FLOOD

Reunited

I told them everything. It just came flooding out of me, about Kalda and I being kidnapped, about the lab and the experiments. When I came to the part about Kalda's death I couldn't stop the tears, but I dashed them away angrily, determined to finish my story before I broke down. Telling them about leaving Fiske behind felt like a confession, but neither the king nor the queen looked at me like they were judging. They just looked...shocked. At the entire story.

Neither of them said a word until I was done. Finally I ran out of words, and my shoulders slumped. I was done. This was what I had come to do, it was what I had left Fiske behind for, it was why I had abandoned him and Eli. It was why Ake and Gunny had died to get me here.

My mission was complete.

There was a small commotion from behind, and I turned to see a crowd had gathered just beyond where commander Erik stood. The short blond woman in the green robe had brought her group with her, and there were a few nobles crowded around her. They must have approached while I was mid-story, I'd been too caught up to hear them.

The short woman nodded at me, then at the queen. "She's telling the truth."

Someone else from the crowd added, "Or she believes she is."

"Well." Loki pushed himself up, climbing to his feet. "There's an easy way to tell, isn't there?"

The throne room went silent as the king reached over and plucked a delicate champagne glass off the tray beside him. "The wine is mostly water."

I flinched when he stepped towards me, coming down from the dais to hand me the glass. Taking it with shaking hands, I stared at him. Did he want me to do something with it?

Megan nodded. "Go ahead,Valka. Whatever you're comfortable with."

"I — Yes, all right." Taking a sharp breath in, I pressed my lips together hard, concentrating. King Loki was right, the wine was watery, maybe a cheap vintage. When I stretched my senses out I could feel it easily. Shutting my eyes, I let myself relax.

There was no way I was going to screw this up. Not now.

I pushed the water upwards, felt it slide along the rim of the glass, then up over it. There was a collective gasp from the crowd behind me, and a low, appreciative whistle.

Someone from the back said in a deep, gravelly voice. "She could certainly come in handy, Loki."

My eyes fluttered open, and for a moment I watched the bright droplets of wine float above the champagne glass, perfectly spiracle and deep red, almost blood colored. Then I let them drop back into the glass, landing in the center, spreading ripples over the surface of the wine.

"Didn't spill a drop."

The gravelly voice again, this time it was coming from right next to me. I glanced down, startled to see the large black wolf that had been standing beside the blond woman. The wolf blinked, mismatched eyes shining brightly.

"The name of the wolf you went missing with was Fiske, you say?"

King Loki had settled back onto his throne, but he was leaning forward on the edge of the seat instead of lounging this time. "Someone you know, Fenrir?"

The black wolf grumbled. "Cousin's child. A runt, always in trouble. We thought he'd run away." He stared up at me again, which was a little unnerving. "Cousin will want to rip human throats out when he hears about this."

Megan frowned. "We need a plan. Valka, do you have any idea if they have other jotun still? If they do, we'll have to be far more careful. We can't just storm in."