He had been hunting boar for days. Determined—no,obsessedwith the idea of providing the feast she had originally described. Most days she cursed herself for even mentioning the traditional meat. Truly, she would be happier to just have him home, and had always insisted he be back before nightfall. Partly because she worried for him out in the wild alone, and partly because she was lonely without him.
The last two weeks had been incredible. Runar had pleasured her with his hands and mouth every night, and she had returned his affection gladly. She only wished he wouldn’t leave her for so long during the day. Even when he had gone hunting before, he was back by noon to work on the house. She liked the breaks they’d spent together, when he would ask her to help him pick the paint colour for the cabin, or her opinion on his latest carving.
He had valued her opinions, and she had foolishly grown used to it. Now she may as well be back in Gudvangen; he’d ignored her suggestion that they should cook meat from the stores instead, or simply accept whatever fortune favoured him with during a hunt. She grew resentful of the boars that hid from him, and resentful of Runar too, if she were honest. There was no need for him to go to such lengths, as all she wanted in these last remaining weeks washim.
They had never fully lain together. Not like a husband and wife, but that was because Runar had promised she would not return to Gudvangen with a child in her womb. Part of her was still curious to take that final step with him. But she had seen enough heavy bellies to know that it was a fate she should not court, especially if it were only out of sheer curiosity. Besides, the pleasure she had felt with Runar was more than enough to keep her happy for the years to come.
Long, lonely nights.
Tonight was only a small taste of her future, she realised.
A dark thought, far colder than the night outside, crept inside her mind.
What would become of her when the boys were grown? When she was no longer useful?
These questions had always haunted her, but tonight they felt more real. What security did she have in Gudvangen, or with Runar? What would become of her if he never returned? Both futures felt precarious.
Embla sighed. If only she could have the best of everything. Her life in Gudvangen, but with Runar by her side. Then again, would he still want her if he were an ordinary man? Or was part of her allure due to the fact there were no other women here to compare her to, no Gertrud.
He didn’t want any of the Sami women either!she reminded herself, and that had to mean something.
She had to trust that to him shewasspecial, even if she did not agree or believe it herself. Otherwise, these days would be tarnished in her memory, and she could not bear that. Not when she had never known such happiness and joy.
Concern for him grew like the shadows in their chamber. Runar would only have the moon to see by, so she went and lit a torch by the front door to welcome him home. The night was quiet—not even a hoot from an owl disturbed the peace—and she grew afraid.
Using a cloth to take the stew off the heat, she set it aside. She didn’t want it to shrivel down to nothing, and it had already reduced considerably with a thick skin over the top. The sewing did not help to distract her, and she didn’t realise, until she heard the metallic clatter of spoons in the distance, how much she’d been straining to hear them. Jumping to her feet, overwhelmed with relief, she startled Sten from his sleep, and he looked up at her bleary eyed.
‘Your daddy is home!’ she announced cheerfully, sweeping her cloak off the peg before rushing out of the chamber.
The hens squawked in their pens as she padded past them, still wearing the slipper boots she usually wore only in the house as she stepped out the front door. It banged behind her, as a swirling wind of icy powder hit her face. She pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders with a disgruntled hiss.
I will scold that man severely for making me wait!
However, first she would leap into his arms and kiss him thoroughly, grateful to have him back. She hated this silence. Could she convince him to lie with her first? She giggled to herself as she picked up the torch from its sconce.
Of course she could!
Peering into the darkness, she waited to see Runar’s bulky form emerge from the treeline. But nothing came, so she stepped onto the first stair. A thin layer of snow and ice cracked beneath her weight. It had been hours since Runar had swept it this morning, and there had been light snowfall for most of the day.
‘Runar!’ she called, and she thought she heard something coming around the side of the house. Carefully she made her way down the icy stairs of the porch and peeked around the side of the cabin. An uneasy feeling began to grow once more in the pit of her stomach.
Could Runar be hurt?
He had been gone for so long...
Sten whined from inside the house and began to scratch at the door. There was still no sign of Runar.
‘Oh, sorry Sten,’ she called.
She realised she had trapped the dog inside by accident, and so she made her way back to release him. But as she turned, two yellow eyes gleamed at her from the darkness and her heart jumped in her chest. Her whole body stilled, as if she were frozen solid, and she stared back at the predator as if caught in a web.
The wolf snarled, its snout peeling back to reveal large yellow teeth. Then in a burst of power it charged.
Chapter Seventeen
Hoping to spook the wolf, Embla immediately did two things. She screamed so loud her voice cracked under the strain, and she waved her torch wildly in front of her like a flaming sword.
It was not enough to make the beast flee, but the wolf’s charge at least slowed to a trot. It began to circle her more warily, snarling and biting out at the torch with ravenous jaws.
