So many bruises.
“Who did this to you?”
The woman sniffled. “It doesn’t matter. It’s done with now. I’m here for my brother.”
“Who is your brother? I can fetch him.”
“Oh, no!” The woman tried to stand but fell back down. “You mustn’t! He can’t know I’m here! He’ll send me home.”
Eva wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, so she decided to humor the woman. It could very well be in her home that she’d received such abuse.
“I won’t tell him,” Eva assured her. “But I would still like to know who he is.”
The woman looked down at the harp, then back up at Eva. “His name is Finn.”
“Finn Ulfsson?” Every word out of this woman’s mouth only shocked Eva further. Though, it did now make sense as to why the woman’s hair reminded her of Finn’s own.
Her face lit up. “You know him?”
“Aye, I know him,” Eva replied, remembering the many times he’d spoken fondly of his younger sisters. “And I know he’d want to know about whatever trouble you’re in. He cares deeply about his family. You’re Ethlinn?”
She nodded. “He already knows.” Ethlinn hung her head in her hands and started sobbing again. “This is all my fault!”
Something inside Eva snapped at that statement. “I don’t know anything about what happened, but I can tell you with absolute certainty thatnoneof it was your fault.”
Ethlinn looked up at her through tear-stained eyes and smiled hollowly. “I wish that were true.”
Eva smiled at her encouragingly. “If Finn knows you’ve been so badly treated, why is he here and not seeing to you?” She knew how Finn doted on his sister—all of his siblings, really. She couldn’t understand why he’d abandon Ethlinn when she truly needed him.
Ethlinn tilted her head curiously. “Why do you think he’s here? Naught can be done in this world without funds or connections. We have neither, so my foolish brother is risking his life for vengeance on my behalf. And I won’t stand for it.”
“What do you mean?” Eva knew Finn to be many things, but foolish was not one of them.
“He’s making a huge mistake,” Ethlinn groaned. “He thinks he can somehow fix this, but he can’t. I need to get him out of this contest before he gets himself killed. He’s a bard, not a warrior.”
Eva’s heart went out to her. “Nowthat,” she whispered, “is a sentiment I can understand.”
“It is?”
“As it happens, I have my own foolish brother who, against my wishes, has also joined the trials.”
“Really?” For the first time since they’d started speaking, Ethlinn sounded relaxed.
Eva nodded, but as she looked at the harp in Ethlinn’s lap, she felt urgency return. Finn would be coming soon, and if Ethlinn wanted to continue hiding from him she’d need to be going.
But not before Eva got Finn’s harp back.
“You know it’s going to break your brother’s heart when he realizes that’s gone.”
Ethlinn sighed. “I know,” she admitted. “But it was the simplest way I could think to prevent him from competing in tomorrow’s trial. If I can get him out of the contest before they start trying to stab each other, mayhap I can save his life and he’ll come back home.”
“Ethlinn,” Eva hesitated, “I wish I weren’t the one to dash your hopes, but Finn will pass the contest whether you take his harp or not. ’Tis poetry, not music. He won’t need it.”
The stricken look on Ethlinn’s face shattered Eva’s heart. “What? Is that true?”
“Believe me, I wouldn’t have said so otherwise.”
“Now what will I do?” Ethlinn tried to stand, once again falling back down.
