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“What happened while we were gone?” I asked her.

“A revolt.”

“Because of you?”

“Yes. I was in the dungeons, but I heard it from the elves Alfrun threw in there. Some dared to speak up. There were many wounds.”

“That’s where the blood on your face is from?”

Lilja nodded. “She spilled a lot of it. I did what I could to heal them.”

“They’re your enemies.”

“Not the ones who spoke against her.”

“What happened to the others in that cell? Her prisoners?”

Lilja’s voice dropped to a near whisper. “Alfrun killed them. She brought them up into the hall and killed them in front of everyone. She was furious because of the bet. She felt she had been tricked into it. Some tried to reason with her. They were thrown in the dungeons. Then when their families pleaded for mercy, she threw them down there too. ”

I pulled Lilja even closer. “Hrafn helped us,” I said. “Who is he truly?”

“He’s like my father was, only older. He was once the lord of a mound, then the prisoner of Alfrun’s aunt after a war. When Alfrun became queen, he schemed his way out of the dungeons and rose high.”

“Can he be trusted to keep his word?”

“It hardly matters, because he fears the magic. He’ll die if he breaks his promise. Elm binds him.”

“I don’t like the magic,” I said. “I like the simplicity of the human world better.”

“I do too.” She wrapped her arms around my waist. “I knew you’d come for me. I knew you’d try your very hardest.”

“I’d walk into a thousand mountains for you.”

She looked up at me again. “And I would for you as well.”

“I know you would,” I said and pressed my lips to hers. “Three days and we’ll be back in Norstad, and we don’t ever have to leave again if you don’t want to.”

She leaned her head against my shoulder. “I don’t think I do—and certainly never without you.”

I kissed her forehead, and together we watched as the valley below stretched before us.

Chapter Forty-Three

Six months later

Iwoke up too early. It was bright sunshine outside, but it was also midsummer. The longest day of the year. The clock told me it was only five thirty-seven—much too soon to get up. Not that I wanted to. Lilja was sleeping still. The room was warm, and she had kicked off the blanket. Her hair was startlingly dark against the striped pillowcase, and she was naked from last night. I pressed my face to her neck and breathed in her scent. She still smelled just faintly of pine.

“Happy birthday,” I whispered in her ear when she opened her eyes. It wasn’t her real birthday, probably. She didn’t know her birthday, so we had decided on today, midsummer, because it was the day of light.

She smiled, and I kissed her. From the bedside table, I grabbed my present. Or rather, my one present because I had a whole pile of them, but I was saving most for later. I placed the box in her hand. She opened it and took out the pendant from inside. Another one of my uncle’s many treasures. Faith, hope, and love in silver. Like the one on the doll’s chest, only prettier because this one had blue and yellow enamel decorations. She sat, and I hung it around her neck. It rested against the unblemished skin of her chest. Her father’s symbol was gone, erased when Hrafn had released her.

“Do you like it?” I asked.

Her answer was to pull me close and kiss me. I pushed her back down on the pillow and put my lips to her neck, then her chest, kissing my way down her stomach. She arched her back when I wrapped my arms around her thighs and put my mouth to her. I knew how she liked to be touched now, knew every inch of her, and she deserved everything from me because she gave me everything in return. So much more than I had ever thought I would have.

“Do you remember midsummer night from before?” I asked her when I was lying next to her after, running my fingers in circles on her back.

“Faintly. I remember we celebrated with food, and there was a sort of… sort of ceremony, I think.”