by Quinn Loftis
“Freya, she’s not a woman, so don’t fight her like one.” I said.
“What? I know you’re young, Allete, but I think you need an anatomy lesson.”
“No,” I said. “Stop trying to overpower her. Pretend you’re fighting a man. Standard tactics.”
I could see a subtle shift in Freya’s stance. She must have understood what I said. Or at least she trusted me to know what I was talking about. Freya went from using all her strength in attack to conserving it, nimble sidestepping Evelyn’s attacks. She dodged and parried, rarely making attacks on her own.
“Stop running, coward,” Evelyn growled.
Freya only grinned in response. I tried again to get in a sword thrust, but it was useless. I was too slow, too tired. It was all I could do to remain standing. I was lucky Evelyn was too focused on Freya to spare me any attention. If she had, it wouldn’t have taken her long to skewer me with her magical sword.
“Get back,” Freya commanded. “That’s an order.” I did what I was told. Then I remembered something I should have thought of before. There were other people who needed my help. I moved to Babs, then knelt beside her. She was breathing but unconscious. It looked as if she’d just taken a sharp blow to the head. Placing my hands on her body, I let my magic do its work. I realized my efforts weren’t necessary. Babs would recover in time. I moved to Clay. His situation was much the same.
It was only when I got to Brant that terror almost overtook me. He was on his belly, and I could see small stream of red wetness coming from underneath him. I grabbed and shook him, calling his name. He didn’t respond. I tried to turn him over. It was no use. The huge man didn’t budge. He was way too heavy for me to lift. I yelled and strained with every ounce of strength I had. His body shifted about an inch before falling back. Tears formed in my eyes, and I pounded the stone. Then I heard a familiar voice.
“Don’t be so daft, girl. I know we weren’t together long, but I was sure I taught you better than that.”
I almost laughed hysterically at the absurdity of the situation. “Really, Hilda? I’m not sure this is the time for one of your lessons.”
“I would normally say it’s the perfect time, but you’re right, Allete. I’ve already taught you the lesson. You’re just too dull to remember it.”
“Oh, really? You taught me a lesson about lifting giant men and healing them from grievous wounds when I barely have the strength to stand?”
Hilda began to laugh. “Think of the book, silly child. It gave you everything you need.” And then her voice faded away, and she was gone.
“Think of the book? There was nothing in the book about this.” I tried my best to recall all of Hilda’s scrawling. I couldn’t remember a single thing that could help me now. That book had been nothing but a huge pain in my arse ever since I found it. Even the finding of the damnable thing had been a hassle. Not to mention actually discovering how to read the stupid thing. Myra had told me my magic had nothing to do with the four elements, yet Hilda had required I use them all to read her blasted diary. The woman had a sick sense of humor. Then it hit me.
Myra had been wrong.
“My father told me once that those with power should be the first to be willing to give it up if necessary. They should be the first willing to serve. They should be the first willing to stand up on behalf of the poor, weak, and injured. He told me that power doesn’t have to corrupt as long as you realize you only have power because someone else has given it to you out of trust.”
* * *
~Diary of Allete Auvray
Well, mostly wrong. Myra was right that my magic came from the essence within me. But she was wrong to say it wasn’t also connected to the four elements. The essence of a healer was magical in and of itself. Yet, I was clearly able to control the elements as I’d proven when I blew open the dungeon door.
Hilda hadn’t been lying. She’d given me everything I need. Earth was easy. I was sitting on stone. I rose, then grabbed a burning torch from a scone in the wall. There was fire taken care of. I searched around for water. There was none in sight. Oh, well, I hoped this would be enough. Though my mouth was dry, I moved my tongue around until I’d gathered a mouthful of spittle and spat it on the ground. Myra had told me that mixing blood with any of the elements made it stronger. Now it was time to test that theory. Blood I had in spades. I still had a river of it running down my arm from when I’d cut myself earlier. I wiped some of it on my hand, then mixed it with the spittle resting on the stone. I moved the torch closer. Finally, wind. I blew on the mixture of blood, spit, stone, and fire. The fire immediately blazed brighter. I sucked in a breath before shoving my hand straight down on the flame. And this time, I wasn’t surprised it didn’t burn me, just as it hadn’t when I shoved Hilda’s journal in the fireplace. I was surprised at the power that surged within me, seeming to come from the very center of the earth itself. I grabbed Brant. Flipped him over as easily as I might pluck a blade of grass from the ground. What I saw made my heart leap into my throat.
Brant bled from a hole in his side. The wound had black scorch marks around the edges. He must have been struck with a bolt of Evelyn’s magic. I felt for a pulse, sure I wouldn’t feel one. I breathed a sigh of when I felt the pressure of his pulse against my fingers. It was weak and irregular, but it was there. I placed my hands upon his side. I allowed the words that entered my mind to flow out of my mouth as the healing magic pulsed into Brant.
As soon as the wound closed, I collapsed. I was even more exhausted than before. Apparently, the surge of power provided by the elements was only temporary. I flopped onto my back, drawing in gasps of breath. Then, I heard two furious voices screeching at one another. It seemed both were too exhausted and furious to form words. And then a tangle of bodies fell on top of me, knocking what breath I had drawn in from my lungs. I tried to scramble away, but it was useless. Freya and Evelyn were scratching and clawing each other, all the while spitting and cursing. I could see no signs of Freya’s sword or Evelyn’s magical weapons. It was simply a matter of two women determined to kill on another. I reached down and retrieved my other dagger. Freya and Evelyn fought on the ground right next to me. I knew I didn’t have the strength to rise and stab Evelyn, so I merely retrieved the weapon from my boot and held it out to Freya. I could only hope the shieldmaiden saw it. Apparently, she did. A second later, I felt it pulled from my hand. Evelyn fell next to me, her hands pulling at her neck. She gurgled as her life’s blood poured from her jugular vein, then she fell onto her back and stilled. Freya fell next to her, appearing every bit as exhausted as I felt.
“Thank you,” she murmured, then closed her eyes.
“Are you hurt?” I asked.
She shook her head almost imperceptibly. “Just…need…rest…” And then her breathing became deep and regular.
I rolled onto my side, trying to find the strength to rise. There was one more person who needed my help, though I couldn’t imagine what I could do in my exhausted state. Myra and Gisele were still locked in mortal combat. The dark stream of power pulsing from Gisele had almost reached Myra. It wouldn’t be long now. I got up on my hands and knees. When I made to rise, my head swam, and I collapsed back to the stone. I saw Dayna’s motionless form on the ground. Tears flowed freely from my eyes. In the heat of the fight, I’d almost forgotten what Gisele had done to her. Now, lying with my head against the stone, I could see my sister laid facing me in an almost identical pose. It appeared as if her lifeless eyes stared right at me. Then, I saw something that made me gasp. She blinked. I was about to call out to her when she put her finger to her lips, silencing me. Slowly, Dayna rose into a crouch. It was then I noticed something strange. Myra wasn’t looking at Gisele. She was staring down at Dayna with a calm expression of serenity. Then she returned her gaze to her sister.
“We’ve lived long lives, Gisele,” Myra said. “Too long.”
“For you, maybe,” Gisele replied. “I’ve still got lots of time left and power to gain.”
Myra shook her head. “It’s over. You’ve beaten me. I just hope you find the peace on the other side that’s eluded you in life.”
Myra dropped her spell. Gisele’s face wore a mask of pure ecstasy as her magic hit her sister squarely in the chest. The old woman dropped to the ground, a crater smoldering in the middle of her torso.
“No!” I summoned the strength to scream.
Gisele turned to me. The maniacal smile still plastered on her face. She began to laugh. The sound grew higher and louder. Then it turned to a choking gasp as the sharp blade of a sword exploded out of her chest. Her eyes went wide as she looked down at herself. Then her gasps became gurgles as blood began to flow from her mouth.
“That was for making me forget my sister,” Dayna said from behind Gisele. The blade disappeared. “And this was for making me forget my Viking!” She shoved the blade in again, and it reappeared from the front of the witch’s torso. Dayna released the sword, and Gisele fell forward to her knees. She put both hands on the blade, peering at me “Princess,” she whispered. She fell sideways, the light gone from her eyes.
“There is little joy when the battle is over and the smoke settles. Lives have been lost because of man’s greed and lust for power. The only comfort is we can now begin to heal.”
* * *
~Diary of Allete Auvray
We’d been back in Ravenscar for a month, yet, still, my heart was heavy. Maybe it was because I felt like I should have been able to save Myra. But like Hilda, I had to watch her die. She looked at peace when she went, and I knew she’d deliberately sacrificed herself in order to distract Gisele. Maybe losing her sister, regardless of the turmoil in their relationship, was just too much for Myra to handle. Regardless, I had to come to terms with her loss. I could not let it continue to eat at me.
“You do realize it isn’t your job to save everyone, right?” Dayna’s said from behind me. I sat in the circle of stones where I’d found Hilda’s book, my back against one of the boulders. It was a place I often escaped to because it made me feel close to Hilda.
“Then what’s the point of my magic?” I asked.
“To allow us to make you feel guilty for being unable to wield it to save the entire world?” Thomas answered.
“Thanks, cousin,” I grumbled. “How did you manage getting out of that battle without being stabbed? I can’t believe one of our own men didn’t stab you.”
“Don’t fret, Allete,” he said. “Freya’s bound to stab me eventually. But that’s why I’ve decided she’s the perfect woman for me. And on that note, I’m off to find my she-warrior. I will let you wallow in your pity party. Come find me when you’re ready to realize you are amazing, and we love you just as you are.”
I listened to his steps retreat, then sighed.
“Allete, you aren’t one of the gods,” Dayna said after a few minutes of silence. “It isn’t your place to decide when another person dies. That’s not up to you. And you can’t begrudge that person when it’s simply their time. Myra was old. She’d lived a long life. She was ready to die. Be happy she no longer has to endure the ugliness of this world.”
“When did you get so wise?” I asked as I turned to face her. She sat on the ground just outside the circle.
“I’ve always been this wise,” she said. “I just choose very carefully who I bestow my wisdom upon.”
I laughed. “I’m sure that’s it.”
“Are you going to be okay?” she asked after several minutes. “I mean, I’m pretty sure Myra wouldn’t want you to be sitting outside freezing and feeling guilty for something over which you had no control.”
I wrapped the fur blanket tighter around me as the winter air cut through my body. “I’ll be okay, Dayna. It’s just going to take some time, but I will be okay.”
“Could you please tell that to your husband? He’s pretty worried about you.”
“Did he ask you to come talk to me?”
She shook her head. “No. He pretty much ordered me to.”
I rolled my eyes. “And why didn’t he just come talk to me himself?”
“Well, considering the last time he asked you how you were doing, you threw rocks at him, I think he was scared,” she said, chuckling.
“He didn’t ask me how I was doing. He told me he was going to have Freya kick my arse if I didn’t stop worrying him and snap out of it. He deserved to have rocks thrown at him,” I said.
“Oh, well, he failed to mention that part.”
“I’ll talk to him,” I said.
“I love you, sis,” Dayna said as she stood. “You don’t have to bear any of this on your own.”
“Thank you,” I said with an appreciative smile. “I love you, too.”
Later that night, I climbed into bed. Torben immediately wrapped me in his arms.
“How are you?” he asked.
“I figured you’d have asked your little minion by now.”
“What minion?”
“The one you ordered to come talk to me today,” I said, giving his side a pinch. He grunted, then grabbed my hand.
“I worry about you,” he said. “I don’t know what to do to help.”
“I don’t need you to do anything other than be there for me. Let me be alone when I need to be, and hold me when I need you to hold me. Some things just take time and nothing else.”
“I just hate that you’re hurting,” Torben said softly into the dark. “You’ve been hurt enough in this life.”
“And I’ll be hurt again. That’s just a part of living. But it makes the times when things are going well that much sweeter.” I snuggled into him, sighing contentedly. “At least it’s over. Cathal is gone, along with Clader, Gisele, and Evelyn. Four evil people have been ridded from the world.”
“There will be others,” he said.
“Probably,” I agreed. “But we’ll deal with those when they come. For now, let’s just enjoy the peace. Even with the pain that it took to get here, it’s still something we should be grateful for.”
“Then sleep, Princess, and know that I will hold you, I will be here for you to lean on, and I will be whatever you need for as long as I have breath in my lungs.”
“I can face anything, just as long as I have you by my side, Viking.”
“I’m getting married today. Oddly enough, I’m not the one having a breakdown. Allete, however, is a bit of a mess. I will not lie—I have laughed at her several times. She didn’t seem to be amused by this, but Freya and Babs were, so that made it completely worth it.”
* * *
~Dayna
* * *
Two years later
“If you break her heart, I will cut you,” Allete snapped at Brant before Torben could snatch her up and carry her to her seat. I’d already walked down the aisle, my father had already given me away, and Brant and I stood there and waited for the holy man of the clan to begin the ceremony, but my sister apparently hadn’t said everything she needed to. Despite the fact she’d already threatened Brant many, many times in the past week.
“You won’t need to cut him,” Torben rumbled. “Dayna will kill him before anyone else could even get near him.”
“He speaks the truth,” I said, grinning at the man standing in front of me.
“Violent little thing,” Brant said. “You know how much that turns me on.”
“Behave,” I huffed, then turned to the holy man. “You can start now. My sister won’t interrupt again.”
“We are gathered this day to celebrate the union of Brant of Clan Hakon and Dayna Auvray, Princess of England. We have the great honor of seeing these two hearts become one.
“Dayna, do you take Brant as your husband? Will you love, cherish, honor, and care for him as long as you both shall live?”
“I do,” I said, smiling up at the mountain of a man who had stolen my heart two years ago.
“And do you, Brant, take Dayna to be your wife? Will you love, cherish, honor, and care for her as long as you both shall l
ive?”
“I do,” Brant said, his gaze on me tender and full of the passion I’d come to know from him.
“What the gods have joined, let no man separate. I now declare you man and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
Brant took my face in his large hands. “You’re stuck with me now, Little Princess,” he murmured just before he pressed his lips to mine. Later, I would retaliate for his use of the nickname he knew annoyed me to no end, but for now, I was too distracted by his taste.
When he pulled back, I smiled up at him and knew I probably appeared ridiculously happy, because I was. “I love you,” I said breathlessly.
“It’s a good thing because it would be awkward for everyone if I followed you around like a puppy while constantly declaring my love for you, and you ignored me,” he teased. He would do it, too, of that I had no doubt.
Three months later, Allete and I walked side by side to the sparring grounds where Torben and Brant were currently attacking one another. They both glistened with sweat despite the cool air. It was nearing spring, so it wasn’t as cold as it had been a couple of months ago, but they still had to be working pretty hard to break a sweat in this weather. Not that I was complaining. Both men were nice to look at, shirtless and sweaty.
“Quit drooling.” Allete sighed.
I shrugged. “Why? They would drool after us if we were shirtless and sweaty.”
“Who’s getting shirtless and sweaty?” Brant said, taking his eyes off Torben long enough that the jarl was able to swipe Brant’s feet out from under him.
