The Silver Thread (42 page)

“And let me tell you something about Patti…she went so far as to ask her professor in advance if I could attend her drawing classes, because she knew how much I would enjoy it. I can’t think of anything similarly thoughtful that Annika has done for me, but Patti Cake is as sweet as her name would suggest. You would adore her. She’s tall and artistic like Yuri, and sweet and silly like Runa. She made me forget about being homesick for them.”

“I didn’t think you got homesick, Talvi,” Ambrose called down to him, offering a sympathetic glance to Annika before peering back down into the hole.

“Why shouldn’t I, from time to time?” Talvi asked. “Yuri and I were nearly inseparable until about a year or so ago. It’s like having half my heart ripped out of me.”

“Yes, I can’t even imagine how it must feel for you, being separated from your twin so suddenly after sharing a womb and a life together.”

“I’m getting on.”

“She sends her regards, by the way,” he said delicately, but it was met with an unimpressed harrumph.

Ambrose sat back, wearing a frustrated and disappointed expression. Annika was heartbroken to hear the hurt in Talvi’s voice as he uttered these secret confessions so freely to his father, and tears stung at her eyes. She thought she had him all figured out from day one, that all he really cared about was booze and sex, and not necessarily in that order, but she realized that she had no clue about his feelings, about his desires, about a lot of things. She tried to recall doing something sweet and thoughtful for her husband, but all she could remember was forbidding him from going with her to her mother’s salon, worrying sick that he was going to drop her like a bad habit when he had tried to tango with her, choosing a room full of hot models over him when he had asked her to please bring home a lemon meringue pie, making jabs about his past on their very first morning together, and a whole list of other slights against him, not to mention threatening to have his abortion.

She thought back to when Finn had told her that she wasn’t ready to be married to Talvi, that she wasn’t ready to trust him. It finally clicked, what he meant. Annika wiped away a few tears as she came to the realization that Finn had said it for her benefit, definitely not for his own.

“Father, when we get back home, I might ask Mother if I’m really your son.”

“
What
?” Ambrose asked, whipping his head back towards the hole again. “Of course you’re my son! You have my eyes! Why would you even say such a thing?”

“Because here, I’m Prince Talvi. And Annika proclaimed that I am king of the douche lords. I’m confounded as to where all this royal blood in my veins came from.”

Annika stifled a laugh with her hands as Talvi’s father leaned over and scooped a large armful of dirt back into the hole.

“I’m not sure either, but I do know that wherever you are, it’s better to be a king than it is to be a prince,” he replied, grinning wide. “Did you think about why your fair lady gave you the new title, your majesty?”

“Oh, I know exactly why she gave it to me,” he chirped from below. “I said something absolutely horrid to her about my history with Merriweather. Annika insists that I must still be shagging her senseless because she’s one hell of a lass with one hell of an ass, and I can’t convince her otherwise, no matter what I say, so I gave up trying. I can’t tell you how bloody fantastic it felt to stop defending myself to her. I have to get back to London right away, so I’ll have the two of them meet face to face. That ought to settle things.”

“Do you feel that’s a wise thing to do?” Ambrose asked with a doubtful expression as he glanced at Annika, who didn’t appear to like the idea one bit. “That might not go the way you hope it will.”

“I’m aware of that, but Annika already thinks so little of me, so what else have I got to lose? Ha, I could sell quite a few tickets to that cat fight,” Talvi called up with a loud
meow
, and flung a large pile of dirt high into the air. “Seriously though, I’m running out of options. I intended to keep my work private from her, but it only seems to encourage her to trust me less. She claims husbands and wives ought to have no secrets between them, but I of course couldn’t disagree more. There is so much that I simply can’t tell her. If she understood the nature of my trade, she might trust me better. Perhaps that’s why she trusts Finn more than me, because he doesn’t have anything to hide and I have everything to hide. Why shouldn’t she wonder if she married the wrong brother? She truly cares for him, and he would make an ideal husband, doting on her every day and being home every evening. Plus, he loves Anthea’s little larvae. He would probably want as many of them as Annika could tolerate. He would never leave her in the middle of the night to wake up alone, and come back months later, unable to say exactly why he left or where he has been.”

“Stop digging and have some water,” Ambrose said, taking the canteen from Annika and dropping it down to his son. “You’re blinding me with your brilliance.”

There was a pause as Talvi took a long awaited drink, and then sighed.

“I feel so awful about what I did to him,” he said so quietly that Annika could barely hear. “I’m grateful that he’s stronger than he’s ever been, though I’m pissing blood because of it. He got me good in the kidney.” He uttered a rueful laugh before continuing.

“I’ve thought a lot about he and I, and I have to admit, there has never been a single time when we came to blows over a female. If we both fancied the same one, he let me have her every time. Whenever we fought, it was always over chores or something petty like that. I have no reason not to trust him, either. Perhaps you’ll think me mad, but I want to ask him if he’ll be my
korva
aminen
.”

“Yes, I’d have to say I think you are a raving lunatic to entertain such a notion right after what you did to him,” Ambrose said slowly. “Even if you were on the best of terms, that’s not an agreement to be entered lightly into. You’ll be lucky if he were to even speak to you before you leave.” He paused for a moment to look at how far down Talvi had dug, shaking his head in disbelief. “Although it seems you’ve spent some time seriously considering it. Given your profession, and given the extreme lengths that Finn has already gone to for you both, I am tempted to give my approval. But now is not the right time to make this decision. He is not in a state to give it any proper thought. Neither are you, really. Let’s discuss this another time.”

Ambrose stood up and glanced down into the hole, running his fingers through his hair just like Talvi did from time to time.

“I’d say you have another couple feet to go, and then you may fill the dirt back in. See you at dinner.”

He motioned for Annika to get up and follow him back to the house. This time they walked at a faster pace, and she found herself trotting to keep up with his long legs.

“He’s got a lot on his mind,” Ambrose said as quietly as possible, looking serious. “That was the deepest hole he’s ever dug, and he’s dug quite a few.”

“I had no idea…” Annika began, feeling herself tear up again. “He never mentioned anything to me about being homesick or missing his sister.”

“Perhaps he didn’t feel comfortable enough to share those private things with you. No one likes to feel so vulnerable to someone else, but if you are ever going to grow as a couple, you both need to start baring your souls instead of baring your teeth,” Ambrose said a little louder, now that they were safely out of sight and earshot.

“He may have been born winking at the midwife, but he doesn’t need to be picked apart constantly by someone who’s only doing it to avoid facing her own troubles. You’re in denial of what your future entails, but I also don’t believe Talvi has helped you very much on your way. Did you read the books that Finn sent for you?”

Annika recalled the pile of books that Talvi had unpacked on his first day at her house. The titles she could recall were the book about the samodivi, and the guide for new vampires and their loved ones. She had thought that they looked interesting, but somehow she put off reading them due to work, or band practice, or recording, or going shopping with James, or getting her hair done, or…or…or. She shook her guilty head at her father-in-law.

“Do yourselves a favor when you get back and read them aloud…
together
,” he said, shaking his finger at her again, but this time his eyes twinkled merrily.

Squeaky clean and wearing a soft white t-shirt and dark green cargo shorts, Talvi walked barefoot down the hallway to the landing where his brother’s room was. He knocked on the closed door twice; both times there was no answer. Silently, he let himself into the room, and saw Finn sleeping beside a pile of French science journals, with one lying open in his hand. Talvi walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, gently taking the magazine from Finn’s long fingers. He stirred, opening his eyes with a start when he realized who was sitting in front of him.

“What’s this?” he asked suspiciously as his heart began to pound faster, “You’ve come to finish the job, then? Now I know how some of your victims feel right before you strike. What did you bring? Your blade or your poisons?”

Talvi held his bruised, empty hands up.

“I brought nothing but my deepest apologies. Father confiscated my knife indefinitely. He says that it’s cursed now.”

“He’s right. It
is
cursed.”

“You don’t believe in curses.”

“You don’t know what I believe,” Finn retorted.

“I believe that’s quite the beauty mark you have there,” Talvi said, looking at his brother’s jawline apologetically. Finn reached up and held the curls aside from the right side of his temple, revealing another dark pink scar.

“Annika informed me that chicks dig scars, so I suppose now I’ll have to test that theory,” he said dryly.

“See there, I actually did you a courtesy,” Talvi said, trying to joke. “But you did manage to kick the piss out of me…I daresay I’d rather have been punched in the stones than in the kidney.”

“Now there’s a theory I don’t wish to test.”

Talvi sighed and took a long look at his brother, bundled up under his covers on this warm early summer day. He was still suffering from his withdrawal symptoms, although they were much less severe than they had been a few days ago.

“I’m so sorry…” he began, but Finn held up his hand.

“I know you’re sorry,” he said, not smiling. “I have heard apologies from you before, and I know that you’re genuinely sincere when you speak them, but I don’t want to hear it this time.” He sat up gingerly and motioned toward his chin with his hand.

“What I want to know, is if you’ve learnt anything. Tell me what you see.”

“I see you need a shave,” Talvi said.

“Is that all?”

Talvi pursed his lips.

“You’re so much like Father,” he said, shifting uncomfortably on the quilt. “You’re both always so apt to teach me a lesson. I know full well what you’re trying to tell me. You’re going to do as he did and point out that I am dangerously mad about my wife, and blinded by what I feel for her. But I don’t know how else to be. It’s as though I’m under a sorcerer’s spell. I’ve never felt this way about anyone…not even Yuri.”

“Trust me, I know you haven’t felt this way before,” said Finn. “You’re in love for the first time in your life, and rather than growing gradually, this love smacked you all at once, harder than a troll’s club. It’s a bit terrifying, how much it controls you.”

“You’re telling me,” said Talvi, looking at his bruised knuckles with regret.

“I
am
telling you,” he said, crossing his arms as he leaned back into his pillows. “I’m concerned for your safety. All of the family is, but especially Father, because he knows the risks you take better than any of us do. Yuri walks among the undead, and look how upset he was to learn about her fate. If your judgment were impaired by your intense feelings for Annika, and you…if you…” he paused as he swallowed a lump that had unexpectedly formed in his throat. “You’re a right bastard sometimes, and I find myself disliking you immensely more often than not, but you’re still my little brother. It would break our parents’ hearts to lose you, damnable troublemaker that you are.”

“I know,” he said soberly. Then he looked back at Finn, and ignoring his father’s advice, he cleared his throat and asked, “That reminds me; I wanted to ask you a question.”

“And what is that?”

“Given the risks I take, should anything ever happen to me… I wanted to know if you would be my
korva
aminen
.”

Finn’s eyes looked at his brother’s with perplexed curiosity.

“Are you honestly asking me this, after all that happened in Paris? After what happened yesterday?”

Talvi nodded.

“Perhaps I struck you in the head one too many times, to cause you to ask me such a thing?”

Talvi shook his head.

“Did you discuss this with Annika?”

Talvi gave a little shrug. “Not yet, but I think we both know she’ll be quite keen to the idea. She’s clearly very fond of you.”

Finn unfolded his arms and pushed back his covers, and fanned himself with one of the science journals.

“Blast these never ending chills and sweats,” he muttered, but he didn’t seem terribly inconvenienced by them. “You really are asking me this, aren’t you? Are you certain you’re not doing this merely to win me over, so you don’t have to feel remorse for what you did to me? You can’t bargain with Annika like this, using her as if she were a stack of poker chips.”

“I’m not trying to up the ante here, Finn. I know what you went through, and it showed me how much you care about what’s best for her. You risked your life to protect her, even if it was from yourself. There’s no way that I could have ever resisted her, but you found a way. I couldn’t trust anyone else for this role, which is why I’m asking you. It would mean the world to me if you said yes,” Talvi said, giving a hopeful smile.

“I’m not certain this is a good idea. I want to accept, but I wonder if this is an act of bad judgment on both our parts.”

“If that’s your concern, Father already gave his approval,” Talvi assured him. “I don’t expect an answer straight away. I know you’ll need some time to consider such a request, since you can’t change your answer once it’s been agreed upon.”

“If Father gave his approval, then I don’t need to consider it for a second,” said Finn as he continuing to fan himself.

“So you’ll be my
korvaaminen
then?” Talvi asked, expectant in his unwavering gaze.

“Yes, Talvi, I’ll be your
korvaaminen
, but I’m only doing it for her, not for you,” said Finn, stretching out his hand to shake Talvi’s in agreement. “Though, perhaps I’m getting in over my head with her. Your little wife is quite a handful. Did she tell you that I lost every single one of my books to her in a wager?”

“Come off it,” Talvi snickered. “You would never be so daft as to bet all your books to anyone.”

“But I
was
daft enough,” Finn admitted, shaking his head in disbelief. “I made the bet, she took me up on it, and she won fair and square. She’s much more intelligent than she’d have either of us believe. You better watch yourself.” This time it was Talvi’s turn to be shocked.

“Finn! I’ve seen you escorted from over a dozen casinos for bleeding them dry at blackjack and baccarat! How could you lose a bet to Annika? What
ever
was the blasted wager over?”

Choosing his words ever so carefully, Finn tossed the magazine aside, put on his best poker face, looked his brother straight in the eye and said, “It was about her hair.”

“Ha, no wonder you lost!” his brother howled. “Her mother’s a hairdresser and she can change it right back to red. You clearly don’t know the first thing about modern girls and their hair!”

“No, clearly I don’t,” said Finn, looking on with a wry smile as his brother had a healthy laugh at his expense. When it died down, Talvi’s smile faded into the most humble expression. It was a look he rarely wore.

“I still can’t believe you discovered how to resist
kotka divas
. I wish I would have known about that a couple years ago. It would have saved me a lot of trouble.”

“Avoiding Zenzi altogether would have saved you a lot of trouble,” Finn replied, sneering as he rolled his eyes in disgust. “She is the epitome of the phrase, ‘never moisten your quill with unpredictable ink.’ I half expected her to arrive at your and Yuri’s birthday party with a black-haired babe in her arms. You have no idea how lucky you are that your predicament turned out the way it did.”

“No, Finn, you’re wrong there,” Talvi pointed out with a cavalier grin. He reached into his pocket, giving his ‘cheeky bastard’ lighter a squeeze through his front pocket, and headed for the door. “I know exactly how lucky I am.”

The moment Talvi left the room, Finn peeled back the covers and stepped in silence to the door, locking it as his heart began to race again. He turned around, leaning with his back against the wall, and shuddered in relief.

“And
I
know exactly how lucky
I
am,” he whispered to himself.