Page 25 of Veil of Blood and Bone

“Does it matter what the thing is? It destroyed the Longship festival. There’s nothing but downed tents and splintered poles.” Audra stares across the field, marking the way the crowd trampled more mud in their haste to get the fuck out. “At least no one died. Except this thing. And good riddance.”

I gag. The thing rose out of nowhere, like a mound separating from the ground, and she’s happy to send it off with a good riddance?

Electricity zaps through me, and at last I’m free to lift both arms from my side and move to Audra.

Leif fucking Erikson holsters his ax and I breathe easier. “I like the way this one thinks. And she’s right. The troll is slow and stupid compared to other creatures but it’s big enough to cause chaos. This one showing up today...”

He trails off.

This could have been worse. My mind quiets at last, and I latch on to the thought like a lifeline. My reactions aside, the size of the thing coupled with the mass hysteria could have landed us in a much larger heap of trouble.

But why me?

Why had I stayed?

Why had Thurisaz warned me?

My hands lift, unsure what to do, before they drop. “This is a mess.”

“It’s not our mess," Audra insists like the crab she is. “It’s the Founding Father’s mess. Let Barnes and his buddies handle it. You took care of the problem. They need to get down on their hands and knees with a big fat raise.”

A tremor ripples through me, twisting my insides. My teeth chatter before I ground my jaw. “No one is going to believe this.”

“Who needs them to believe?”

Audra and I will need a serious talk after this. How the hell is she so calm?

My chest caves in and I’m sinking, shivering. Surviving.

“It’s the drain on your system after battle,” he says in an undertone “The force driving you through the fight always wanes. Shaking is normal.”

Muscles twitch outside of my control. “Good to know.”

It will pass, my dove. It always does. But better to know what kind of person you are than to know what you aren’t. You’re my strongest girl.

Mom’s voice, the memory softened by time, fractures the trembling. I move to him and press my fingertips to his wrist.

Unlike mine, his heartbeat is steady. Grounded.

I stare at him and for the first time, really look at him. Imagining him as a raven turning into a man splits my head into what’s possible and what isn’t. In the middle of them is one truth…

I’d needed his help.

The fight showed me what kind of man he is, too. One with answers.

“Thank you. Let us make you dinner. It’s nothing much, but you look like you could use a home cooked meal. And we’d be happy to do it for you.”

Normalcy, or something like it.

We have to get out of here, and the best way to do it is with calm, rational, ordered footsteps.

In the order of operations, getting Audra home is priority. Then food. Food will help with the adrenaline drain and headache blooming across my temples.

Food, more than anything else, has the ability to lower walls.

“A full belly is a good way to end a battle.”

I nod, decision made before there’s space to regret. “Good. Come on, Audra, let’s get our stuff⁠—”