushed to the ladder and up.

Once in, I stuck my head out and called to my husband as he tugged on his boots, “Have fun with the elves.”

His head tipped back and his eyes caught mine. Then he shook his head. Then he grinned.

I grinned back and slapped the curtains closed.

Then I rushed to the bed, sat cross-legged in the middle of it and listened to the door open and close.

Then I giggled.

Holy freaking moly! This world had elves and I was married to their lord, a man who, for some reason (magic?), didn’t suffer cold or heat.

How… freaking… cool!

This adventure was totally worth a million dollars.

Totally.

Chapter Nine

The Message

Tyr’s hooves pounded through the snow taking Frey Drakkar over the rise behind his hunting cabin and beyond, through the trees that grew thicker and thicker and into the heart of the forest, the part that was so dense, even Tyr and The Drakkar had to slow to navigate it.

Then they entered an opaque, drifting white mist that only The Drakkar and his steed could penetrate, any other human attempting it would be cast back.

The elves were present.

Tyr and The Drakkar moved through the thick stand of trees and heavy vapor and saw the light of the adela tree piercing the mist and shafting around the dark trunks of the forest well before they arrived at the clearing that held the wide, tall, sparkling adela with its many narrow branches rising straight from the stump, its bark glittering, its twirly-ended twigs profuse and shooting out to the sides and straight into the air.