“Is there a man you love? A man you want to share with? At the very least, a man you lust for passionately?”
“I guess…” I hesitate. “There is one at the farm.”
“At the farm? Or in the woods?”
“At the farm. What do you mean?”
“What’s his name?”
“I shouldn’t say.”
“Anything you share with me stays in this lavvu, girl. You have my word as a Volva. Let Odin and Freya cut my name from the heavens if I lie.”
That was convincing. Ylvin is practically mad, but she takes her magic seriously. Surprising myself, I find that I trust her.
“His name is Vidar.”
“You love this Vidar?”
I play the sentence again in my head. Who am I kidding? It’s not even a question.
“I can’t say I do. Yet. It’s more…” I fumble the word, it’s hard to say out loud—a girl shouldn’t say it. “Lust.”
“Why not Ari?” asks Ylvin.
“Ari?” I shout as I cover my mouth. The mangy bastard crow? I feel my cheeks flush.
“Yes, Ari. If that man makes love like he cooks, you’ll end up marrying him.”
“Uh… We don’t get along like that.”
“That is not what it sounded like last night, when you were cooking.”
“By Freya, forgive me. I thought we were quiet.”
“I could hear everything. Shouting for you to shut the fuck up did not affect your flirtatious giggles.”
“I’m so embarrassed,” I say, blushing as I look down.
“Don’t be. It was a cute moment. Cute as when my Freyr here was a kitten.”
She strokes Freyr, who leans his head into her hand, enjoying the attention. A happy cat. A fat, happy cat.
“Anyway,” she says as she stands. “All this Volva business has made me hungry, thirsty, tired, horny, you name it.”
“Aren’t we going to enchant anything?”
Ylvin looks at me, eyes confused.
“Enchant? You think you’re ready to enchant?”
“Well with Groa we?—”
“Groa isn’t here.” She cuts the air with her hand. “The two of us will do it all, if you’re open to it. Rituals, curses,realenchantments. Trust me. Stronger ones than, ‘blocking the evil eye’ and all that other rubbish.”
“Okay.” Ironically, that is the one Groa was teaching me. “Then I?—”
“I will see you later tonight. We will eat. We will drink. We will talk.”
