Page 11 of The Champion
Love,
Freya
January 17th, 2467
Noted!
Victor
Leaning back in my chair, I thought back to six months ago when I had received that message. Usually, I had months to prepare myself before seeing her, which gave me time to fortify my shield. We French were good at suppressing our feelings in general, but with Freya, I always feared that she would see right through me.
Last December I had been forced to stay an extra week in the Northlands and my nights there had been brutal with longing for her.
This time she had given me mere hours to be ready and in an act of desperation, I had brought in reinforcements to level out the power Freya held over me.
Thoughts took me back to the morning of the surprise visit from the Northlanders. The events of that day had taken my feelings for Freya Aurelius to a whole new level.
France, January 18th, 2467
With my right hand planted on the windowpane, I looked out over the country I’d devoted my life to helping. We French weren’t allowed to leave our country without permission, and only one person had ever moved away.
Last year, it had caused a lot of drama when former French delegation member Belle Dupont had chosen to leave France and marry Mason Aurelius.
Now the Northlanders were back with another request for a marriage between a French citizen and a Northlander. Banni, a French Explorer who had traveled back to the Northlands with Aubri and Indiana to train new Explorers, had fallen in love with a woman named Sparrow.
This morning Aubri, Mason, Thor, Indiana, and Freya had arrived to ask for my help. They wanted our prime minister to give his permission for Banni to stay in the Northlands with Sparrow, indefinitely.
I found it ironic that they talked about securing Banni’s freedom when he was marrying a woman who expected him to sleep with her and no one else. That sounded more like entrapment to me, and yet…
My mind was trying to analyze the empty feeling I was left with. Why did it provoke me so much that Banni loved a woman whom I didn’t even know? If he wanted to throw his life away as some foolish romantic, who was I to care?
My mind went to Freya. It had been months since I’d been with anyone, but last night when Freya wrote to let me know they were coming, I’d been possessed to invite a woman over to my apartment. I had wanted to test Freya’s reaction to one of my lovers. She had definitely reacted, but I had no experience with people expressing jealousy, so I couldn’t tell for sure if she had pitied Yvonne or been jealous of her. Had Freya noticed how similar Yvonne was to her in looks? Would she know that Yvonne had been nothing but the next best thing when I couldn’t have sex with Freya?
I was deep in ruminations when a knock on my door made me turn. With a frown, I went to open it and was surprised to see Freya standing on my doorstep, alone.
“There was something I forgot to say.”
“Yes?” It had been no more than five minutes since she and her delegation members had left my apartment with Banni. I was so surprised to see her back without her protectors that I stared at her.
“May I come in again?”
I opened the door and let her in. Freya was wearing a short jacket that emphasized her hourglass figure and delicious butt when she walked in front of me back to my living room.
“Are you sure you wanna be alone with me?” I asked her as my initial shock subsided.
Freya’s intelligent green eyes zoomed in on me. “I want that guarantee before we land back in the Northlands.”
“Why?” I moved closer to her. “Why is Banni’s love life so important to you? Shouldn’t you worry about your own?”
“Thor needs this. Banni and Sparrow too.”
I smiled and moved even closer, my body buzzing with a desire so strong that it took everything in me not to touch her. “And you don’t?”
Freya wet her lips. “Aubri and I already promised to help you get Shelly Summers and Jonah’s help for that project you have. Now, I’m asking you for a favor. Please give Banni the guarantee.”
“I will, if you do something for me as well.”
Freya scratched her arm in a nervous movement, but she maintained eye contact. “I’m not sleeping with you, Victor.”
