Sigyn's Song

by Meg Trotter

  “It’s not true,” she said thickly through rising tears. “None of it. I’ve never been with Skarde. I’ve never been with anyone else. I love you,” she said, though the last declaration tasted of a lie.

  Gunnhilde looked unperturbed. She merely tapped one of the runes that was composed of two sharp straight lines with a diagonal line connecting them. “She’ll be the cause of the destruction of everything,” the witch whispered, though loud enough for both of them to hear.

  Maera pulled away from him as tears stung her eyes. This room was suffocating her. She needed out. Maera stormed away from the table and through the door into the cool night air.

  Chapter 19

  The grass, wet with dew, soaked through Maera’s shoes as she tromped down the path away from the longhouse. She hadn’t had any certain destination in mind when she’d run off, but the large tree in the distance seemed to call to her. She turned that way. In the light of the setting sun, it made a thick shadow in the grass.

  Once she reached the trunk, she reached out with her free hand — she still held the rune stone in the other, she realized — and felt the scratchy bark under her fingers. With a sigh, she rested her forehead against it and closed her eyes. The wind rustled the branches, making it almost sound like it was sighing too.

  When she opened her eyes, the tightness in her chest had loosened a bit. The anger was gone, and in its wake was only a tiredness. What she wouldn’t give to go back to the peaceful night that she had spent listening to Loki tell her stories in his warm bed. She opened her clinched fist and found that her tight grip on the rune had made a faint indention of his name on her palm. She glowered at it, then let the stone drop to the grass at her feet, and turned her attention overhead. She wanted to be up high when the stars came out tonight. Maybe the northern lights would show up again.

  After a couple of jumps, Maera caught at the lowest branch. She was glad nobody was around to watch. It took quite a bit of flailing before she finally kicked a leg over the branch and used the leverage to pull herself up. The branches rustled as she climbed, and a few birds took flight, nearly startling her into losing her footing. However, she made it to her previous perch near the top. She seated herself on one branch and folded her arms over a second one at chest-height. She stayed there as the sun set and the stars came out. It had been a long time since she had been alone. It was nice. Mostly.

  Maera closed her eyes and listened to the insects chirping in the growing dark. After a while, it almost sounded as if they were chirping in time to a tune. Maera tried humming the song she’d heard twice in the village now and found it twined well with the insects’ melody. Before she realized, she was quietly singing the words to the song as she looked for patterns in the stars. The words came easily when she sang them, even though she was using human speech. There was no exhausting thought process to put these words out into the world. They flowed like a current. She echoed them as easily as she had the whale’s song back under the sea.

  Maera was on her third recitation of the song when she heard a voice drift up in the dark below her. “Little Fish?”

  She broke off mid-note. Her hands clinched around the branch.

  Loki.

  She considered ignoring him, but even as she thought about it, she was already standing up from her perch and lowering herself down to the next branch. When she got to the bottom branch, she swung down and hung there a moment, looking down at the surprised god. She dropped to the ground, grateful that she landed lightly on her feet. Maera didn’t know if she wanted to hit him or hug him. She took a step back to prevent herself from doing either.

  “You’re back,” she said.

  “You’re singing in a tree,” he replied. He glanced up and then back down at her. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

  “Me either,” Maera said. She felt a small, pleased smile creeping up and smothered it. She switched to mer-language and laced her hands behind her back as she leaned back against the tree. I thought you were going home.

  “Yeah, well,” Loki looked away. “I was. But I had an idea when I was halfway there and I turned around.” He turned his gaze out toward the sea. “I went back to find my son, Jormungandr. He’s who I was looking for when I first saw you at your grandmother’s cave. She knows him. She helped me protect him when he was just a child, swimming in the sea alone after ... after his mother was killed.” He paused, then cleared his throat. “It’s been a while since I visited him. I found him a few days ago. He’s huge now. Bigger than I am.” His expression softened a bit. “He’s going to be bigger than most mermen when he’s done growing, I think. Must be the giant’s blood in him.”

  He’s a snake? Maera asked hesitantly, remembering the storyteller’s tale.

  Loki shook his head. “A shape-shifter, like me. He shifted into a serpent to get away from Odin, but he’s been in mer-person form for ages now.” Loki finally met her eyes, though the gaze was cautious. “So, my idea was to bring him to your pod. I introduced him to your sister.”

  My sister?

  “It was rather disgusting,” Loki said, looking away again. “They took to each other right away.”

  What do you mean they ...?

  “I mean,” Loki cut in, sounding exasperated at having to explain further, “That they both agreed to the match. Jorm thought your sister was lovely, and she was practically swooning at his attentions. They’re going to be married. Mated. Whatever you merpeople call it.” He shrugged.

  “Your father will pass leadership on to Jorm when he feels the time has come. Until then, my son has vowed to protect him. Jorm shouldn’t have any problems fighting off your dad’s rivals. He’s a demi-god, after all. Your father is protected. Your sister has a strong mate. You don’t have to obsess about taking care of them anymore.”

  His cool gaze snapped up to her startled one. “Though I guess this does make you and I related by marriage now. My condolences.”

  If Maera hadn’t been leaning against the tree, she might have fallen. She blinked at the god, her mind trying to absorb this information. Her sister was safe. Her father was safe. Protected by the son of a god. She didn’t have to protect them herself any more. After the full moon she could stay with Erik. Or she could leave him and explore this world. She could do whatever she wanted.

  Maera took a shuddering breath. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to cry or laugh. She brought her hands to cover her mouth while she struggled with the emotions. It took a few heartbeats before Maera could swallow the knot in her throat enough to drop her hands and whisper, “Thank you.”

  After a few moments, Loki muttered, “See? I’m only mostly terrible.”

  Laughter bubbled from Maera’s mouth. She pushed herself off from the tree and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around the god’s middle and pulling him into a hug. Loki’s posture stiffened, but he didn’t push her away.

  His hands brushed lightly over her back as if considering returning the embrace, however his arms ultimately came down to his sides again. His hair, still wet from his recent emergence from the sea, dripped cold saltwater onto her shoulders. It smelled like home.

  I’m sorry, Maera clicked into his chest, that I got so mad at you when you lied to me.

  There was a pause and then, “Wait, what?”

  She pulled back enough to see the confusion on his face. I mean ... I don’t like the fact that you lied to me, of course, but I understand now why you did. I’ve been lying to Erik about who I am because it’s too complicated to tell him the truth, and he doesn’t even know my real name and ... Tears sprung to her eyes and she buried her forehead against his shoulder. She sniffled. I’m just as terrible as you are.

  Silence fell between them. “I’ve got to say,” Loki muttered, “this is the weirdest apology I’ve ever gotten in my life.”

  Erik is going to leave me for Gunnhilde because her family is more powerful than mine and he needs that power, and Skarde made Erik think I’ve been coupling up with every male I come across, so
he doesn’t trust me anymore, and I don’t even love him but I have to keep telling him I do to win this bet or I’m going to turn into sea foam and-

  She felt the barest brush of Loki’s fingertips settling on her hips. “Okay, first of all, breathe.” When she took a shuttering breath, he asked, “Now, who’s Gunnhilde?”

  Maera sniffed, but kept her face hidden against his shoulder. The red-headed woman from the raiders’ ship. Chief Orm encouraged Erik to take her as a mate, and I’m afraid Erik isn’t going to take much more convincing.

  Loki digested all this in silence before he finally sighed. “Apparently I need to stop my habit of rescuing nearly dead women. It’s only caused trouble so far.”

  Maera snorted a faint laugh and Loki eased her back from him gently. She stepped away with some reluctance, wiping at the few tears that had escaped. Her shoulders were wet now from his dripping hair, and without his body heat, the night air was chilly against her skin. She rubbed at the goosebumps on her arms.

  “I’m sorry I yelled at you too,” he said. Maera looked up at him, surprised, but his gaze was somewhere on the ground between them. “I ...” He sighed again and ran a hand through his wet hair. “It was a rough night, and I took it out on you. You didn’t deserve it.” Quiet fell between them again. Loki’s eyes focused on something on the ground and he bent. When he stood again, he held the rune stone. He saw the carving on it and looked up at her in faint amusement. “This yours?”

  Maera felt her face heat up. She crossed her arms over her chest and glowered at the stone. I didn’t make it. It’s Gunnhilde’s. She used it to do some kind of future-telling. She said that it showed that I was here to cause Erik mischief.

  Loki let out a short cackle. “That’s beautiful. I love it.” He tossed the rock and then caught it with a grin.

  Maera looked up at him, feeling a flutter of nervousness at her next question. Are you going to leave again?

  “Well, I only have two more kids, so I’m quickly going to run out of children to throw at your problems. Do you think Gunnhilde would like a shape-shifting wolf boy?” A small smile cracked Maera’s worried expression, but the amusement faded from Loki’s face. He ran his thumb over the carving on the rune stone as he considered her. “I should leave. Tyr could come back.”

  He could also come back while you’re gone, and we’d be completely defenseless.

  Loki tossed the rune up again and caught it as he considered this. His gaze flicked up to hers. “Well, I don’t know about ‘completely defenseless.’ I feel like Tyr would hesitate to go up against you again. Or at least cross his legs when he does.” He sighed and turned his attention back to the rune. “I guess I can stay until it’s all over. It’s only two more days.”

  Maera tried not to show how relieved she was. She hated to admit it, but she’d missed his stupid comments and his teasing. She watched him toss the rock again until a thought hit her and she smirked. You know what this means, now that your son is mated to my sister? She paused to let him raise an eyebrow in question. This time, when he tossed the stone up in the air, Maera snatched out her own hand and caught it before it hit his palm. It means you’re in my pod now.

  He blinked. He glanced down at his empty palm, seeming to just now realize that he was missing the stone. Finally Loki looked back at her, his eyes glittering in the starlight as he mirrored her smirk. “Damn it, I guess I am one of your whales now, aren’t I?”

  She grinned. “And I think this technically means I outrank you, since I’m the princess of the pod.”

  “Maybe for now,” Loki agreed. “But I’d say when Jorm is king, that would move me up the food chain a bit. He’d listen to me before he’d listen to you, I’d wager. I could get you tossed out of the pod.”

  She grinned and tossed the stone back to him. On what grounds?

  He caught the stone without breaking eye contact and considered her. Finally he chuckled. “For you being way too good at getting others to like you, despite you being a giant pain in the ass.”

  Chapter 20

  Loki trailed Maera back up the path toward the village. They fell into a comfortable silence, Loki tossing and catching his stone as they went. When they made it onto the outskirts of Freydis’ farm, Maera paused to consider where to go. She didn’t want to go back into Freydis’ house. Erik was probably there, and she didn’t think she had enough energy to face him again tonight. Just the thought of attempting to put on an act to smooth things over with the prince made Maera stifle a yawn. However, she really didn’t want to slip into the sick-house and encounter Gunnhilde’s smug face either.

  Shadows over by the stables drew her attention. Two people stood at the door, whispering in low but angry tones. Maera glanced back at Loki. He shrugged. She slipped into the darker shadows and crept closer to get a better view. Maera eased up against the side of the stables and strained her ears to catch the words.

  “I don’t care. She’s sleeping. You can’t come in.” This was Freydis’ voice, somehow sounding tighter than usual.

  The pebbles crunched as the second person took a step closer. “I want to check on her,” Skarde said.

  Maera’s hands clinched into fists at the sound of his voice. She jumped when Loki’s hand slid over her right fist. A wave of cold flooded out from his fingers and covered her from her head to her toes. She raised an eyebrow in silent question, and he jerked his head toward the voices. He pulled her around the corner and out into view of the two arguing people. However neither Freydis nor Skarde noticed their audience at all. Loki was sharing the magic he used to make himself unnoticed by others.

  Skarde crossed his arms over his chest. “She’s not yours to deny me.”

  “The house is.” Freydis shifted a half-full bucket of horse feed from one hand to the other. “As is this land. You’re not welcome here. You need to go.”

  Something dark flickered over Skarde’s face. Maera didn’t realize she’d taken a step toward the pair until Loki squeezed her hand in warning and tugged her back. Skarde took a step back as if to go. “I’ll remember this in a few days when Valka and I are married. You won’t be allowed in our house or on our land.” He smiled darkly. “Maybe by next year I’ll pack us up and move us away. You’ll never see her again. Then you’ll know what it’s like to lose everything you want.”

  Freydis’ grip tightened on the bucket. “Gods, is that really what this is all about? I’d thought I was just being paranoid, but that’s really it? This is some twisted revenge?”

  “I had just as much claim to you as that bastard from the north,” Skarde snapped. “I have just as much wealth as he did. Just as many alliances. But because he had a prettier face, you decided he was going to be your husband-”

  “It wasn’t his face, Skarde,” Freydis growled. “It’s that he didn’t want me just because I’m the chieftain’s daughter.”

  He sneered. “Is that what he whispered to you when he was in your bed?”

  The crack of the feed bucket against Skarde’s head was so loud that Maera clamped her free hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp. The horses inside the barn whinnied in concern.

  Skarde bent double, growling a colorful string of words. Freydis stood still, practically flickering with rage. After giving time for the wave of pain to pass, Skarde straightened, his dark eyes narrowed, his nose dripping blood. He leaned toward Freydis, and his voice went deadly soft. “I’m going to break you beyond repair. You will beg for Hel to take you when I’m through.”

  He turned on his heel and strode away, disappearing into the gloom. Freydis watched him go. She never lost her rigid posture, however when she turned back to the stable, her hands trembled ever so slightly on the door. She pushed it open and went inside. The whinnies of horses welcomed her.

  Maera exchanged a tense look with Loki. However after several minutes passed with no sign of Skarde returning, Loki gave her fist a gentle tug toward the sick-house. Maera allowed him to lead her that way. Once they reached the door, he let go of her fi
st, and she felt the chill of the magic seep out of her body. She shivered.

  When the god pushed open the door, Maera was at first relieved to find that Gunnhilde had vacated her bed. However, as she stepped inside and closed the door behind them, she realized that this meant that the witch was probably in Freydis’ house. Maybe even in the private room with Erik. She pushed the thought away. She was too tired to worry about it. She sank down on her bed while Loki moved to poke at the embers of the fire in the hearth.

  “That guy is just all talk,” he muttered as a flame flickered to life under his hands. “He acts all big and mighty but then when he’s up against a real opponent, he shows his true colors. Remember how we found him cowering in the dirt during the raider attack?” Loki stood in front of the revitalized fire and ran his hands through his damp hair in an attempt to dry it. “Freydis just did the best thing she could do. She stood up to him. He ran off with his tail between his legs.”

  Maera made a noncommittal noise as she kicked off her shoes and swung her legs up into her bed. Skarde was a coward, she knew that. But she wasn’t sure if that made him more or less dangerous. Even under the sea, a scared animal was the kind that did the most damage.

  The next morning, Maera woke late. She stretched beneath her warm blankets relishing the last few moments of feeling comfortable and at peace. A glance over at the other side of the room showed Loki dozing in his bed. No bad dreams seemed to bother him this morning. His expression was relaxed as he lay on his back, cocooned in furs. He shifted onto his side, and a few strands of his dark hair fell across his eyes.

  He was handsome when he wasn’t glowering all the time. The thought floated into Maera’s sleepy mind, hovering there for a moment before a faint noise from outside drew her attention. Horses. The stables. Someone was out there with them. Her first thought turned to Skarde. Would he hurt the horses in his quest to get revenge on Freydis for his busted nose?