“I’m fucking with you, Kilda.”
“I should have guessed.”
“Maybe.” She shrugs, like it could have gone both ways. “So, with Groa, you tried enchanting bone, I presume?”
“Correct.”
“Catch.”
A white object flies my way. My body reacts before my mind can, catching it firmly with one hand. A grin spreads on my face. Thank Odin I didn’t miss it.
“This, I like,” says Ylvin simply. “Go on then, do like you did at Groa’s.”
What does she mean? I told her I hadn’t felt anything. But I will not ask questions. I will not doubt my judgment. I know what Ylvin wants me to do. Try like I did at Groa’s.
“Okay,” I whisper to myself before closing my eyes.
I imagine Freya. I imagine her hair, her cats, her feminine shape. I imagi?—
“Aren’t you going to pray to Freya or Odin?” asks Ylvin.
I grin at her. We share a playful look.
“I’m sure you would call me a dumb shit if I did.”
She grins back.
“Quite right.” She sits on the table, her long legs stretching out of her fur. “But if it works for you, I mean, I’m not the one to judge. But Freya and Odin bless the true, whether they pray or not.”
“I understand. It’s not about reciting to the gods because it’s necessary. It’s about finding a method or ritual that allows me to channel energy.”
“Love it. You know, when I first met you, I thought you were a simple girl, but you have many layers. You’re quite sharp.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I say.
“Please do.”
“When I first met you—” I can’t believe I’m saying this, I’m actually going mad. “I thought you were just a sex-crazed madwoman. Now I see you are wise.”
She laughs, shaking her hair and pursing her lips at me.
“I’m both of those, darling. One doesn’t deny the other.”
I laugh with her. We’re getting along. At last. She turns serious faster than I could snap my fingers.
“Do the enchantment, girl,” she growls.
“Can I ask you something first?”
A look of surprise crosses Ylvin’s face. She had expected me to obey her order, and I will. But I have been wondering something since yesterday.
“Of course, darling.”
“Yesterday, when I returned. How did you know I was there?”
Her smile grows slowly, baring her teeth. I notice they are even sharper than I thought—sharper than any I have seen before. She just smiles at me, so I continue.
“I was behind the lavvu. I know you couldn’t see me, so how did?—”
