A Midwinter Fantasy - Leanna Renee Hieber [80]
The air around them shimmered as the birds took human form, their straggly black hair trailing over shoulders hunched beneath long dark coats. “Why did Una not accompany Troy’s daughter?” Huginn demanded, while his brother Muninn cowered behind him, afraid to meet Vidar’s gaze.
He wanted to throw the creeps out. He’d had enough of them hanging around watching his every move. But that would condemn them to suffer at his father’s hands and earn him a night of torment. He clenched his hand, feeling the bite of the slave ring on his little finger. “My guess is Una never saw my letter. Sonja came without her knowledge.”
“We’ll report to our lord Odin.”
“Tell him his plan can still proceed. I’ll bring her to the Yule Fest myself.”
The ravens sidled toward the window then changed into their feathered forms and flapped away. Vidar slammed the slider closed, leaned his forearm against the wall, and hung his head. He’d been depending on Una to protect Sonja while he kept his father and hers apart.
Odin had insisted they hold Sonja’s safety over Troy’s head to make him behave. The flaw in his father’s plan was that Vidar would never obey an order to harm her. He’d argued that bringing Sonja here would only inflame Troy’s anger, since he’d been adamant his daughter should never learn her true identity. There was no way to spare her from the shock of discovering her heritage. But if he were careful of what he said, he could hide the reason he’d invited her to the Yule Fest. And he would make damn sure she never heard mention of the Crystal Crib. He didn’t want her to discover her tragic history.
Chapter Two
At six p.m. sharp, a knock sounded on Sonja’s log cabin door. She scowled at it, still not sure if she wanted to attend the Yule Fest or meet her father. Vidar’s invitation implied she would only get the business deal if she went with him. But he couldn’t be blackmailing her into attending a Yule Fest! The idea was ridiculous. She must have misunderstood.
A second knock roused her from her indecision, and she opened the door. Vidar stood outside, swathed in a long fur coat, the hood framing his face. With his unusual golden brown eyes and tawny skin, he looked exotic and out of place in this snowy world.
“Good evening, Sonja. Are you ready?”
“Yes.” If she were ever going to make her mark and impress her aunt, she must take risks to get what she wanted. And this might be her only chance to meet her father.
Over her pantsuit, she pulled on her champagne wool coat, then added her pink gloves and matching beret. When she stepped outside, Vidar scanned her from head to toe.
“You’ll freeze dressed like that.”
“Isn’t the party inside?”
He gave her a veiled look. “You’ll still need warmer clothes.”
She spread her arms and looked down at herself. “I only brought an overnight bag. This is all I have.”
With a resigned breath, he ushered her into one of the resort’s shuttle carts. He squashed into the driver’s seat beside her. She hugged her coat close, acutely aware of him pressed against her in the confined space.
The cart headed out of a small gate manned by a security guard and took a narrow snow-covered track into woodland. Sonja peered back over her shoulder at the receding lights of the resort. Apprehension fluttered in her chest. “I assumed the Yule Fest was in the theme park.”
“Uh-huh,” he said, as if his mind was elsewhere.
“Vidar!” He glanced her way at her sharp tone. “Where’re you taking me?”
A wave of reassurance swept through her like a gentling hand smoothing out her worries, even as her mind told her something was wrong. “The Yule Fest is a little out of the way,” he said. One corner of his mouth quirked, nearly making it into a smile. “You’ll enjoy the next part of the journey.”
He stopped the shuttle and cut the engine. Sonja had been so focused on the resort disappearing behind them that she hadn’t noticed the view up ahead. Her breath caught at the sight of a glittering sleigh harnessed with a white horse. Decorated with golden