55

Bolster

Even with the airboat speeding through the swamp, the wind wasn’t enough to cut through the thick, hot air. It had been just over twenty-four hours since we left Merellä, and this morning, Pan and I split from Dagny and Elof at the airport. They went north to Sweden, and we went south to Louisiana.

“You still wanna go to the hotel and freshen up?” Pan asked, as Knut drove us on the Yggammi Tree Inn airboat.

“Yes, that’s the first thing I have to do.” My hair was up in a ratty bun, and the back of my neck was still slick with sweat. Not only did I feel super gross, but nobody at the palace would take me seriously if I came around demanding an audience looking like this.

“And then we’re just gonna roll up to the castle and stroll on in and visit the Queen,” Pan said, not hiding his unease. “That’s the whole plan?”

“You’re oversimplifying, but yes. The plan hasn’t changed.”

“And why are you certain this will work?” Pan asked.

“Because.” I lowered my voice so Knut wouldn’t be able to overhear. I didn’t necessarily think that Knut was listening to us, but I was more paranoid since Ragnall’s threats against my life.

Pan leaned in closer, his shoulder against mine, and quietly asked, “Because why?”

“I think she knows the truth.” I looked over at him. “About who my father is. Or at least she suspects it.”

His mouth opened as realization hit. “That’s why she’s keeping tabs on you.”

“Yeah, that’s what I think.”

“But if she suspects . . .” He glanced back at Knut, and then he lowered his voice so much, I could hardly hear him over the fan engine, even with him nearly speaking in my ear. “You’re a threat to her position and her son’s. The Omte have absolute primogeniture succession. The firstborn child of the dynastic monarch inherits the throne, regardless of gender.”

I shook my head. “My mother isn’t Omte. I have no claim.”

“Your mother wasn’t,” he agreed. “But Orra Fågel was. And you once thought she might be. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to make the same connections you once did. But without the counterevidence that Indu and Elof gave you.”

“Alai,” I whispered. “You’re right. She thinks I’m a claimant.”

“You still think we should do this?” he asked.

I stared out at the swamp and the canopy of trees around us. My heart pounded hastily, as if trying to escape my chest, and my stomach convulsed.

“She hasn’t threatened my life yet,” I reasoned. “Unlike the man we’re asking her to help us stop.” I looked over at him. “We have to stop the Älvolk. This will help us do that.”

At the hotel, we checked into our room. We just got one room this time, only partially to save money. My savings were gone, and Pan had just enough to get us to Sweden. After that, I had no idea what we would do next, but I tried not to think about the fact that I was basically a homeless drifter now.

I didn’t have time to worry though, at least not yet, and I hurried to shower and dress. Since my hair was still wet, I did a quick fishtail braid. For my eyes, I did bronze on the lids with a smoky liner, and I paired it with a maxi dress dyed like an ombré sunset.

Pan looked gorgeous in snug jeans and a burgundy dress shirt, but I hardly had time to notice it because we were out the door and on the way to the palace.

The guard at the door let us in, but he waited with us in the foyer while the butler went to see if the Queen Regent would see us or not. I had tried to plead my case, but he refused to listen to anything beyond my name.

We waited long enough that I had started counting the snails on the walls to keep myself from freaking out. Pan kept shifting from one foot to the other and sighing.

A door slammed somewhere deeper in the palace, followed by bare feet stomping loudly on the cold stone floors. Then she appeared at the top of the steps, already in her dressing gown, which I should’ve guessed, since it was after six P.M.

“Why do you keep coming back?” Bodil asked, sounding incredulous as she descended the stairs toward us. “Have I somehow mistakenly given you the impression that you have a standing invitation to my home? Because you do not.”

“I need your help,” I said.

She glared down at me, her arms firmly folded across her chest. “I am not a magic fairy here to grant you wishes. I am the ruler of an entire kingdom. Who in the hell do you think you are to ask anything of me?”

I glanced over to the guard, and then I looked back at Bodil and tried to give her a knowing look. “Please. I promise this will be the last time I ask for your help.”

Her nostrils flared as she glowered at us a moment longer. “I’ll give you ten minutes, nothing more.”

“Thank you,” I said, but she didn’t say anything more as she strode down the stairs in a huff, her long robe billowing out behind her.

When she reached the main floor, she turned and stalked down the hall, and Pan and I hurried after her. It was dark in her parlor, no lights at all, and the black-and-red stained-glass window let very little of the setting sun in.

I hesitated in the doorway until Bodil lit two kerosene lamps, bathing the room in dim, warm light. The painting of King Thor was so large, the top half of his head was still in the shadows. Bodil had gone to a drink cart at the back of the room, taking a lamp with her so it illuminated her shelves of bejeweled figurines and wolfram statues while she poured herself rose-colored liquor from a decanter.

While she did that, I stepped over to the painting to get a better look at Thor. At my father.

His hair was short, but it was the same color as mine. His eyes were different, but his smile—lopsided, like his full lips—was mine too. The picture was much larger than life, but he was obviously a huge guy, with burly shoulders and a thick neck.

There was something playful in his expression, and a knowing twinkle in his eye. He looked like the kind of man who loved life, and I wondered if, when he laughed, he threw his head back. I bet he had a loud belly laugh that could be heard all through the palace.

“Is he what you wanted to talk about?” the Queen asked. She stood just behind me now, and I looked over my shoulder to see her taking a long gulp from her glass.

I would’ve loved to ask her about Thor, to listen to everything she was willing to tell me about him. But the Queen had only given me ten minutes, and I couldn’t squander it.

“No, I’m not here for that,” I said.

She arched an eyebrow. “I suppose we should sit down then.” As Pan and I went to the velvet love seat to sit, she said, “I’d offer you a drink, but I’m afraid you’d accept, and I don’t want you staying long enough to finish it.”

“Thank you for seeing us at such an inconvenient time like this,” Pan said, attempting to defuse the tension. “We should never have asked this of—”

“Just get on with it,” Bodil commanded.

“The Älvolk are doing something stupid and dangerous, and we need warriors to help us stop them,” I said bluntly.

“Of course it’s about the damned lost bridge,” she muttered, and she took another long drink.

“They’re going to cross it and enter Alfheim,” I said.

“Let’s make it short then: no.” Her lips twisted into a bitter smile. “I won’t help you.”

“This isn’t for us,” Pan persisted, and he leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “This is for everyone and everything. The creatures that cross the bridge are not anything that this world can handle, and if they’re allowed to roam free, thousands of lives will be lost.”

“Thousands of lives are lost every single day.” The Queen gave an empty shrug. “What do I care about anyone dying on the other side of the planet?”

“There’s no reason to believe the death toll will stick to Scandinavia,” Pan said. “An unstoppable monster would wreak havoc everywhere. Humanity’s governments could turn to nuclear weapons, leaving devastating fallout.”

“Sounds like humanity’s got it covered then,” she replied wryly.

I cleared my throat, and when she looked over at me, I said, “You should care about this because I care.” She snorted at that. “You know who my father is.”

She’d been about to take a drink, but she froze with the glass to her lips.

“We both know that I’ll most likely never ascend the throne,” I went on. “But I have enough evidence of a legitimate claim to make your life and Furston’s very difficult.”

Her eyes narrowed, and she slowly lowered her glass.

“Except, of course, I don’t actually have the evidence on me,” I said. “That would all be in the hands of Elof Dómari. You remember him, right? The Vittra Markis and the Mimirin docent? He plans to pursue a case with the Inhemsk Project, if I don’t return from this trip. You know, in case you decided it’s easier to kill your stepdaughter than parcel up your late husband’s estate.”

Suddenly, the glass shattered when Bodil clenched her fist too hard. Pan and I flinched away, but she was unfazed. She wiped the broken glass from her lap, and took a tea towel off her side table and wrapped it around her bloody hand.

“Ten of my soldiers,” she said finally. “That is all I will spare.” She looked at me, blinking slowly. “Now get the hell out of my palace.”