“Everlasting?” Atticus whispered.

“The elves explained that to bind Finnie here, Sjofn would need to remain there, never to come back and Finnie never to go home. This is my decision; it is made to fulfill my destiny and that of Lunwyn. It is also made to punish Sjofn for her treachery,” Drakkar declared.

“We’ll never see her again?” Atticus asked quietly.

“Never again,” Drakkar confirmed.

Husband and wife glanced at each other then they looked to The Drakkar. This time, both were smart enough to stay silent on the subject for the decision of a Frey which led to his command of the elves was never questioned.

But Aurora did speak.

“Your Finnie,” she said softly, “she pleases you?”

“Indeed,” Drakkar again confirmed.

Atticus looked to the ceiling then to The Drakkar before he asked quietly, “What is…” he hesitated, “your Finnie like?”

“Nothing like your daughter,” Drakkar replied, Atticus winced and Aurora pressed her lips together. Drakkar carried on. “She is soft. She is sweet. She smiles often, talks more and never has anything to say that isn’t interesting. She teases and she jokes and she is good at both. She is an excellent cook and has a strong spirit. People fall easily into her life and like being there. And she enjoys living, immensely, and does not hide it.”

“You care for her already,” Atticus observed.

“It would be difficult not to but I wouldn’t know for I have not tried,” Drakkar replied.

Atticus’s lips twitched and his eyes lit but Aurora’s expression stayed closed.

“I am The Drakkar and you both know what that means,” Drakkar said quietly. “But I cannot command your emotions. However, I urge you to find it in your hearts, even as you grieve the deeds and the loss of your daughter, to open them to Finnie. Sjofn escaped this world for selfish reasons. Finnie sought it for entirely different ones.”

“And will you share those?” Aurora asked instantly.

Drakkar answered just as instantly. “Her parents, your twins in her world, died when she was young.”

“Gods,” Atticus breathed, his torso rocking back and even Aurora’s back straightened slightly.

Drakkar nodded. “She grieves them still. She misses them. The elves told me she paid great treasure and we all know she took grave risks simply in order to see them or…” he paused then stressed, “you again.”

This moved them both. Drakkar knew it because Aurora turned her face away to hide her expression and Atticus dropped his eyes to look at his boots in an effort to do the same.

Drakkar kept talking. “She enjoyed her time with me at my hunting cabin and would have been happy to stay there, this I know. But upon offering the opportunity to spend time with you, she was eager to leave a place she liked and a village where she had made friends. Nevertheless, she carries great anxiety about seeing you. I can only assume, not knowing she was who she is, and being impatient with your daughter, you may have acted on this with Finnie in the brief time she was in your company and this is what causes her unease. But if you cannot find it in your heart to let her in, then I request you at least find it in your heart to show her kindness. She paid dearly and risked much simply to spend time with you. I wish for her to have this and to enjoy it and would look upon it favorably if you do.”

Atticus immediately inclined his head. Aurora slowly turned hers to face him again and she regally lifted her chin.

“I will go on to share something else I know to be true. That is, if you do open your hearts to her, she will reward you,” Drakkar stated quietly and saw Atticus’s jaw clench before he again inclined his head. Aurora nodded once. Drakkar nodded back and then continued, “There is more you need to know.”

Atticus pulled in a breath. Aurora patiently waited.

Drakkar went on. “She does not know I know she is not of this world. And she will not know until I tell her. You will keep this secret and behave as if she is Sjofn of the House of Wilde, however, obviously, you will naturally adapt your behavior to her as she earns your regard.”

Drakkar accepted his king and queen’s keen gazes as his mind moved to his request for this was something that had started to concern him.

At first, he did not share his knowledge of her coming from another world with Finnie because he was still adjusting to it himself. Then he found her consistent blunders endearing, her cover ups even more so and her reactions to things that surprised her deeply amusing. He enjoyed them all… greatly. Too greatly. Time had passed, not much, but enough that it had gone beyond when he should have shared he held this knowledge. Now, it seemed uncomfortably like he was keeping something from her, a secret that was important, so important, keeping it from her was a lie.

However, she’d just the night before witnessed him and Thad taking lives, she had not reacted to that well and took the news of her life being in danger even worse. With the additional anxiety she carried at again spending time with her parents, it was now not the time to discuss the knowledge he held about her.

But he knew he must find the time to do it and the words to explain why he didn’t do it earlier.

And he must do it soon.

“I don’t understand,” Atticus called Drakkar’s attention to him, “why –?”

“An attempt was made on her life, Atticus,” Drakkar explained. “She is not, to my knowledge, a princess in her world and from observing her closely, seeing her immensely friendly demeanor with others, this bears true unless royalty is vastly different in her world. She has never had, nor foiled, an assassination attempt on her life. She has not ever seen a life taken and in one night, she saw three. She reacted to this negatively and this reaction was fierce. She is not your daughter, she does not hunt, she has not been trained in swordplay, knives or archery. From what I understand from her speech, behavior and reactions to things, her world is infinitely different from ours. For instance, animals do not speak to humans.”

Both Atticus and Aurora’s eyes widened in surprise at this unusual news but Drakkar carried on.

“She is getting used to a great deal, in fact, with the frequency things surprise her, it would seem nearly everything around her is new or unusual. After she settles and hopefully after we uncover who is behind the plot to take her life, and, it would seem, mine, for the first two assassins targeted me, I will speak to her about what we know of where she comes from and I will explain to her that she will be staying in this world with us without return.”