"I am not pregnant!" I said loudly, running my hands through my hair in agitation.
A woman with a handful of books paused at the nearest aisle and leaned out to look at me. I gave her a feeble smile. "Sorry."
She sniffed and moved away.
"Listen," I said, trying to will the blush to fade. My cheeks felt so hot I could probably fry an egg on them. "Last night I talked with the Brotherhood people. They explained to me how the whole Zorya thing works. I had to get married to one of their people, a man who represents the sun, to start the process of gaining powers. The next step is a ceremony tonight."
"You've gone and been married again?" Hallur asked.
"Is that legal?" asked Ulfur at the same time.
"It's perfectly legal because (A) it's not a real marriage—it's just some ceremony they conduct within their group—and (B) the marriage to Kristoff wasn't legal. I don't think. No, I'm sure it's not, so therefore, I'm still technically unmarried."
"But you've been bedded by your husband," Ingveldur said, frowning.
"Which one?" Hallur asked. "I'm confused."
"The first husband, the Dark One," Agda said. "My gold is on him. He looks to have the wind for a long race."
"What about the other husband?" Hallur asked, still puzzled. "Did he bed you, too? Just how many men have you bedded since you've arrived here?"
"She gets two husbands? I want to be a Zorya!" announced the teenage Dagrun. Her mother shushed her.
"That's not the sort of question you ask a woman," Ingveldur went on to tell Hollur. "And by my count, it's three."
"I didn't sleep with Mattias. And it's only two!" I took a deep breath, trying to calm my frazzled nerves.
"Two in two days. That's a pretty good start, if you ask me," Agda said. "But don't let that stop you bedding your other husband. Try his paces and then make a decision about which stallion you'll keep in your stable."
"I am not keeping a stable of lovers or husbands!" I said, desperately trying to get off the subject.
"You just took another husband," Ulfur pointed out. "I believe more than one would qualify as a stable."
"Will you people just forget Mattias? He's not really important!" I said, wanting to scream and tear my hair out at the same time.
"Well, I think that Dark One of yours'll think he's important," Agda said, nodding.
I opened my mouth to dispute that, allowed my mind to dwell on what Kristoff's reaction would be to the fact that I had taken another step toward gaining Zorya powers, and closed it again.
"Do you think so?" Ingveldur looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. "Aye, I reckon you're right."
I took a deep, deep breath, involving approximately half of the available oxygen in the room. "Do you people want to go to Ostri?"
They all nodded, including Ragnar.
"Then you need to listen closely. I cannot take you there until I have undergone a ritual."
"One involving your husband?" Ingveldur asked, a faint wrinkle on her forehead.
"Which husband? The Dark One or the one named Mattias?" Hallur asked, scratching his head. "Who is the third man? Is he a husband, too?"
"Will you forget about my husband!"
"Which—" Hallur started to say.
"All of them!" I squawked. "Just forget all of them! Forget they ever existed! This has nothing to do with any man in my life, whether or not I've slept with them!"
"Seems to me that you've slept with all the ones you have met," Agda's voice said from behind the others.
"Argh!" I wanted to scream, and spent a moment looking for something to throw.
"She hasn't slept with me," Ulfur said with a rakish grin.
"I'd rather sleep with Ragnar than you!" I growled, pushed beyond my endurance.
"Would you, now," the stamina woman drawled, looking at the horse with speculation.
I swear to god that Ragnar winked at me.
I dropped down into the chair next to the carrel, my head in my hands as I tried to keep myself from screaming. Or sobbing. It was a toss-up which I'd go with.
"You're saying we have to wait here until you complete this ritual tonight before we can go to Ostri?" Marta's soft voice cut through the mental hysterical screaming that filled my mind.
"Yes. Thank you. A voice of sanity at last." I took a couple more deep breaths, then rose and faced the maddening group of ghosts. "You should know that there's a possibility that I won't be able to take you to Ostri. If that's so, I will find someone who can take you—you don't have to worry about that."
"You won't be taking us?" Karl asked, his brow wrinkled. "But why?"
"It's a bit complicated. It hinges really on whether or not my marriage to Kristoff is legal. If it is, then the one to Mattias isn't, and that means I'm still a Zorya-in-waiting. If it isn't, then I'll be a true Zorya, and I should be able to find Ostri for you. Either way, I want you all to know that I will make sure you're taken care of. I'm not going to abandon you until you've made it there."
The ghosts looked as confused as I felt.
"Regardless of all that, you seem to be safe at the library, so I want you to stay here until I can finish the official Zorya recognition process, at which point we'll know the answer to the question about which marriage is valid. OK?"
"Oooh, look, it's the husband," Dagrun called from where she was perched on another carrel.
"Which one?" Hallur asked, craning his neck. "Oh. That one."
Kristoff emerged from between two stacks, pausing for a moment with an odd expression on his face as he glanced around. "Who are all these spirits?"
My eyebrows rose as I checked that none of them had slipped into solid form. "You can see them?"
"Yes." He frowned at them. "How many have you collected?"
"Sixteen, counting Ragnar."
Ragnar snuffled the back of Kristoff's head. The latter swatted him away. "I've reached Alec. He will be here in a few minutes. He is not happy."
"Welcome to my world," I said, eyeing Kristoff. "How come you can see my ghosts? You couldn't see them the other night, could you?"
"No," he answered, doing a double take at Dagrun, who was openly leering at him. He looked back at me with one of his regulation frowns. "Why are you keeping them here?"
"It's the safest spot we could find."
"Safe from what?"
Ragnar snuffled Kristoff again. Kristoff turned around, glared at the horse, then made an elaborate gesture that had the horse opening its eyes wide for a moment before it disappeared.
"Holy… what did you just do?" I asked, taking a couple of steps forward to make sure Ragnar really was gone.
"The horse was annoying me." Kristoff looked at Hallur, who was standing next to him, examining his clothing closely. The second Hallur realized he had gained Kristoff's attention, he gave an embarrassed smile and backed off quickly.
"I didn't think you had any powers. You said you didn't!"
"I said I didn't have any powers against mortals." His lips tightened as he gazed at all the ghosts. "I do have some against spirits."
The group backed off as one body.
"But where did Ragnar go?" I asked, since I knew Ulfur was fond of the horse.
"Nowhere. I just dispersed his energy. As soon as he gathers it back up, he'll be back. But not, I trust, before we leave. Are you ready?"
"Yeah, I guess so. Does anyone have any questions?"
"I do," Dagrun said, smiling with wicked intent at Kristoff. "Does this husband know about your other husband?"
The floor dropped out from under my feet. Oh, not literally, but it sure felt that way. I stared with wide, blank, deer-caught-in-the-headlights-of-a-really-big-truck-driven-by-a-deer-hating-maniac eyes at Kristoff, who turned his head slowly to me.