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“Watch the portals for Tuoni,” Vellamo says.
“And my father,” I add.
Vellamo sighs at that, giving me a pained look. “The Shaman?”
“Please. They’re together,” I explain. “He’s helping.”
“Very well,” Vellamo says tiredly. “Bell, Madra, watch the portals for Tuoni and Hanna’s father. If you see any sea serpents or the Kraken, send them down river as far as they can. Better yet, tell them to take the Ice River to the Outer Sea, then go down towards Shadow’s End. When it comes to pass, I think that’s where we’ll be fighting this war. That’s where we will need all our allies and friends.”
“What about the Forest Gods?” I ask. “Tapio, Tellervo, they were with us at the Bone Match.”
“I believe Tapio is in the forest and safe for now,” she says, closing her eyes briefly. “As soon as we gather the giants, that’s where we will go. Tapio has power over all the animals in this realm. We’ll need each one of them on our side, and we can’t afford to lose anyone else.”
With a sorrowful wave, she says goodbye to Bell and Madra. I almost walk away, but then I run over to the water’s edge and pick Bell up out of the water, holding her out in front of me the way I used to do to my American Doll as a kid.
“I would take you with me,” I tell her, “but I lose things easily.”
She lets out a tiny, melodic laugh. “That’s okay. I have a job to do now.”
“Stay safe,” I tell her, about to lower her back into the water.
“Wait,” she says, and I pause as she turns around in my grasp to look up at me with hopeful eyes. “Can you yeet me? Been a long time since you did that.”
Now, it’s my time to laugh. “Okay, but I have to let you know that no one saysyeetanymore. You sound dated.”
“Maybe in the Upper World,” she says with a raise of her chin. “Here, I’m a trendsetter.”
I can’t argue with that. I take Bell to the side and throw my arms forward like I’m tossing a bale of hay. Bell goes flying through the air, landing in the water in a perfect swan dive.
Madra gives me a hopeful look afterward, and I shake my head. As if I could pick her up.
“Don’t get any ideas,” I tell her.
She pouts and then dives under the water, swimming after Bell.
I turn and walk back to Vellamo, who is staring at me completely unamused.
“The mermaids like you,” she says.
“Well, I did set Bell free from Shadow’s End, so that helps. Now, which way do we go?”
She nods straight ahead, and we walk into the sparse forest. Every now and then, I’ll come across a dead Bone Straggler with armor and weapons. I gather up a short sword, a dagger I slip in my boot, and a shield that isn’t too heavy to carry. Who knows when this thing will come in handy?
Vellamo isn’t much for talking, so we walk in silence through the mostly-empty forest. I know she’s going through a range of emotions, that she’ll talk when she feels like talking. As for me, I’m trying not to think about what might have happened to my father and Tuoni. Instead, I’m trying to think about what they would have me do in this situation. I know they’d want me to ally myself with one of the gods or Tuoni’s relatives. I think Tuoni would want me to find out where his children are, and then he’d want me to figure out the best way to take out Louhi and Salainen.
But where does my mother come in?
“Vellamo,” I say quietly.
She’s walking a few feet ahead and only vaguely glances at me over her shoulder. “Mmmm?”
“I told you my mother is Päivätär, and you didn’t seem all that surprised.”
“No, well, I knew you had goddess blood in you. Everyone at that meeting did; that’s why we were trying to figure out who she was.”
“Päivätär and Kuutar were the only ones not there.”
“You have more fire in you than you have coolness,” she says. “I figured you were a daughter of the Sun Goddess, not the moon. Have you since discovered any abilities that aren’t normal for a mortal?"
