of reading as well. Seven days of social events is a bit too much for some of us, but the others convinced me to take part in the skit.”
“It was a generous gift of you all for making us laugh so hard. Your impression of Victor and me fighting was spot on.”
Harper’s face softened. “Oh, Freya, I’m so delighted that you didn’t take offense. We debated for a long time if the skit was too harsh as we didn’t want you to feel attacked or mocked. It was Holly who pointed out that you Northlanders have much thicker skin than the rest of the world. That’s why we went all the way to the edge.”
Victor laughed. “It’s hardly daring to point out that Freya and I bang heads. That’s more like saying two plus two equals four.”
Harper fiddled with her sleeve, her lips turning downward. “What I meant to say, Victor, was that our intentions weren’t to hurt your and Freya’s feelings when we made fun of your passion for debating.
“Relax. You’re fine. I laughed as hard as everyone else when you imitated Freya’s whiny tone and her poor arguments.”
“Me too,” Celeste said. “But anyway, it’s fine that Mason and Indiana skipped the party. If people are tired and choose to go to bed early, that’s okay as well. That’s why we’re having it in the building. Nothing beats the view from Victor’s penthouse anyway.”
A few hours into the party, I was still trying to make sense of what had happened earlier between Thor and me. I wasn’t sure what shocked me the most, the fact that he had talked about marriage or that I’d been tempted to say yes when he got down on one knee.
It was crazy and I wished I could have talked to my mother, who had always been my closest confidant.
Several times, Thor and I connected across the room in prolonged eye contact. Each time I felt a pull in my stomach like I should go to him and continue our talk.
I didn’t.
Nothing I had to say would change the situation.
Thor was blinded by our mutual attraction, but my logic kept reminding me that we had different lifestyles and disagreed about most things.
That didn’t stop my insides from melting when he gave me one of his sexy smiles.
My suggestion that we should have sex had been as spontaneous as his proposal, but now I couldn’t get it out of my head. People at home came to me for advice or support, but Thor wanted something else from me. With him I could explore a new side of myself, and there was no denying that when he looked at me like he wanted to devour me, there was a surge of excitement in my body.
I sat talking to Zola, who had joined the French delegation after Belle moved to the Northlands.
She was eager to answer my questions.
“No, of course I don’t believe in reincarnation. Who would want to come back?” She laughed as if her answer was brilliant. “As to your question about faith, I would say that conspiracies have become the new religion. At least among the P’s.”
“P’s as in practical workers?” I asked.
“Yes. They pipe up constantly about the Motherlands infiltrating our culture. There were some lunatics who demanded that English should be banned from schools because they were sure the teachers who are all from the Motherlands are indoctrinating our children.”
“In what way?”
“Who knows? It’s something about our children being programmed to rebel against the government when they grow up. It’s nonsense of course.” She wrinkled up her button nose. “I guess there will always be little scared people without much insight. If they understood that the Motherlands are the reason so many of us can live above ground, they would shut their mouths and be grateful.”
“But as a member of the parliament you work for the people. If some of them are scared, isn’t it your job to educate them about the benefits of working with the Motherlands and assure them that they have nothing to fear?”
Zola patted my cheek and gave a tipsy giggle. “You are sweet, Linea. You believe everyone has the capacity to understand, but I disagree. Some people are stupid and won’t get it no matter how slowly you explain it to them.” Her statement felt harsh to me and as she continued talking, I found it hard to focus.
My mind kept wandering back to that kiss between Thor and me.
When Zola pointed out that I wasn’t listening,