Being in love with her man, Finnie never wanted to go. And anyway, she’d never done anything traitorous, questionable or otherwise, in fact, the opposite. So she took the other Sjofn’s place.
I knew Finnie had grown close to the king before he passed and was obviously close to the queen. Very close. Even if they weren’t blood.
And I was happy she had that. It was sweet.
I hadn’t asked after Ilsa’s parents, my mother and father of this world, and Apollo rarely mentioned them. However, if they knew of my existence, the way they lost their daughter, it would be doubtful they’d welcome me with open arms.
But it was a moot point. They’d both passed since Ilsa’s death. They’d lived to see their only child leave this world far too young, and then they both went.
When I’d learned this additional sadness, I didn’t dwell on it.
And I didn’t dwell on it now.
Instead, I sat on a velvet cushion mostly because Apollo planted me there. He followed me down and sat close to my side. The others were doing the same around the four couches that faced each other in a square.
Once settled, I marveled at how warm it was in the room.
Then again, there were two massive fireplaces on each side of it, both of them blazing.
Although we were settling in, and the Winter Palace was the abode of the Winter Princess (meaning it was Finnie’s), that didn’t mean that Aurora didn’t lord over that residence as well.
However, the way she was, I figured she just lorded over everything.
“You could cease this delay with bringing about my second grandchild,” she said, turning her reproaches to Frey. “The longer you wait, the more spoiled Viktor will become.”
Frey draped his arm around Finnie where they were on their couch, which was down from Aurora on the same couch, and drawled, “Fret not, my queen. I’ve seen to that and enjoyed the endeavor. Finnie’s with child.”
I gasped in delight as I felt Apollo come alert at my side.
But Finnie turned to Frey and slapped him on his stomach. “Are you crazy? You don’t tell a grandmother she’s going to be a grandmother like that!”
He turned unperturbed eyes to his wife. “How odd. I just did.”
She glared at him.
I forged into the breach, saying, “Oh my God! That’s so exciting!”
“Yes, indeed it is,” Aurora said softly, her lips tipped up two whole millimeters more than I’d seen them when she’d smiled at me which I took to mean she was super-happy. “Very exciting. Congratulations are in order. We must send away this tea and order champagne.”
She looked about ready to move to do just that but she didn’t when Apollo called in a strangely tight voice, “Tor?”
I looked to Apollo then to the couch Cora and Tor were sitting on.
He had her tucked close to his side, as Apollo had me, and Frey had Finnie, and also (at a quick glance their way), Lahn had Circe.
And my glance was quick to Lahn and Circe because Cora looked stricken and Tor looked alert, and not Apollo’s earlier my-cousin-just-suddenly-announced-(somewhat inappropriately)-he-was-going-to-be-a-dad-again alert.
And both their eyes were on Circe and Lahn.
I looked back to Circe and Lahn.
Lahn looked scary and not his usual hot guy scary. A hot guy concerned scary which was a whole lot worse.
Circe look worried.
Uh-oh.
“Cora’s with child,” Apollo guessed quietly.
“Yes,” Tor replied curtly. Then he clipped out, “Lahn?”
Everyone looked their way.
“My golden queen carries another warrior or princess,” Lahn confirmed.
Uh-oh.
All eyes came to me.
Oh shit.
I threw out a hand. “I’m not—”
My hand suddenly dropped into my lap as I did the mental math.
Then I got freaked out and redid the mental math.
Then my entire body strung tight.
“Poppy?” Apollo called.
Before Brunskar.
My last period was before Brunskar.
How could that be?
Slowly, I turned my head to Apollo.
“Does pennyrium always work?” I whispered.
His eyes held mine but they weren’t entirely focused.
He was doing the mental math too.
He got the same result as I did, I knew this when he did something Apollo Beautiful.
His eyes warmed and his arm curled me so I was forced to twist into him. When I did, he pulled me close.
“You carry my child?” he whispered like he wanted the answer to be yes.
I wanted the answer to be yes too.
Only when Chris had accepted me, Apollo and I had been married and no one was targeting anyone I cared about with extreme malice.
“I’m taking the powder,” I whispered back.
He dipped his face closer and his voice lower (all for nothing, I was sure; I felt everyone’s attention on us but at that moment I didn’t give a shit I was entering a discussion about my period in front of two queens, two princesses, a prince, a king and whatever Frey was).
“You have not had a cycle in some time, my dove.”
“Does the powder always work?” I repeated.
“It is rare when it does not, but it’s been known to happen.”
I stared at him as my lungs seized.
Then I let out a huge breath, doing it chanting, “Oh crap, oh shit, oh crap.”
He pulled me even closer. “My dove—”
Suddenly panicked, I fisted my fingers in his sweater and cried, “We have to go back to the other world!”
His head jerked and his eyes narrowed before he stated, “We will not.”
I shook my head and pressed even closer. “We have to, Lo. If I’m knocked up, I need vitamins, and ultrasounds, and prenatal tests, and—”
He gave me a slight shake. “Calm yourself, dove.”
“You calm yourself!” I nearly shouted. “I’m pregnant in a world with no epidurals!”
He probably had no stinking clue what I was talking about.
He also didn’t ask.
He lifted a hand to cup my jaw, dipped his face close again and repeated in a sweet whisper, “Calm yourself, my dove.”
I deep breathed.
He didn’t.
He stated, sounding happy and proud, “You carry my child.”
“We’re not married,” I replied.
“We’ll rectify that,” he returned immediately.
“Chris hasn’t accepted me,” I reminded him.
“He’s getting there,” he reminded me.
Then I gave it to him.
“I haven’t done real great with this before, Lo,” I stated quietly.