“Excuse me? I do not suck up to Sigurd…”
“Hah!” I fake a curt laugh. “You probably suck his fingers, his toes. I don’t even want to know what else.”
“You, Kilda, are one fucked up woman.”
“And you are a fucked up?—”
I hear footsteps approach rapidly. Ari reacts too, placing his hand on his knife. Maybe he isn’t as useless a man as he gives off.
Ylvin’s head sticks through the tent flap. She screams from the depth of her stomach, making my ears ring.
“If the two of you don’t shut the fuck upright now, by Odin.” She pauses for a second. “I swear I will turn you to fucking rats and let Elof rip off your tails and legs.”
She closes the flap violently, shouting as she stomps back to her lavvu.
“Fucking believe it!”
CHAPTER 31
What in the world is Ylvin doing? I’ve been waiting forever. I woke alone in the tent. Ari was gone, probably so offended by our argument last night that he ran off crying. Tough shit. The prick. Good riddance.
My cauldron of patience and tolerance is boiling over, its wicked juices spilling out the sides. A mighty mess. I’m so done with this shit. Where the fuck is Ylvin?
I open the flap to her tent and stick my head in.
“Ylvin?” my voice is sweet as honey. I’m not going to piss off Ylvin, even if waiting for her has fouled my mood. I’m angry, not suicidal. I’m just not that fucking crazy.
The space is lit by the firepit. A tiny flame sends long flickering shadows. Talismans become large moving monsters on the roof, the mess on the table becomes a?—
“There you are,” says Ylvin, startling me. “I’ve been waiting forever.”
She’s lying in her bed, covered by a large white fur. No surprise there. Elof is nowhere to be seen. It takes a second for my brain to make sense of what she said. She’s been waiting forever? I was waiting. Forever.
“I was waiting for you outside,” I chime.
“You can’t wait for life to happen. The world doesn’t come to you.”
“Sorry, I just?—”
“Don’t be sorry. This is your first lesson today. You stuck your head into my lavvu—you did better than I thought you would.”
This woman. I’m left speechless. She runs a hand through her hair, shaking away the flatness of lying in bed until midday. The fat white cat makes a loud complaint at the disturbance as Ylvin stretches.
“Finally,” she says. “We can start.”
Finally indeed. She stands, naked of course, like she’s challenging my sensibilities. Daring me to look away. To fail her test. I keep my eyes on her. Her nudity will no longer control my actions. If she thinks she can rule my life just by?—
“Aha!” She turns to me, one hand on her hip, unbothered that her breasts and bush are out in the open. “At last, you accept the presence of a naked woman around you. We are making progress.”
I snort, because it’s ridiculous, yes, but I’m also relieved—Ylvin thinks I’m making progress. This woman is impressive and powerfulandannoying as fuck. All in one. She continues.
“Maybe one day you will dare be bare-chested around your sisters too. Let me ask you a question.” She moves around the tent, naked, like it’s normal. “Why are you looking at my body today?”
I think for a second. She gives me the time to formulate, to my surprise.
“I… I don’t mind anymore. I’m used to it.”
“Go on, be honest.”
