Page 95 of Soul of Fire

“Goodness, child!” Sigrid handed her a handkerchief, and she dabbed her nose as I held her steady.

“It’s the Chaos.” Eisa’s voice was muffled by the fabric, but I could tell she was trying to smile at Sigrid. “It’s stronger than at Ironholm. More insistent.”

“And does this always happen?”

“More or less,” I interjected so that Eisa wouldn’t have to talk. “Go on, Mormor.”

Sigrid looked unreasonably pleased at my use of Eisa’s pet name and tapped her cane on the stone floor. “A palimpsest is a text in which the original writing is scraped away and another text is written atop it. Though, in this case, I believe it was designed to hide this dragon language you say is on the pages. Since I am not drage, I cannot be sure.”

“Why hide a message only the drage can see?”

Use your brain,Baldur rumbled, speaking so both Eisa and I could hear him.Because it contains information that is too dangerous for humans to possess.

I scowled as Eisa choked on a laugh, and Sigrid smiled. I wondered if she had somehow heard Baldur as well. “I presume it will tell you how to use the Tears of Elysia. And how to close the Rift.”

Eisa dabbed at her nose to check that the bleeding had stopped. “And humans might use the power for something else. Something selfish.”

“Exactly.” Sigrid stood and shuffled over to the plinth, closing the cover gently and clasping the seals. If the iron bothered her, shedidn’t let on. Did iron bother witches? I shook my head, unable to remember the fairy stories from my childhood.

“They may have bonded with you, but even the dragons knew not to trust the humans outright. We tend to use power to destroy, rather than to heal.” Sigrid looked at me expectantly. “Well? You can’t expect an old woman to carry this great heavy thing, and I suppose you will wish to take it with you.”

“You are giving it to us?” I asked, removing my jacket and lifting the Book from its resting place. It was heavier than expected, and I was careful not to touch the iron bindings as I wrapped it in the leather.

“I give it toher,”Sigrid clarified, nodding toward my mate “Youmay carry it for her.”

Eisa laughed, putting her arms around the old woman as I tucked the Book under my arm.

I had hoped wrapping it might dampen the Chaos somewhat, but it was not to be. It thrummed painfully through me, and I was thankful it was me holding the damned thing rather than Eisa. We would need to keep it wrapped up and hidden away as we travelled so it wouldn’t hurt her.

“Well, if that’s all settled,” Sigrid said, clapping her hands in a fair imitation of Amaya, “then I suppose we have a handfasting to get to.”

Chapter thirty-one

Revna

“Releaseme,woman!”

Arne was awake and belligerent.

He had finally woken near dawn, blinking blearily at me as Kindra settled into a sleep for the first time that night.

“Where’m I?” He scowled suspiciously, looking me up and down. “Who’re you?”.

“You’re at an inn by the coast.” It shouldn’t have hurt so much that he didn’t recognize me. The man had never met me before. I took a deep breath and tried to adopt a gentle tone. “You were sick. Jorgen and Branka rescued you.”

I healed you, I wanted to add, but didn’t dare to.

“Jorgen?” Arne narrowed his eyes, trying to place the name. Once he had it, he nodded once and promptly turned on hisside, the sheet sliding down to reveal a chiseled slope of muscular shoulder. “Then I thank you. Now leave.”

I had not left, obviously, and he had spent the last half hour making such a fuss that Jorgen had been forced to pin his arms while Branka sat on his legs lest he injure himself.

“I said release me! I need no night nursie watching over me! I’m a full grown man!”

“Acting like a baby,” I snapped, trying to get a spoon of broth down his throat. Kindra’s attachment was still very much present, but now I was annoyed. I had been up all night fretting over this man, and he had the audacity to dismiss me out of hand. “Either drink it yourself or stop struggling!”

“Stop being a damned menace, you old fool,” Jorgen growled, his eyes flashing to bronze slits. Sigurd had returned late in the night, and based on Branka’s blush when she told me, I didn’t want to know what they did to encourage his return. “We’re trying to help!”

“I don’t need any damned broth,” Arne roared. Jorgen gave me a look that said we maybe shouldn’t have bothered saving this man, and Branka yelped as he attempted to kick her off him again. “I need to get back to the castle. I need to get Ingrid.”