Either I’m mad, or…
You will rule.
My eyes are drawn to the table. The words seep into my bones. I will rule.
The necklace. The gorgeous golden necklace. Of course.
I don’t dare to touch it. But the massive red jewels are so beautiful. Alluring.
The ferocious lynx holding the focal ruby stares at me with its golden eyes. Daring me to grab it. What am I? Some fucking slave? Or am I the thieving Volva? Chosen of Freya. Touched by the Norns.
It glows. Or perhaps not. But it glows.
Heat radiates from it. Rich. Sensual. Everlasting.
Ancient energies flourish, stroking against me like a cat with its tail raised.
Purring.
It’s so gorgeous. Sigurd doesn’t even enjoy it. He wouldn’t know how to.
This is a necklace made for a goddess. For a woman of power.
For me.
My hand reaches out. It’s just perfect. Without thinking, I stroke a finger against the lynx head. Regal. Proud. Like Freya. Ready for love as well as war.
She would want this for me.Iwant it.
Heat stretches into my arm, like the roots of a tree seeking nourishment in the soil. Like it was made for me. It belongs on my neck. Not in Sigurd’s dusty chambers.
The ring is my mission. But this is my prize.
I know I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t steal at all.
But I don’t give a fuck.
I grab it and place it in my pouch. Sorry, old man, this doesn’t belong to you.
I exit the treasury, clutching the bone fragment. Sigurd has moved to his other side. I follow the same route, careful to?—
A floorboard moans under my weight.
Fuck fuck fuck.
Sigurd jerks upright on his elbows. I grip the bone so hard it bites into my palm. A light vibration enters my body.
His bloodshot eyes stare into the dim room, scanning the shadows.
“Who’s there?” he whispers.
I don’t move. He scratches his head. His eyes go right through me. Like the guards, but I’m so close—Sigurd should see me.
It has to be the bone. My enchantment fucking works.
Before I can celebrate my victory, my vision falters.
Flashing lights. Wooziness. My knees wobble. Everything tilts. I’m going to pass out. The walls ripple like heat over a forge.
