“They are bound,” Eve said, and my other wives nodded as I helped Riecka stand.
“What. The. Fuck. Was. That?” Juliette asked after Riecka and I had stared into each other’s eyes for a few moments.
“That is the Nordar submission,” Zea said.
“But they cut their palms? That’s-- wait. Where is the blood?”
“Come, my king,” Riecka said. “Meet your people. The Jotnar are hated amongst the clans, but now we will have peace under you. This will be a golden age for the Nordar, and I am honored that I gave this to you.”
“You gave this to him?” Kasta asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Marriage is about giving and receiving from one another,” Riecka said with a shrug. “Also, I have freed the four prisoners from the Prime Valkyrie’s ship. I will have guards bring them to you.”
Riecka moved to the door leading out of the security room, and Elana and Zea pointed their rifles at the door when my newest wife opened it. The guards were still waiting outside, and Riecka gestured to me.
“Kneel before your king and the king of the Nordar people,” she said, and the warriors all sank to their knees.
“Raise him up!” Riecka shouted. “Raise up the King of Kings! Move you fools!”
The guards ran into the security room, and I let out a growl of warning before they all hoisted me above their heads. I still had my aegis, and I was still in my weretiger form, but I was still worried about this being a trap, so I didn’t want to change back or remove my armor.
The armored warriors bore me on their shoulders and carried me down the hallway while my wives followed behind me. As we walked, Aasne’s voice raised in a beautiful song that filled the corridor. By the time we made it to the stairs, Elana, Riecka, and the guards carrying me were all singing. I had no idea what the words were, but as soon as we came up to the ground floor of the castle, I saw that the hallways were lined with Jotnar kneeling on the floor.
As soon as I was carried past them, they all stood, began to sing, and followed behind my wives.
They took me out of the hallway, and into the front foyer of the castle. There were hundreds of Jotnar kneeling as I was carried past, and I could see the tiger stripes on their armor already starting to take shape. Their voices joined the chorus, and the men carrying me took me outside to the courtyard.
The paved parking lot in front of the castle was filled with men, women, and children wearing civilian clothes. They all prostrated on the ground as I was carried out to the garden, and I turned once more to see them jump to their feet and join the song. There must have been five hundred people behind me now, and I saw a dozen spacecraft floating through the air of the battle fortress.
We made it out to the field in front of the castle, and I saw another group of armored warriors waiting for us. In their hands they carried what looked like a shield made for a giant. It was about a meter and a half in diameter, and Nordar runes were etched in gold along the rim. The men carrying me set me down on top of the shield, and then joined the other warriors as they held the hunk of metal.
The song they were singing was almost deafening, and it seemed like they were about to all lift me high up into the air, but I saw Aasne wave to me, and then she gestured to Elana. The taller woman held a crown in her hand, and I recognized it as the one that Uffe had worn.
Two of the men holding onto the shield saw Aasne and Elana with the crown, and my two wives were pulled next to the shield and then boosted up so they could stand on it with me. I couldn’t even hear my own thoughts over the singing, but I could see Elana try to pass the crown to Aasne. The shorter woman shook her head, but then Elana wiggled the crown again, and Aasne held up two fingers pointed to me.
Then each of them held one side of the crown and stood up on their tippy-toes so they could place it on my head.
The crowd roared impossibly loud, and I had to close my eyes for a few seconds.
“King of Kings!”
“King of Kings!”
“King of Kings!”
“King of Kings!”
The song had been replaced by chanting, and I glanced up to see the approaching ships shine their spot lights down on the crowd. The men bearing the shield all lifted at once, and my two wives clung to me as we rose in the air.
Then I opened my mouth and let out a tiger’s growl of victory.
Chapter 17
The next day was supposed to be a grand feast in my honor, but I didn’t care for celebration, and I instead asked the envoy of Jotnar admirals to prepare to make their trip to Vaish space. Riecka had been disappointed that I wasn’t going to stay longer with her people, but she knew of the Draugr, and she had ensured that my admirals and their defensive fleets were ready to depart as soon as possible.
I would be taking Dance to the Dirge back to Nordar - 13, and the supply masters had ensured that it was fully loaded with drones, weapons, food, and water. My wives and I stayed in the castle the night before, but we had spent most of the night talking to Riecka about our mission against the Draugr, and none of us really slept.
When the hovercar dropped us off at Dance to the Dirge’s docking spot, we found three uniformed men and one woman waiting for us at the top of the ramp. The four of them kneeled before me without speaking, and I walked over to the woman.
“Dana?” I asked.
“Yes, my lord,” she answered as she looked up at me. She had the same gray eyes as most of the Vaish, but her hair was a curly black. I could feel a bit of her emotions because of her connection to Madalena, so I knew about her disappointment.
“It was not your fault that you were captured,” I said. “I do not think of you as less of a Valkyrie or less of a warrior. You were ambushed, and you did the best that you could. Odin has brought us together again, and I will take you to see my wife, the Prime Valkyrie now.”
“Thank you, my lord,” she choked, and although she didn’t look up at me, I could see tears begin to streak down her face.
“Pier, Baki, and Arno,” I said as I turned to the other three men. “Milda has missed the three of you. She will be happy to see you.”
“Thank you, my lord,” they repeated as they forced their heads to bow lower.
“Now, let’s get this beautiful ship in the air, shall we?”
The four Vaish warriors nodded, and then they stood.
“I will give you a tour, if you wish, my lord,” Dana said.
“Just take us to the bridge,” I said. “How long will it take us to get back to Nordar - 13?”
“Twenty hours, my lord,” she said.
“I need to go to the kitchen,” Kasta said as she pushed her elbow into my side. “Someone owes me dinner.”
“It’s not really dinner time, but that’s a great idea,” I said as I wrapped my arm around the blonde woman’s shoulder.
“Then we can have a brunch. I don’t care what you call it. You are gonna eat me, and then we are going to fuck for like ten hours straight.”
“Sis…” Paula begin.
“Ah, ah, ah,” Kasta said as she waved her finger at her sister. “I’m his wife, I pretty much own him when you other kitty cats don’t have him. He’s mine today, so--”
“I will require dinner with my husband as soon as--” Riecka began, but Kasta cut her off.
“You gotta wait in line, sister. Eve and Zea are next.”
“Very well,” Riecka sighed as she glanced at the other two women. “I can bide my time.”
“The kitchen is on the second floor,” Dana said after she gave me a somewhat confused look and then turned to Kasta “I can take you--”
“I’ll find it!” Kasta said. “Like Adam said, let’s just get going.” I felt her hand slap me on the ass, and then she danced out from under my arm. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready for you. It will be soon, so no snacking!”