Page 45 of The Heir
Freya looked into my eyes and her shoulders bobbed in a heavy sigh. “You seriously don’t get it, do you? There’s a big difference between being full and feeling nurtured. You’ve heard Belle and Banni talk about their culture. It’s cruel if you ask me. Humans are meant to love, and the French are deprived of that natural instinct.”
“You’re making it sound worse than it is. The Explorers that I spoke to tonight seemed to have adapted fine. Several of them bragged that they were enjoying sleeping with a lot of women.”
“For now. But that’s because they’re closing down their hearts to avoid getting hurt. I don’t know about you, but sex without love doesn’t sound that appealing to me.”
The truth spilled from me without a filter. “That’s all I know.” As I said it, my stomach pinched together, and the pain made me frown.
“There…” Freya pointed to my face. “Just now as you said it, I saw the same expression of loneliness in your eyes as I see in Victor’s. Now do you understand why I didn’t speak up at the meeting?”
When I didn’t answer, she continued. “His insults don’t hurt me because I know they’re coming from a sad place of loneliness and anger.”
Rubbing my forehead, I groaned.
“What’s wrong?”
“Me and Linea. We butt heads all the fucking time. I can’t stand the thought that she argues with me out of pity like you do with Victor.”
Freya laughed. “Pity sounds awful. I prefer the word compassion.”
The group at the end of the rooftop laughed out loud but I couldn’t focus on them when I had an urgent concern. “Seriously, Freya, do you think Linea thinks of me the way you think of Victor? Like I’m some sad, lonely fucker?”
Freya’s laugh turned into a smile. “I doubt that. She’s direct with everyone, me included. That’s why it’s so easy to love her. Linea is one of those people who won’t let you get away with being a bad version of yourself. She has the empathy of a Motlander combined with the directness of a Northlander. That’s what makes her so unique.”
I huffed out air and muttered, “She drives me crazy.”
“Why? Is it because she challenges you?”
“Yes, and because she’s reading my thoughts and calling me out on every insecurity that I have.”
Freya rubbed my back. “Stay strong. It’s one week and then you won’t see Linea for years maybe.”
For some reason the idea of not seeing Linea was worse than fighting with her, but my head hurt when I thought about the conundrum of my situation, so I changed the subject to something that weighed heavy on my heart. “Dad wants to make you his heir?”
“Nah, not really.”
“Yes, he told me.”
Freya pulled down her sleeves. “We both know that it would be a last resort for him. He thinks I’m too soft and the fact that I’m female has always been a problem for him.”
Stretching my legs, I reminded her, “That’s just because the Northlands is the last country for men to be free.”
Freya wrinkled her nose a little. “I’m so tired of hearing that. I agree that there was a time when women held too much power in the Motherlands, but they’ve made massive steps toward equality while the Northlands are still treating us women as second-class citizens.”
Feeling offended by her accusation against us Nmen, I grimaced. “What are you talking about? We fucking worship you women.”
“As fragile objects. That’s not what equality means.”
“But…”
Freya turned her body to me and cut me off. “Thor, I’m not having a discussion about whether or not we have equality in the Northlands. The fact that you were born years after me and still became Dad’s heir because of your gender speaks for itself. You might feel satisfied with ruling a country that prides itself on being the last country in the world where men can be free, but I was hoping your ambitions were larger than that.”
“Larger than ruling the country?” My tone was incredulous.
“No, larger than keeping it a country for allmento be free. The Northland should be a country for allpeopleto be free.”
“Oh.”
Freya was clearly passionate about this topic because she began ranting. “We both know the Motherlands have good intentions, but they have too many limiting rules. The French are even worse as they confine their people within their borders and have a ban on love. I’m proud to be a Northlander. We allow people to have free will and to pursue their goals in life. But we would be lying if we didn’t admit that there’s still a ton of work to be done before women can enjoy the same freedom as men.”
