Chapter 8
“It's impossible to have a woman as a leader,” Gunnar said, banging his fist hard on Pers council table. They had argued with him all morning.
“It's not that she's a bad girl,” he continued. “She certainly has her strengths, and her father was a great man. But a woman just can't be a leader.”
Svanhild hissed in yet another breath, wondering if he even noticed that she sat beside him. She'd never liked her father's magician. It seemed that very little separated human men from selkie men when it came to women.
“I suggest we choose Per as a new leader,” Gunnar said, apparently warming to his subject. “Perhaps you could marry the girl, Per. That might make things easier.”
Beside her, Svanhild felt Aleks stiffen.
Why had she ever thought that Gunnar would help them? Such a narrow-minded and foolish man could do nothing for her. She could find more supporters without his help.
“That isn't going to happen,” Per said calmly. “Svanhild will be my queen, not my wife.”
How could he stay so calm when Gunnar spoke such nonsense? Svanhild barely held in a scream of frustration.
“She is our leader if you say she is,” Garner said, his voice a little sulky. “I still don't think it's right for a woman to lead, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep the Wildlings out.”
As a little girl, Svanhild had loved watching Gunnar performing his magic tricks. Amazingly, this human had magic far stronger than almost any selkie. But with no family, he had always depended on a patron to protect him. No one really knew where he came from, or how he had made his way into the sea, but he had always seemed a grateful and loyal servant to Svanhild's father. What a shame that he disliked and distrusted women so much.
“Svanhild isn't the problem, anyway,” Per said. “The problem is that we need more support. Selkies are cautious. No one wants to risk being the first to swear allegiance.”
“I don't know what else to do,” Svanhild said, then immediately regretted how defeated she sounded. “I've tried before,” she said defensively. “No one else listens to me then, so why should they now?”
“Don't assume that everyone you saw yesterday actually supports Klaus,” Gunnar said. “Many of them supported your father, and can well believe that he was wrongfully murdered. You may find more supporters than you expect.”
“But how can I get them to work with me?” Svanhild asked. “If I march straight into their palaces, like I did here, there is a risk that they'll just turn me straight over to Klaus.”
“It's a risk that you have to be willing to take,” Per said. “If you want to be our Queen, you have to be prepared to trust us all equally.”
Svanhild looked around the room, meeting the anxious eyes of everyone staring back at her. These people had committed to her cause. They depended on her now, as she depended on them.
“I will do whatever it takes,” she said. “Prepare a list of lords for me to meet with. I will leave tomorrow.”
She swept out of the room, setting the water swirling dramatically in her wake. Aleks followed at her elbow.
They made their way through the tumbledown corridors of Per's palace, until at last Svanhild found a quiet spot beneath a set of half-collapsed stairs.
“What do you think?” she asked Aleks, boldly meeting his eyes.
He shook his head slowly. “I appreciate that Per has a point, but this is foolish. You're putting yourself in too much danger.”
“My mind is made up.”
“At least agree that you'll take me with you to each meeting.”
He leaned so close that Svanhild could feel the rough stone of the wall against her back as she edged away from his heat.
“Per's men can come with me,” she pointed out. “I don't need you every moment of every day.”
Aleks's eyes almost shot sparks as he moved even closer, his hand flat on the wall beside her head.
“I don't trust anyone else to guard you,” he said, his thoughts sharp and clear. “I could not live with myself if something happened because I wasn't there for you.”
Gazing up at his face, Svanhild watched with rapt attention as his lips moved closer. Pure adrenalin shot through her veins, as vivid and powerful as magic. She stood frozen, torn between fear and desire. One hand reached out towards his cheek, desperate for a touch, but the other shoved hard at his chest, pushing him aside.
“I'll let you know if I need you,” she said, sliding past him without meeting his eyes. “I have a lot to sort out.”
“Don't go without me,” Aleks called out to her, his thoughts rough and a little hoarse. “No plan is good enough to risk losing you.”