Page 61 of The Champion
“But you don’t like him either. You agreed that he is arrogant,” Magni objected in his deep growling voice.
“If I had a problem with arrogant men, I wouldn’t be talking with you or Khan. I know you’re all coming from a good place, but this is too much.”
“Hmm.” Magni crossed his arms and leaned back a little. “Where was Marco when this happened?”
I freaked out and told a lie because I didn’t want Marco in trouble because of me. “I snuck out at night when he was sleeping. Besides, Marco had Shelly and Ada to worry about.”
“So? Shelly works in a lab all day and his kids are young.”
“No, Dad. His daughter Ada is sixteen and she was flirting with Explorers almost twice her age. Marco was stressed out of his mind trying to keep her safe.”
“I’ll deal with him later,” Khan muttered. “For now, I need to know the details of your relationship with Victor.”
“We love each other. That’s all that matters,” I insisted.
Maybe it was the way all five men snorted that provoked me, but at the same time that my father squared his shoulders and narrowed his eyes at Victor, something shifted inside me. It was as if the massive fear that had made it hard to breathe a second ago dropped from my chest as timber fueling the fire in my stomach.
“He’s never going to stick around long enough to know what love is,” my father claimed.
“That’s right,” my brother agreed. “Victor has made it perfectly clear that he doesn’t believe in long term commitment. For fuck’s sake, Freya, you heard him compare marriage to self-mutilation and cannibalism yourself. How can you…”
Before Thor had finished his sentence, an idea had popped into my head. Following the advice of a sixteen-year-old, rebellious girl, I would take what I wanted.
“I’m not here to ask for your permission to live my life the way I want to. I’m way too old to be told how to behave or who to love.” Looking straight at my father, I threw a mental punch at him. “All of this is your fault anyway.”
My father scrunched his face up and roared defensively. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean? I never encouraged you to be with a French man. I’ve made it clear many times that I expect you to marry an Nman.”
For most of my life, I had been the sweet daughter who never challenged my father directly. Tonight, I surprised them all with a different side to me. Taking two steps toward my father, I spoke in a harsh tone.
“I’m the daughter of the greatest ruler who ever lived. Did you think I could be raised by an ambitious man like yourself and grow up to settle in life? I’m the firstborn and still the laws of the Northlands don’t make me an equal to Thor. You’re giving me no choice but to live my life outside of this old-fashioned country.”
My father was quick to protest. “You’re not moving to France!”
“No, I’m not. I’m starting my own country in a different part of Europe. Victor and I are claiming one of the clean areas and we’ll collect a large group of people to become the first settlers in Wisdomia.”
“Is this a joke?” Thor asked.
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
“Who in their right mind would move into the wilderness of Europe when you can live a life of privilege here?”
I stared at my father. “Shelly Summers and her family will join us and so will thousands of others from around the world. People know Victor, Shelly, and me as innovators with ambitions and brains. They’ll want to be part of our country.”
“I’ll come,” my mother declared.
“Pearl, don’t even…” my father began, but my mother bit back.
“Why wouldn’t I? Look around you. You five men are scowling and towering because that usually gets you your way. It won’t work on me and I’m proud to see it’s not working on Freya either. All this intimidation is wrong. If anything, you should be proud of your daughter for having so much drive and ambition.”
“Fine, but why with him? What use will he be in the wilderness? Freya will need a protector with strength and survival skills.”
“No, I won’t. We’ll recruit people with those skills and what we need to know, we’ll learn. You can give me your blessing or not. It makes no difference because my mind is made up.”
With our arms crossed and our jaws set, my dad and I stared at each other.
“You’re serious about marrying that guy?”
I knew that now wasn’t the right time to tell my dad and brother that Victor didn’t want to marry me. I went with a different answer. “He’s the one I love.”
