“What is?”
“Holding what was once Skadi’s. When my parents died, I thought maybe the gods weren’t real. That our suffering was a condition of mankind, but hunting taught me otherwise. Being in the shrine confirmed it.”
“The forest holds many lessons. Are you ready for the one I am about to give you?” He passes me an arrow and a yew bow.
I laugh at his cheekiness. “What lesson is that?”
“What having a real opponent is like.” He draws back the huge bow. Matching his tall form in height, the yew belly bends to his will with ease as he sends an arrow flying into the farthest tree trunk.
I line up my own arrow and pull the string back, expecting the weight to be heavy, but it’s perfect. How would he know how to string a bow for me? The thought rattles my focus, and I let the arrow loose, watching it hit a few inches below Shaw’s.
“Stop thinking about everything.” He passes me a second arrow.
“How’d you know how to string my bow?” I ignore his request, lining my arrow up first so he keeps his pointed down.
“Lucky guess.”
I shoot, exhaling all the tension from my muscles and bones. The arrow hits a tree behind the one he shot, putting my arrow further away.
“You’re a terrible liar.” I walk behind him with a smile on my face.
“I’m not a liar. If I had told you I restrung a bow for you, it would have scared you off.” He lifts his bow to take his turn. A breeze swirls around us, picking up sparkling snow and rustling the evergreen trees. His arrow flies so fast my eyes miss the shot, but I hear wood split. Excitement gets the better of me, and I hurry through the trees, away from the cliff, to see Shaw’s arrow lodged against mine, deep in the soft wood.
“Giving me an equal advantage is the least frightening part of you,” I counter. Try as I might, I can’t stop my gaze from finding his. “Should I try again with Skadi’s bow?”
Shaw touches the two arrows, nearly on top of one another, and yanks them free.
“You should not waste precious time, my lady.” A strange voice makes us both whirl around. The eagle from the tree is gone, and at the base of it stands a man dressed in a rich black tunic and matching pants.Where did he come from?The cliff is unclimbable.
Shaw’s hand is instantly at his belt where his knife is sheathed, but his face changes from aggression to shock so fast he never removes it.
“Vidarr,” he says, and I nock the already used arrow back into the string, keeping my bow ready and pointed at the ground in case this isn’t a friendly visitor.
“It’s been a long time, brother,” Vidarr says. I look from one man to the other, seeing the similarities.
“Rasha, go back to the cabin with what is yours.”
Knowing full well what he means, I walk past the two men and pick up the quiver with Skadi’s bow tucked inside. Aslaug trots through the trees, happily roaming around both men before waiting for me on the path back to the cabin.
23
SHAW
We don’t move till I hear the door to the cabin close, too far away for mortal ears to hear. She locks it like a good girl, and I take a heavy breath.
“How are you here?”
Vidarr loosens his shoulders and walks through the trees till our bodies collide, and snow puffs out from our cold clothes. My heart twists as he throws his arms around me in an embrace.
“Nice trick with the amulet and your blood. She opened the channel in between realms, so for a brief moment, I could find a way in.” His short words cover his emotions. I squeeze his bicep, making sure he’s real and not an illusion.
“Can you take us home?” I ask, and his vibrant eyes darken.
“She has the bow. Not you. So sadly, no,” he replies, and I sigh. This was what I was afraid of. “One more thing. You have less than two months to finish the chain,” he spits out nonchalantly. Walking through the trees, I grind my jaw to avoid looking at Vidarr. Now that he’s here, it feels like no time at all has passed, but I am different then how he saw me last.
“And if she won’t?” I ask, thinking about Rasha’s crimson hair falling over her smooth shoulders.
“She will. I’ve been watching her since she left the shrine,” Vidarr says. I shoot him a glare. Rasha and I were fooling around together in the sled with no cover. He chuckles, patting me on the back with the same boyish smile he’s always had, no matter how many lifetimes we’ve lived.
