She sniffles, the rain starts to pour down outside. Touching my mouth to hers in a swift kiss, I tug the door open. “Bar this,” I demand.
“Yes, Aaric,” she breathes.
I do not look back. I cannot. Instead, I look straight ahead and make my way toward Runa. She shifts her gaze behind me, nods once, then together we walk through the húsgørd.
Kjeld and Sten meet me on the way, no doubt, Runa waking them as well. I tell them the plan and they nod without offering a single word. They are like me, they are getting into their warriors’ minds. They are pushing everything else behind them. They are preparing for war with a völva.
Chapter Forty
AARIC
I am surprised by the appearance of the völva. He is nothing as I expected. He looks like any of my men. He is tall, strong, and commanding. Except when he lifts his eyes to meet mine. I can see the evil swimming in them. He must have hidden himself well when he was here the first time, Runa would have noticed this immediately.
“What is your name?” I demand.
He lifts his hand and waves slightly. “It matters not, konungr.”
“It does, völva,” I bark.
He jerks, looking a bit taken aback that I called him exactly what he is. “Einar. My name is Einar,” he finally admits.
“What do you want? Why did you attempt to harm my brúõr?”
“Attempt?” he asks, his lips curving up into a grin.
“She lives, my child lives. So, yes, attempt.”
Einar takes a step back, he shakes his head once as if he cannot believe the words that I’ve just told him. He needs to accept the fact that my queen lives, because she will continue to live even if I do not after this night.
“Speak of what you wish to accomplish by coming here,” Runa shouts.
Looking to her, I grin as she stands, her legs spread wide and her palms pressed forward in her ready stance. Einar chuckles, clearing his throat as he shakes his head a couple of times.
“I am only here to give the message that I was sent to obtain and deliver. I wanted to make sure that the konungr received the entirety of my message. I had heard that the dróttning was not faring well, so I wanted to make sure all was well.”
I growl at his words. He heard that Liv was not doing well. Heard. I grip the handle of my sword tightly, trying not to unsheathe it and slice it down his middle, knowing that in order to send him back to Wylo, I must do the ceremony of the Blood Eagle.
“Speak your purpose,” I demand.
Einar doesn’t say anything. Instead, he lifts his hands. There isn’t enough time for me to react, but thankfully Runa does. I watch as green sparks fly from her hands as she attempts to hold his magic back.
He throws back his head in laughter. I hear Kjeld and Sten gasp next to me. “You must bind him,” I bark. They nod but don’t make an immediate move to leave. Instead, they stand there with their jaws dropped. “Now,” I roar.
They run around him and spread apart. My warriors have started to discover the commotion. Suddenly we are surrounded by my village. Men and women come from their homes to watch this battle of the völva.
Einar’s magic is black and that worries me. It is just as Runa said, he holds black magic inside of him, which can mean detrimental things for me, for my people, for my lands. He roars at the same time Runa growls as she brings her hands back slightly, then pushes them forward and more green sparks fly from her.
Runa’s body starts to tremble and I know that she cannot last much longer. The rain starts to pour down, the wind begins to blow even harder than it was before and I know that my queen worries from inside of our room.
Then as if it happens without warning, the storm stops completely. Blue color surrounds us. Runa collapses to the ground, but I do not reach for her, I cannot. The air is blue, bright blue, the same blue that comes from my talisman when I am inside of my wife.
Einar grins, shifting his blackness behind me. I know who is there, I can feel her presence. Instead of allowing his black magic to touch her or my unborn child. I refuse to allow either of them to be harmed.
Instead, I jump between them. I feel the sparks of the blackness touch my skin. It is a sensation akin to a million sewing needles that are being pushed into every inch of my skin. I hear my Liv scream behind me.
Then, a cry rings out from my people and that is when I hear a man scream out, “No.”
I do not see what happens, darkness takes over, as dark as the völva’s magic.
LIV
Aaric falls to the ground, but I can’t go to him, no matter how badly I want to. Runa is already in a heap on the ground as well. Holding my hands straight ahead, a scream erupts from inside of me and at the same time blue sparks fly from my hands.
The sparks that come from me are enough to knock this asshole on his ass. Thankfully, neither Kjeld or Sten hesitate. They bind him immediately and my legs shake as I try to stay upright. Breathing in and out, my chest burns and my vision is blurry at the energy that I’ve expelled.
“Get Runa inside for safety,” Sylvi shouts.
Turning my head, I look over at the girl. She’s younger than me, and yet, she’s got her shit together way better than even I do right now.
“I do not know how long we’ll be able to hold him,” Sten grinds out.
Wobbly, I walk over to Aaric. Bending down, I reach out and touch his cheek. He doesn’t move. His eyes don’t flutter, he doesn’t even twitch. Lifting my head to look up at Kjeld and Sten, I shake my head once.
“He is out,” I whisper.
“Alive?” Sten asks.
I place my hand against his chest, just to reassure myself, and nod when it rises and falls with his slight breath. “He is,” I say softly.
“You must give the ritual,” Kjeld calls out. “It must be him or you.”
“Why?”
There is a moment of silence, you wouldn’t even know that dozens and dozens of people are around us, you could hear a pin drop. Straightening, I stand up tall and take a step toward Kjeld and Sten.
They turn the man around, I heard Aaric call him, Einar. He is limp, but they are holding him up. Two men come forward, taking his arms and tying ropes around them, stretching them out. As soon as they come back for his legs, my stomach drops.
“You don’t mean…” I trail off.
“You must, dróttning,” Kjeld announces firmly.
Looking back over my shoulder, I see that Aaric is still on the ground, he hasn’t moved even an inch. Pressing my lips together, I continue to make my way toward them. When I come close enough that they can speak to me without the rest of the people hearing, only then do they level me with their gaze.
I feel as though I’m about to get a cold hard truth, and honestly, I’m not ready for it. “You have magic,” Kjeld announces softly. His eyes practically sparkle as he grins down at me.
“I guess I do,” I breathe.
He chuckles. “You are powerful, even more so than Runa,” he says.
I doubt that is true. There is no way that I can be more powerful than Runa. Besides, I don’t even know how to use this power.
It comes when it feels like it.