Therefore, Circe was Frey’s source and although centuries of experience with disappointment made him keep his expectations in check, as the days went by and launching the operation came closer, I could feel the men’s restless excitement.

Expectations might be in check but there was still hope.

Yes, this was how important the relic was.

Thinking of all this, I pushed deeper into my trunk to find a clean pair of breeches to wear, pulled some out, a small pouch dropped out of a fold and with it a piece of paper fluttered.

I stared at the tiny, purple satin pouch on the floor by my knee then reached down to pick up the folded piece of paper.

I opened it and read:

Sweet Finnie,

We hope you find this sooner rather than later.

We’ve packed some adela tea for you to use with your husband.

We don’t know if you’ve read about this in your books but in case you haven’t, we’ll explain.

Harvesting anything from adela trees, which grow very slowly and are very susceptible to disease, is strictly controlled. Any adela tree is sacred for they are created by the goddess but also they are the entry point of the elves from their realm into ours. If anything were to happen to the adelas, the elves would be trapped under the earth for eternity and no one wants that so they are handled carefully.

Adela tree branches can be gathered only for wedding bundles and their bark is harvested cautiously and used for a special tea. Adela tea is quite expensive, very rare and not used widely.

We were not able to purchase more than just enough for you to make one cup but one cup, shared by lovers, is just (this underlined) enough.

You see, the tea serves to heighten your senses, touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing, and also it significantly heightens arousal. Alyssa has an ongoing dalliance with the head of the Ulfr House, she is a particular favorite of his and she visits him every time he comes to Fyngaard. Once, he had some tea that he shared with her and she said it was marvelous (underlined twice).

Please do not worry, the affects are not debilitating nor are they lasting. Alyssa says that half a cup each for her and her gentleman lasted several hours, they slept well and woke up refreshed.

With your spirit, we thought this was an adventure you had (underlined three times) to take.

So this is our gift to you and The Drakkar.

Enjoy, sweet Finnie, and we look forward to seeing you upon your return and hearing all (underlined four times) about it.

With love,

Jocelyn, Alyssa, Esther and Bess

I picked up the pouch and fingered the soft parcel.

Then I grinned.

My girls were the… absolute… best.

And this was one reason of many, including the fact that they’d procured and provided me with a powder they promised (because they all used it) that I could sprinkle just a touch into water or coffee and it would keep me from getting pregnant. I had to do it every day and luckily it tasted pretty good, though weird, like a minty orange. Although it hadn’t been very long, so far, so good (since, unfortunately and fortunately, considering it was unfun having your period in this world and I knew that because I’d already experienced it twice – not to mention doing it on a ship with a bunch of guys, but two days into the voyage, I had it and luckily, four days later I was done and this meant I was free and clear… for now).

The door opened, I jumped and looked that way to see Skylar standing in it, keeping well away from me.

“Eggs, bacon and toast, milady?” he asked like he asked every morning for reasons I didn’t know because I’d learned from Frey that unless I picked just eggs and toast or just bacon and toast, or I wanted lunch for breakfast, that was my only choice for the ship’s cook was nearly as cranky as Kell, he wasn’t hot on personal orders and didn’t do anything “girlie” such as pancakes apparently were.

I smiled gently at the boy and said softly, “Yes, Skylar, that would be lovely. Thank you.”

He nodded once and moved quickly out of the room.

I stared at the closed door wondering what, if anything, I could do about that.

Then I decided to talk to Frey about it later.

My eyes drifted down to the pouch in my hand and again my mouth curled into a smile.

Yes, I’d talk to him about it.

Much later.

* * * * *

I watched my dagger skitter across the deck and come to a stop against some rope.

Then I bit my lip and ignored Stephan, Max and Gunner, who I knew would be grinning, thinking this was hilarious, and Kell, who would be scowling, thinking I should be hiding in Frey’s cabin for the duration of the trip repeating to myself that I would never again set foot on the ship that was named after me… or any ship for that matter.

Then I looked at Lund as he pulled out of the lunge he’d used to knock my dagger away and sheathed his own. Then he planted his hands on his h*ps and glowered at me.

“Finnie, I’ve told you, you have inexperience and lack of strength as formidable weaknesses but quickness, surprise and…” he paused and leaned slightly toward me, “concentration can be used as your strengths. To have quickness and provide surprise, you need to…” he paused again, leaned back and crossed his arms on his chest, “concentrate.”

He was not wrong. My mind was not on learning how to wield a dagger. It was afternoon. My mind was in the cabin where the adela tea pouch was and where, I hoped, Skylar had left a boiled kettle for me (a request, since I was thinking to surprise Frey, I had actually made myself).

“I’m sorry, Lund, my mind is elsewhere,” I admitted.

“If this is so, then you should not be working with a dagger. What just happened, happened because I am good and I don’t wish you harm. In a true fight, a man could take your hand with that maneuver, had he the strength and sharpness of blade. At the very least, he could cut your wrist where blood flows freely. Then you’d be significantly weakened and even face death.”

Ho boy. Death was never good.

“Right,” I said softly.

He uncrossed his arms, got closer to me and I looked up into his gray eyes which, I noted, had stopped glowering and had warmed. I had also long since noted that this was Lund’s way. He could lose his patience in our practice but only when I did really stupid shit he’d told me time and again not to do but he didn’t lose it for long.

“I enjoy our sessions, my princess, but I equally enjoy teaching you how to cut a deck false. If you wish to skip your lesson, we can sit down to cards. All you need do is say.”

God, seriously, he was a nice guy and, spending time with all Frey’s men, I’d found they all were.