Tor kept talking, “They do not come with good tidings, Cora.”
My mouth snapped shut and my heart squeezed.
Then I whispered, “What?”
His head dipped closer as his arm held me and our son closer and he said gently, “Those who hold magic in Korwahk and Lavinia of Lunwyn, a very powerful witch, received word from the gods. These were promptly communicated to Dax Lahn and Frey with all due haste.”
Word from the gods? The gods of this world talked to people?
I had no chance to ask this but Tor answered it anyway. “This is highly unusual, in fact, I have never heard of this happening before, my love, not ever.”
Oh boy.
Tor kept going. “Not knowing the others had received like communications, due to what was communicated, they all immediately moved to come here to meet with me to form an alliance at the same time sending out several scouts to ascertain if the information the gods communicated is correct.”
“What information?”
Tor did not hesitate to reply. “The information that Baldur has escaped his island and aligned with Minerva and two malevolent witches of Hawkvale. They have seized Cora, the Exquisite for reasons we do not currently know and they are very close to instigating some nefarious plan, the results of which they hope to achieve, we also do not know.”
I stared at him as my body got tight.
Then I asked, “Was the information correct?”
He held my eyes and said carefully, “The one scout who returned, a Korwahk warrior, confirmed it was.”
The one scout?
Oh my God.
“Tor,” I whispered, pressing closer to him and our still sleeping son.
“These witches are known, Cora,” he told me softly. “They are not good women. They have been watched and it is known they have been amassing power for decades. We are not unaware of this situation.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?”
“Yes, love, it is. What is not good is that we have been taken unaware by their recent movements which were entirely covert. Further, we have no idea what they intend to do, we have no idea why they have taken Cora, the allegiances they have made are more than a little concerning, including Baldur, who was not a good man before by any stretch of the imagination but who now more than likely has vengeance on his mind, and, lastly, they hold massive power.”
I closed my eyes.
“Sweets, eyes,” Tor whispered so I opened them. “Lavinia of Lunwyn is also very powerful. So is Frey, the power at his command is beyond anything considering he controls the dragons and commands the elves. And lastly, Lavinia has called to a witch of your world, a woman named Valentine, a woman Lavinia says is the most powerful witch she’s ever seen. She is also a woman who has agreed, for payment, to help.”
“Well that’s good too, isn’t it?” I semi-repeated.
Tor nodded.
I slightly relaxed.
Tor kept going, “Over the months since our return from your world, I have also received many reports that Minerva is weakened, significantly. The power it takes to move beings between the different worlds as well as the armies of vickrants and toilroys she was forced to create when she was playing with us has reduced her to her weakest in centuries.”
I relaxed a bit more and whispered, “Good.”
“Further,” Frey continued, “my warriors have had years of peace but they are warriors. Even in peace, they train and keep sharp. And they know battle, they also know triumph. They, too, are formidable.”
I relaxed more and nodded.
Tor wasn’t done. “And Frey’s men are also highly trained in a variety of ways, including using daggers, bows and swords but also cunning and stealth.”
I sighed, relaxed even more and nodded yet again.