“Okay, what happened?” I ask, knowing that Hagen can’t understand me, so we can be frank in here.
Runa and the seeress look at one another, then flick their gazes back to meet my own, neither of them saying anything immediately.
“You became upset when I told you of my binding spell,” Runa mutters as if trying to keep the truth from me, but also knowing that she must tell me.
Licking my lips, I try not to tremble as the knowledge rushes through me. I cannot leave here, not without Aaric. I can’t take my sister and be spirited away, or however it happens. I can’t leave here. I can’t leave him and that makes my heart feel like it’s being torn to shreds inside of my chest.
“Well, rightfully so, it seems. How could you do that to me?” I ask on a whisper.
Runa shakes her head, her eyes watching me, looking almost pityingly at me. I hate it. I am a strong, independent woman and I won’t stand for being pitied, except right in this exact moment I truly feel pretty sorry for myself.
“It is not something that I did to you, Liv, you must believe me.”
“Then why?” I ask on an exhale.
It’s the seeress who speaks next. “It has very little to do with you and very much to do with the outcome of this prophecy. She didn’t do this to you, she did this so that nothing of severe devastation would happen to our people, to our world.”
Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I shake my head, wishing that I could just take my own fucking self back home. My body begins to tremble. I’m terrified, not just of this place, but of never being able to go home.
What am I going to do here?
What about my family?
What about my life?
“I can’t,” I breathe.
Runa reaches out to me at the same time the seeress does as well. Their hands grip my arms gently, but firmly.
“You cannot panic, Liv. You mustn’t,” Runa utters. “You must take care of yourself. You cannot continue being so upset. It isn’t healthy.”
“Maybe you can tell that jackass I married, to stop being a dick to me for five seconds, and then maybe I’ll stop being so upset. Or maybe you could have not cast some extra fucked up spell on me since it seems that I already have one that I’m dealing with at the moment,” I snap.
Runa and the seeress both press their lips together. Thankfully, they at least look partially ashamed for what they’ve been part of.
Letting out a sigh, I close my eyes, then open them again. “So, what happens now?” I ask.
I’m exhausted. I was literally carried out of this bed naked just hours ago and thrown into a jail cell. Now I’m back, after passing out for God knows how long and I’m being told that some binding spell was cast on me, to tether me to my asshole of a husband. My head is spinning, and I wonder offhandedly if I could literally do that, like that movie with the possessed chick?
“Now, you need to open your heart, forgive him and learn to trust this man. If you do not fall in love with him, we don’t know what that will mean for the prophecy, for our people,” Hillevi states.
I almost laugh because her words are just that ridiculous. “I need to forgive him and trust him? Are you high?”
They both blink, turning from me and looking at one another before they shift their gazes back to meet my own.
“We do not understand, Liv,” Runa murmurs.
“Are you not right in the head? That man is awful. He can fuck himself for all I care,” I state, jerking my chin up and closing my eyes, refusing to even look at them.
There is a moment of silence and I’m glad that they don’t beg me to bow down at Aaric’s feet, although if they thought that I would, they would probably not hesitate in asking me to do as much.
Runa and Hillevi eventually stand to their feet and silently leave me alone in the room. Only when I hear the door close do I open my eyes. My body jerks slightly when I see that Hagen is still in the room and staring directly at me.
Arching a brow, I tilt my head to the side, wondering if he is indeed going to add his two cents as well. Thankfully, he doesn’t. He seems to be a man who knows when to keep his damn mouth shut, unlike the rest of the people around this place.
Lying back down on the pillow, I close my eyes and just breathe in the silence of the room for a moment. I don’t expect to be in here alone for long, Aaric will show his asshole self soon enough, I’m sure.
Curling into myself, I keep my eyes closed and eventually, I fall asleep, even with Hagen watching me. I’m too exhausted to care, trying to heal from whatever that excruciating pain was that wracked my body not long ago.
Chapter Eighteen
AARIC
“You must try,” Runa begs.
I shake my head, crossing my arms over my chest. Inside, I know that she is right. On the outside, I am the konungr and cannot show any emotions at all, not even to my wife. This is something that not only these two need to understand, but most importantly, my own wife must comprehend as well.
“I am the konungr, of not only this land, but of all the surrounding islands as well. I must do absolutely nothing,” I state calmly.
Runa rolls her eyes, at the same time the seeress reaches for my hands. She physically flinches as soon as she takes my palms in hers.
“What have you seen?” I demand.
She shakes her head, her eyes lifting to find mine. “It isn’t so much what I’ve seen, Aaric.”
“Gods be damned, tell me what you have seen,” I growl.
The seeress gulps, then grips my hands tighter, her nails digging into my skin. Her eyes lift up and she looks behind me. Something flashes in her gaze, then she shifts her attention back to me. She presses her lips together, her eyes now focused on mine and nowhere else.
“If you do not change your ways, they will be lost to you. The prophecy is very clear, you must be in love with one another, the ramifications are unclear, but you must be in love. You must try, my Konungr. Your bride is pure of heart, there is no malice inside of her, you have damaged her fragility.”
I will not speak of love, or my relationship with my seemingly fated with two völvas. “I will handle it, my way.”
There is a moment of silence and I start to walk past them when the seeress wraps her fingers around my forearm and stops my escape. Looking down at her hand, I slowly lift my gaze to meet hers.
“Keep an eye on your brother Fiske. I can feel his ire. It grows and festers inside of him. I do not know if it is a natural development or something else.”
“Are you saying that he could be infected by darkness?” I ask.
She gulps, nodding her head a couple of times. “Watch him closely, Aaric. It grows.”
Without another word, the woman releases me and the two of them practically float away, but my attention on them is lost. My eyes catch Fiske who is sitting at the large dining table watching us—intently.
Tilting my head to the side, I take him in for a moment. He’s scowling, but as soon as he realizes that I am scrutinizing him, his lips twitch into a smile.
“Come break bread with me, bródir,” he calls jovially, his lips now curved up into a big smile.
Flicking my eyes to my closed bedroom door, knowing that my wife is inside, I hesitate to break bread with my brother. However, I need to gauge for myself my brother’s mental state. Letting out a heavy sigh, I make my way toward him and sit across from his body.