Silence.
“When is the last time you ate?”
She did not respond.
Rey’s low growl shook the air. “Come into the shield-house and rest. Eat something. Afterward, if you wish to continue, you can come back out.”
“You go. I will stay.”
Rey gritted his teeth. “You’ll run yourself ragged.”
“Sounds like a pleasant improvement,” she muttered.
Rey grabbed her shoulder before she could turn away. This was more than Freydis’s death. More than a failure to express her galdur. “What happened?”
She wouldn’t meet his eye.
He gave her a gentle shake. “What. Happened.”
“Nothing.”
She tugged against his grip, but he lashed out with a second hand, his hold ironclad. “If you won’t take care of yourself, then I’ll be forced to do it for you.” And with that, he hooked an arm around her waist, threw her over his shoulder, and strode toward the shield-home. Silla cried out, pounding on his back, kicking at his front, but she was no match for his size or strength.
After kicking the door open, he dumped Silla onto the bench near the hearth, pinning her arms firmly in place as she fought like an angry cat. “Must I fetch the ropes, or will you stay?”
To Rey’s relief, she stilled at that. Her chin jutted out stubbornly, but she made no move to stand.
“Now,” said Rey, “I don’t know what happened, but I do know something troubles you. Loathe though I am to”—his lip curled—“speakof such things, I think it would benefit you.”
She said nothing, so he continued. “As I am not a Reader of minds, if you will not tell me what haunts you, I will hazard a guess that your practice did not go well. You struggle to clear your mind, and I think I know why.” His stomach burned. Gods above, but he did not wish to broach this topic, but it had to be said. Rey took a deep breath and forced the words out. “I think you’re haunted by what Jonas did. It was a vile, horrid thing. A craven thing. Yes, he acted in grief, but?—”
“I don’t care about him!” she burst out.
Rey blinked. “You…you don’t?”
“No!”
He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Why not?” It was a question he had no business asking, yet Rey could not help himself.
Her teeth sank into her soft lower lip. “He…I…” Silla’s head tilted back, and she let out a long sigh. “It is complicated.”
Rey crouched at her level to study her face. He wanted to know…neededto know. “I have nothing but time.”
Her eyes met his, and she puffed a breath of surprise. “You don’t want to hear such things?—”
“You can say anything to me,” Rey found himself saying, “if it makes you feel better.” Immediately, he felt a pang of regret—he’d laid himself too bare, and he longed to snatch the words back. But after a searching look, words rushed out of her.
“I thought perhaps I cared for him. But now…now I understand I was lonely and sad, and he made me feel good for a time.” Silla closed her eyes and inhaled shakily. “He was like the skjöld leaves. A thing to drown my sorrows. A tonic for my grief. A distraction that went very, very wrong.”
Though her words held nothing but torment, something in Rey’s chest woke up and sang. It was wrong for him to be so pleased, and yet, he could not suppress it…
Rey forced his gaze to harden. His hand slid around hers, squeezing gently. Her fingers were ice cold. How long had she been out there? “Distraction or not,” he said, “what he did to you was loathsome. You did not deserve?—”
“It wasexactlywhat I deserved.”
His hand tightened around hers. “What?”
“Ilías,” she said, her voice breaking. And then, understanding grew within him. “Ilías is dead because ofme. Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same had it been your brother.”
