Page 112 of The Sun He Buried

Solveih stops crying upstairs.

Baldr’s warmth reaches her soon after.

I feel her settle into it.

“No,” I say.

Thora’s fingers release her sleeve.

“Last night is finished.”

Her face holds.

The hurt underneath doesn’t.

“Of course, my Dróttin.”

The title is punishment.

She has never used it alone with me.

She bows.

I could stop her before she turns.

I don’t.

Thora closes the door behind her. Her first tear comes in the passage. The second follows before she reaches the turn.

Then she runs.

Ketill waits until her footsteps fade.

“She asked for ten minutes.”

“I heard her.”

“She knew you didn’t love her.”

“Everyone in Myrkviðr knows.”

“That wasn’t what she wanted.”

“Then she can recover quickly.”

His disgust comes back sharp enough to cut through the rest of the hall.

Good.

That one belongs here.

Ketill retrieves the ledger and drops it in front of me.

“You used her.”

“She received what she asked for.”

“And gave what you asked for.”