24. Karmen

24

KARMEN

D espite Sunzi's arms around me, I quivered and shook in the aftermath. Releasing my emotions had taken a toll on my waning strength.

I didn't like to show any emotion whatsoever, let alone rage like… like…

Ra.

I shuddered, repulsed and horrified. I'd raged like him in one of his mindless furies. I'd even dripped gold, just like he used to do. Had I burned Eivind's flesh? Would he have scars like mine?

"Shhh," Sunzi whispered against my temple. "We've got you. You're safe. You're not turning into him. You're nothing like him."

I wanted to believe him. But part of me wished I'd dumped an ocean of boiling gold onto Eivind and silenced him forever. Shame tightened my throat. "I almost killed him."

"I don't like to speak ill of people," Dagny said in a bright, cheery voice. "Though in his case, I can't help but say good riddance."

Shocked, appalled, and also a tiny bit amused that she'd say something so brazen, I lifted my head and opened my eyes. As soon as I did so, Sunzi set me down on my feet before him, though he kept his arms around me, supporting me fully against his body.

"Welcome to Lofoten, Your Majesty," Dagny said.

Wide eyed, I gazed out over a rippling body of water sparkling beneath a dusk sky of pink, lavender, and gold. I turned slowly, taking in the surrounding mountains, dark and grim though softened by hints of green. In the higher crevices, white still gleamed. Snow? I could only stare in wonder.

So completely foreign to the blazing golden plazas and pyramids of Heliopolis.

"Lofoten is an archipelago of islands in the Norwegian Sea just off the coast of Norway. This island is owned wholly by House Sunna. We have this dock where visitors can land, but the rest of the island is too rocky to approach by boat."

Sunzi let out a soft grunt of satisfaction. "Which will make it very easy to secure the island and defend your home, my queen."

Plus, no doubt, all the surrounding water would prove a deterrent if a certain wolf tried to approach me. Maybe it was the mountain shadows turning the water a darker gray, but it looked extremely cold and deep.

Dagny led the way toward the low black and gray rectangular house that perched out over the rocky shore on pillars. "This way, please, Your Majesty."

I recognized the building from the pictures she'd shown me, though most of the snow and ice was gone. Vlad, Marcus, and Hannibal followed us, protecting our backs. I wasn't sure where the rest of my Blood had gone though I could feel them close. Something else tickled my senses. A whisper of a melody, a remnant of something my bones and blood remembered. Had I been here as a child? I had no memory of this place but something in me recognized it.

"This used to be the guest house, but since your disappearance, we've used it as the primary residence for the long-term staff. House Sunna employs nearly one hundred humans including myself and now Detective Harris, though most of them certainly don't live here. At this time, Tonje ?vergaard lives here permanently with a staff of ten to manage the property. Though that number will multiply exponentially now that you're home."

Just to manage a house? It wasn't even that big, not that I was complaining. "Why so many people?"

She laughed softly as we walked up a white graveled path lined with chunks of dark stone toward the house. "So we can see to your wellbeing, Your Majesty. We need cooks to prepare food around the clock for your Blood, so they're well fed and able to both feed you and defend your house. People to shop, run errands, and do laundry. You may wish to hire someone to pick out your clothes and fix your hair for special events. A whole office of assistants helps me manage the finances of House Sunna. That's an immense task, and it's not uncommon for larger houses to employ multiple consiliari. Of course you may have other queens visit, and we'll need staff to freshen suites and make sure our guests are well fed as well."

"They're not slaves, are they? Ra used slaves in Heliopolis. I refuse to keep people here against their will."

A horrified gasp escaped Dagny's throat, and she shook her head vigorously. "Absolutely not. Everyone's here because they want to be. Most of their families have served House Sunna for generations. I assure you everyone is well compensated and protected in all ways. If anyone wished to leave employment, we'd send them off with an attractive bonus, but I can't think of anyone who'd be willing to accept any amount of money to leave, especially now."

"But why?" I asked again, shaking my head. "They don't know me. I might be a horrid queen. I might insult another queen with my ignorance, make the Triune angry…"

"Hardly," she retorted tartly. "I'm here to help prevent any missteps with the Triune and other queens, but you shouldn't worry. You handled yourself perfectly with Queen Shara and her sibling. You're your mother's daughter, and her mother's granddaughter. The Brightest's blood burns in your veins. For a chance to simply be in the same room as a single drop of our goddess' blood is a great honor."

We approached a black wall of perfectly cut stones stacked high enough even Vlad couldn't see over the top. A heavy gate was open, inviting us to pass through, with Kuros and Musashi standing on either side of the doorway. Sunzi nodded with silent approval of even more defenses. Detective Harris stood with them, a dazed look in his eyes as if he couldn't quite believe his life had taken such a turn.

Same, Detective. Hopefully my face wasn't as shell shocked as his.

"Goyaa?é led the rest inside to scout the perimeter," Musashi said.

Then my mother's blood circle must not still be in place. I'd been unconscious when we arrived at House Isador, but Helayna had to touch me to bring me through her blood circle at her cabin. Disappointment flickered through me. It would have been nice to?—

The thought trailed off as I neared the gate. The lingering whisper of memory played clearer in my head. I held out my hand and felt an invisible shimmer of magic. Not the tingle of Shara's blood circle, strong enough to make goosebumps flare down my arms even though we'd been invited inside by the queen herself. But the remnant of Sunna magic still lingered.

"The ground remembers the taste of Sunna blood," Dagny whispered reverently. "This earth welcomes home its daughter."

I closed my eyes, listening to the delicate melody Solveig Sunna had left for me. This is what I want to remember her by. Not the horrors of Heliopolis.

With my eyes closed and her magic humming with joy, I could see her in my mind. Her hair more gold than mine, her golden eyes rimmed with blue like the morning sunrise. She stood on the other side of the gate, holding out her hands toward me. Smiling, crying, blood dripping from her palm to splatter onto the white gravel.

Yes. Blood. Of course.

My fangs descended, making me shiver at the sensation. I bit the fleshy part of my palm and stretched out my bleeding hand over the circle. In my mind, our hands touched. She held my fingers without impeding the droplets of blood. :Welcome home, Daughter of Sunna. You survived against all cost. Now, it's time to flourish and rejoice in what Sól has wrought in our bloodline.:

The first drops hit the ground and a resonant gong rang in my head, echoing endlessly, rising in intensity with each red splatter. Thunderous music rising in a crescendo, a song of love and life, sunlight and warmth, the hope of a new dawn. Even though it was nearly dark around us, I felt that promise in my soul.

Everything I'd endured. Everything I'd lost.

Everything I'd gained.

Opening my eyes, I allowed the tears to flow. I smiled, even though the ligaments in my cheeks and jaws felt rusty and tight. And then, I laughed. Softly, at first, an awkward, silly sound that only made me laugh harder. Unafraid of how ridiculous I sounded. This was a safe place. No judgment. No terror. Only Sun and life and love lived here.

I took Dagny's hand on my left. Sunzi on my right, pressing my bleeding palm against his.

And I stepped into House Sunna.