I sat up straighter, my arms tightening around Jorn. It couldn’t be—the poem had a hidden message: Linnea. “What is your grandma’s name?” We traveled much slower than before, so I didn’t have to yell in order for him to hear me.
“Grandma Lise,” he answered, his voice filled with affection.
Disappointment filled me. Of course it wasn’t Linnea. Morlet had said she died shortly after he gained Skog Heks’s magic. Still, for a moment, I’d thought maybe she was alive like Vidar, Anders, and Morlet were.
Up ahead, smoke spiraled in the air. As we neared, a small house surrounded by a fence came into view. Sheep grazed on one side, cows on the other.
“We’re here,” Jorn said. Anders gracefully dismounted, and then helped me off my horse. Jorn instructed us to knock on the front door while he took the horses to a small stable around the side.
My thighs burned, and my hands shook from excitement and fear. I took a step toward the house, and a strange sense of emptiness shot through me. I stumbled, and Anders caught my arm, steadying me.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I can’t feel my power,” I said. “It’s completely gone.”
“Then we’re definitely in the right place,” he mumbled.
“I feel so… hollow.”
He patted my shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Focus on what you’re doing instead of what you’re missing or feeling.”
I forced my thoughts to turn to meeting Lise and the fact that she knew my parents.
We reached for the front door just as it swung open. An older woman in her sixties stood there with shrewd and cunning eyes focused on me. “What’s your name?” she demanded.
“Kaia,” I blurted.
She wore pants, which made me instantly like her even though we hadn’t been invited in. “And your mother?” she asked.
I never said Mama’s name out loud—it was too painful. “Elin,” I whispered.
Lise put her hands on her hips. Her eyes darted to my bo staff before asking, “And Elin’s mother?”
I wracked my brain for my grandmother’s name. Papa rarely spoke of her. “I think it was Ida.”
“You think?” she said, eyebrows raised. “Then I suppose you don’t know your great-grandmother’s name, do you?” She tapped her foot.
“Were these women—my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother—all Krigers?”
“Yes.” Lise smiled, her eyes sparkling. “Your grandmother Ida’s mother’s name was Trine. And Trine’s mother was the first female Kriger. Do you know the name of your great-great grandma?”
“Not for certain,” I said, becoming dizzy. It was all starting to make sense.
“You have a guess though, don’t you?”
“I do.” The pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
“Come inside,” Lise said, opening the door wider. “We have much to discuss.”
Anders took hold of my hand. “Do you want me to accompany you? Or would you rather I wait out here?” He glanced inside the house, probably trying to determine if it was safe for me.
“I’d like for you to come with me.” I squeezed Anders’s hand and entered the house. The past had been kept a carefully guarded secret for a reason—it was time to discover what really happened so many years ago.
Lise led us to a quaint sitting room with a fire blazing in the hearth. “Sit down and make yourselves comfortable,” she said. “I’ll return in a moment with refreshments.”
There were two sofas, four plush chairs, and a low coffee table situated in the center of the room. I strolled around the perimeter, glancing at the various paintings hanging on the walls. Many were of people I didn’t recognize, some were of flowers, and others of horses roaming wild. One of the walls contained a large window overlooking the meadow on the side of the house. Anders sat on the sofa, and I took a seat next to him. Lise returned a moment later carrying a tray with three cups of tea and a plate of cookies.
“Your grandmother Ida was my sister,” she said, setting the tray down and taking a seat on a chair. She picked up a cup of tea, gesturing for Anders and me to do the same.
Since Lise was my grandmother’s sister, that made her my great-aunt. I tried wrapping my brain around the fact that I was sitting next to my relative. “I thought my entire family was dead.”
“No, child. You have a rather large family.” Lise smiled, taking a sip of tea.
Why hadn’t my father told me any of this?
“Whenever we discover who the Kriger is, we make sure she is kept safe and hidden from Morlet.” Lise leaned back on her chair. “Word reached us that your mother died shortly after you were born. Since you were her only daughter, we knew you’d be the next Kriger. Your father decided to hide you in the capital, right under Morlet’s nose. At the time, we all thought it was a good decision.”
Tears filled my eyes. This woman—my great-aunt—was my family. I wasn’t alone. And she knew my family’s history. I’d be able to discover what my father hadn’t been able to tell me before his untimely death. “Why does the twelfth Kriger have to be a female from our family?”
Lise set her cup down. “You don’t know?”
“Papa died before he had the chance to tell me.” My hands shook, rattling my cup. I set it down and wiped my palms on my pants.
“I’m sorry to hear of your father’s death. He was a good man.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “As you’ve probably been able to guess, your great-great grandmother was Linnea.”
“The girl Espen fell in love with?” I asked, wanting—needing—this clarified.
“Yes.”
It felt as if I’d swallowed a rock. “Morlet told me he loved a girl named Linnea. That he was willing to give up his title for her. But he never said what happened to her.” And he never mentioned or hinted that Linnea was the first Kriger. Was this why he refused to talk to me about her?
“Morlet told you?” Lise asked, raising her eyebrows in disbelief.
“He captured me once,” I said, not wanting to explain my complicated relationship with the man right now. “My friend Anders saved me.”
“What else do you know?” she inquired.
“That Morlet’s parents didn’t approve of him marrying a commoner, so he ran away with Linnea. When they traveled through the forest, they came to a hut and requested shelter for the night. It ended up being Skog Heks’s home. The witch said she would help them. Instead, she hired an assassin to kill the royal family, so Espen would inherit the throne. Skog Heks intended to rule through him. Only, when she tried to force him to do what she wanted, her magic left her and went to him.”
Lise nodded. “The magical decree that prevents a Heks from ruling or harming royalty is what caused her magic to flee her body and embed itself into Espen.”
“Morlet said Linnea died, but he never told me the circumstances surrounding her death.” I squeezed my hands together, waiting to hear about the past.
“Linnea kept a journal detailing what happened,” Lise revealed. “I have it around here somewhere.” She took another sip of her tea before continuing. “When Linnea realized Espen had Skog Heks’s magic in him, she became frightened. She said it changed him.”
I remembered feeling his magic—it was powerful and filled with malice.
“Grei Heks insisted she could help Linnea. However, Linnea was hesitant to make another deal with a Heks, even if it was the good one. Eventually, she agreed, believing it was the only way to save Espen. Grei Heks created eleven Krigers and cast a spell on Linnea, giving her some Heks magic.”
“Why?” I asked, dread filling me. My head started to pound. Whatever the reason, I wasn’t going to like it.
“Linnea said Grei Heks wanted to save the Heks race.”
Anders abruptly stood and went to the window, looking outside. He kept his back to me, not saying a single word.
“You see,” Lise continued, “Heks are either solely good or evil, and they must always be in balance with one another. No new He
ks have been born in two centuries. Their entire race is facing extinction. Grei Heks thought this was unfair, so she took matters into her own hands. Not only did she counter what Skog Heks did by creating the Krigers, but she also cast a spell to save her race, and, in doing so, cursed our family.”
“That’s where the child conceived of mixed blood comes in,” Anders said, turning around to face us. He folded his arms across his chest.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my legs, my head on my hands, trying to understand everything Lise had said.
“Grei Heks assumed Espen and Linnea would have a child,” Lise explained. “Since Espen had Skog Heks’s magic, she gave Linnea a bit of hers, thus intending for the two to mix. She planned for a child to be born with both good and bad Heks blood, allowing this child to make his or her own way in the world, no longer dictated by his or her magic.”
“Let me guess.” Anders’s face darkened. “Linnea died before a child was conceived.”
“No,” Lise replied. “She conceived a child—just not with Espen as planned.”
My breath caught. “After all that, she fell in love with another man?”
Lise’s eyes glossed over. “No,” she whispered. “Skog Heks, furious as a wild brubjorn, moved into the castle. Espen sent Linnea into hiding, trying to protect her. When Skog Heks couldn’t get her magic back, she sent a group of soldats after Linnea, thinking to use her to force Espen to return her magic. They found Linnea and dragged her back to the castle, locking her in the dungeon.”
“What did Espen do?” I asked.
“He didn’t know she was in there.”
“How was that possible? Wasn’t he king?”
“He was, but you have to understand the land was in chaos, the borders were closed, and people were questioning the horrific deaths of the king, queen, and prince. Espen was desperately trying to keep everything under control.”
“What did Skog Heks do during all of this?” I asked.
“Skog Heks tortured her. Several of the soldats raped her.”
My stomach churned, and bile rose in the back of my throat.
“When Skog Heks had thoroughly ruined Linnea’s spirit, she tossed her at Espen’s feet. She must have assumed that when he saw her broken, he would have done anything to save her. However, that was not what happened. When Espen saw Linnea was pregnant, he turned his back on her, thinking she betrayed him. Rage consumed him. From that point on, he became Morlet.
“Linnea went home where she was cared for. The baby was born, and Linnea died shortly thereafter. Word was sent to Morlet, telling him she was raped, so he would know the truth—that Linnea loved him until the day she died.”
This story was worse than anything I’d imagined. My heart broke hearing the tragic events leading to Linnea’s death. “Was the child a Kriger?”
“Yes. Since Linnea had Heks magic in her, it passed on to her daughter.”
“My great-grandmother Trine.”
“And so started our family curse.” Lise folded her hands on her lap.
I now understood the curse in its entirety. “Not only do the Krigers have to link powers to kill Morlet, but I also must conceive a child with him before doing so.” My mouth became dry, and my head continued to pound as my headache intensified.
“I’m afraid so.” Lise shook her head. “You are free to go through Linnea’s journals. But I fear you’ll find more pain there than anything useful.”
“I need some fresh air,” Anders mumbled as he hurried outside.
“How can I to give myself to a monster?” I asked, tears falling down my cheeks. “How can I have his child?”
“You don’t have to,” Lise said, taking my hand and holding onto it. “You can allow the curse to continue. You don’t have to stop it. The choice is yours.”
I wiped my eyes with my free hand. “If I don’t, who will?”
“When you die, another female Kriger will rise.”
“My child?” I couldn’t pass that burden and responsibility onto my daughter.
“Perhaps. You forget—our family is large. I live here with my daughter, her husband, and their children. I have a son nearby. This is the home Linnea’s family moved to in order to get her far away from Morlet. This is where Trine was born, and where Linnea died. We all know our family’s history with the Krigers, and we keep detailed records to pass on.”
“If I don’t have a child, the burden will pass to one of my family members? Your grandchild? Or great-grandchild?”
“Yes.” She squeezed my hand and released it.
Certainty filled me. I knew what I had to do. “I have the power to stop Morlet. It’s my responsibility to do so.”
“It’s a high price to pay. We’ve all discussed it before, and I know no one would think less of you for not agreeing to do it.”
I stared at my great-aunt. “I promised my father as he died that I would finish this—and I will.”
✧
I found Anders standing in a sea of anemones behind the house; the blue flowers a stark contrast to the bright green grass.
“It’s beautiful here,” I said by way of greeting.
He nodded toward a stone situated among the flowers. “It says Linnea on it.”
Beyond the fence, three lakes converged in the distance. “I assume the part of the poem that says the foot of the rock is referring to here.”
“I believe so.”
“Everything begins and ends with Linnea.” Somehow, I’d always known this deep down.
“Yes,” Anders muttered. “And we’re all pieces in this sick and twisted game that never ends.”
“I’m going to end it.”
“By sacrificing yourself?”
“I’m not sacrificing myself, just giving a part of me away.”
Anders squatted, picking one of the flowers. “The moment I met you in the Town Square, I knew you were different, that you would change everything.” He stood and placed the flower on the stone. “I just didn’t expect to care for you as a friend or in any other capacity.”
The wind rolled over the grassy field, giving it the illusion of water. I wished my father were here so I could talk to him about the challenges before me, to ask him about my mother, to hug him and seek his steadfast comfort.
“This is why I never get involved,” Anders said. “It’s easier to do a job with no emotional attachment.”
“It might be easier, but that doesn’t make it better. It certainly makes for a bleak life. I’d rather have the hardships because without them, there would be no joy. So yes, this situation is far from ideal, and I honestly can’t think about it too much without becoming physically ill. However, it will lead to our kingdom being liberated. It will bring happiness to thousands of people. It will be worth it.” I kept telling myself that, making sure I truly believed it. Saying it out loud helped.
He turned and faced me, his eyes red, and his face white. “You’re a far better person than I am. But I always knew that. There’s a reason you’re a Kriger. Most people wouldn’t confront the obstacles you are facing with such determination. It is one of the things I admire most about you.”
I wished Anders wouldn’t say such things. It made keeping my distance infinitely more difficult. The wind picked up, blowing the flower off the stone. “We need to return and tell Vidar all we’ve learned.” The journey home would afford me the opportunity to go over everything Lise had revealed. Right now, it was too fresh and painful to contemplate, so I placed it in a box in my mind, setting it aside for later.
“Wonder if Vidar will hold you to the engagement now that he doesn’t have to father your child?”
I had no idea how Vidar would take the news. On one hand, he’d probably be thrilled he didn’t have to marry someone he didn’t love. On the other, he did ask for my father’s permission, which was given. Vidar didn’t shirk from his responsibilities.
“I asked Lise why I couldn’t feel my power here.”
“What did she say?” Ander
s asked.
“In order to keep Linnea safe after she was so viciously abused, Grei Heks cast a spell to ensure no magic entered this area. Linnea’s power couldn’t be sensed, and anyone who came here temporarily lost his or her power or magic as well.”
“A wise move.”
Without my power, I felt naked, or as if a piece of me was missing. Did the female Krigers before me feel the same way? Or did they relish in having their powers stifled?
“I spoke with Jorn,” Anders said. “You can ride his horse back to town. He’ll collect it later.”
I rolled my eyes. “You expect me to get on that animal by myself?”
He chuckled. “Don’t tell me the mighty Kaia is scared?”
Petrified was more like it.
“You’ve fought a brubjorn, an ulv, and a fugl. You can’t possibly be frightened of a horse.”
“It’s not that I’m frightened. I just don’t know how to control the animal.” I’d grown up in a city, not a farm.
“Then it’s a good thing I’m here.” Anders’s brown eyes shone bright, as if his words meant more.
“Yes, indeed,” I said, teasing him and trying to lighten the mood. “For whatever would I do without you by my side?” I smiled sweetly at him.
✧
Riding the second time wasn’t nearly as frightening as the first—especially since I had an idea of what to expect. Once we made it back to the inn, Anders took my horse to the nearby stable yard for Jorn to collect, and then returned the horse he’d borrowed.
Not having enough money to spend the night at the inn, Anders and I headed out of town. Anders led the way, attempting to take the same path back that we’d taken to get there. Once it was too dark to travel any further, we found two large boulders that formed a small cave. After a quick meal, we laid on our bedrolls as it started to rain. Hopefully, the water wouldn’t run into the cave. The last thing I needed was to wake up soaking wet. The soft pitter-patter soothed me.
“How are you feeling?” Anders asked.
I knew he meant about the situation with Morlet. Thankfully, he hadn’t broached the subject since we left Lise’s. Here, in the dark, it was easier to talk about it.
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