It was Lady Tala.
“No,” murmured Silla absently. Could it be? “What did this woman tell you, Jarl Agnar?” she forced out.
The jarl watched her carefully, uncertainty in his voice. “That Jarl Hakon claimed the maps were drawn up wrong in my father’s time. That all lands within five miles of my eastern border were his by right. And that my people had ten days to vacate before his men would force them to do so.”
Silla’s heart pounded in her skull, a vicious wrath rising within her as Myrkur snarled. She funneled hearthfire thoughts into her mind, desperate to keep the god at bay and keep her mind as her own.
“There is no way those are Hakon’s terms,” said Rey. “He tries tounitethe north, not divide it.”
“That emissary was not acting under Hakon’s orders,” said Silla, trying not to let the bitter sting of Tala’s betrayal grant Myrkur any power. “If my hunch is correct, she followsSigne’scommand.”
“Q-queen Signe?” stuttered Jarl Agnar.
I’ll admit, whispered Myrkur,I’m rather impressed with Signe.
Silla blinked.You sound as though you know her, she shot back, against her better judgement.
Myrkur only chuckled, ducking away before Silla could gage His emotions. Rey touched her elbow and Silla refocused on Jarl Agnar.
“I—sorry.” She shook her head. “It seems the queen has been rather busy. Not only has she tried to have me assassinated several times, but she’s been stirring up chaos in the north. Intercepting not only my letters but those of Jarls Hakon and Agnar as well.” Silla’s gaze fell on Agnar and hardened. “Enough is enough.”
Silla thought back on all of her interactions with Lady Tala, seeing them in new light. Tala, seated beside her the day her róa cup had been poisoned. Tala, coming to Silla after Ingvarr’s botched attempt on her life, urging her to keep Fallgerd’s death quiet. Tala, whispering advice to Silla that had only made her question herself. Her blood chilled further as she recalled Tala coming to her while she was shackled to the bed, trying to feed her broth. She’d been too nauseous to take it. Had it, too, been poisoned?
Let me in, Eisa,crooned Myrkur.Grant me access to your bloodline gift. We can make her pay. We will make it hurt.
Jarl Agnar’s voice thankfully diverted her attention. “When your retinue arrived at the borderlands, I suspected treachery,” he confessed. “I wondered if you lured us into a trap on Jarl Hakon’s behalf. But the way your men spoke of you…I’ll admit I was intrigued. And now that I’ve met you, I feel hopeful. You’ve gotten to the bottom of our issues. You treat your warriors with respect. And you alone have the ability to topple Ivar’s hold on the north of Íseldur. To bring peace to these lands.”
Peace,laughed Myrkur.
Silla’s jaw hardened, but an idea struck her. She strode across the cavern, beckoning Jarl Agnar to follow her. “I will be honest with you, Jarl Agnar. I fear this conflict with Lady Tala will be the first of many battles.” Silla paused before the mural, staring at the Volsik king facing down a horde of demon creatures. “Dark days are on the horizon, and if we wish to survive, we must unite.”
Silla watched the young jarl, waiting for some reaction. But heonly nodded solemnly, staring at the mural. She drew a deep breath and prepared for what came next. This had to work. They were out of time.
“Do you know, Agnar, I believe we are much alike. Like you, I am used to being underestimated. It is, in some ways, my greatest weapon.” Silla turned to the mural, examining the Volsik king alone in his battle against Myrkur. She’d thought she had time. Thought she could wait for Saga. But now she understood.
I will stand up to Tala and the jarls,she thought,and then, I will stand up to Myrkur.
You can try, mortal,taunted the god of chaos.But you will fail.
If I fail,thought Silla,at least I have tried.
Silla and Agnar spoke in hushed tones for the better part of an hour as she relayed her plans. By the time she left the cavern, the sting of Tala’s betrayal was smothered by a blanket of hope.
Rey’s hand slid into hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Do you realize what you’ve done?” She turned to him, alarmed, but a smile curved his lips. “You just won Jarl Agnar to your cause.”
She squeezed his hand back.
“And you did it,” said Rey, “simply by being Silla.”
Confidence and hope mingled in her chest. But Silla focused her attention on what must come next.
“We have work left to do,” she said.
By the time they returned to Silla’s bedchambers, the sister moons had risen under winter’s early nightfall. She walked to the windows. Snowflakes fluttered softly down, blanketing Kopa’s peaked roofs, and her gaze fell to the smallest of the sisters, now swelling toward fullness.
It was a reminder she did not need that only two nights remained before they departed for the heartwood. Silla’s heart gave a panicked leap. What if her plans failed? What if she and Rey had to ride to the woods with naught but Jarl Holger’s warband?
Silla blinked furiously at the moons, serene in the star-speckledskies, and felt a moment of outrage. All her life, she’d left offerings for the gods and the spirits; all her life, she’d been dutiful in her worship. How could the gods be so silent while Myrkur wrought havoc? Where was Sunnvald, father of the gods? Where was Malla, goddess of love and battle?
