“How did you get there?” Lars crossed his arms. “The train was done for the day.”
She shrugged. “It’s probably still out there.” She told them about the man at the train station who sent her on her way. “He looked a lot like the guys at the deep. It makes sense they all work together.”
“But it doesn’t make sense that a Skelvarn would be here in Stagholt. That’s pretty ballsy for Magnus to send someone into town.”
“They had to get me out there.” She rubbed her face. “I felt pretty stupid that I have no idea how to get out there without the train.”
Sven huffed. “They probably counted on that. They had to know you’d head for the train.”
Lars pounded his fist into his hand. “But how did they know her phone number?”
“And, once again,” Sven added, “they left a door unguarded so she could get out.”
A knock at the door interrupted them. Martin walked in with his medical bag. “I heard we have another casualty.”
Lars started to pace. “Typical injury. Goes off alone, gets shot.”
“Don’t start that again,” Sven ordered. “We have bigger problems.”
“We have a mole is what we have.” Back and forth Lars crossed the room. “I need to get the roster for the guards and find out who was supposed to be at that door.” He verified with Bryn which door she went out. “I’ll have to get the security footage from that door, too.”
Bryn felt her face heat up. “You don’t need to watch my graceful exit over that fence.”
Sven grinned. “Be sure to get me a copy of it.”
Lars waved his hand as he hurried out.
Martin pointed to a chair and gestured for Sven to sit. “If Lars had paced another step, I was going to have him confined for restlessness.” He knelt down to examine the wound site.
Bryn leaned forward to see where the arrow had pierced his shoulder. The skin was smooth and only a faint pink scar remained. Her gift had healed him better than she had expected.
The physician grunted. “Extraordinary. Not even a trace of the toxin left.” He rocked back on his heels. “I’m close to isolating the toxin, but with Bryn around, I may not need to worry about it.”
Sven exhaled and his eyes slid to Bryn. She could read what he thought even without the voice in her head:you did this.
Bryn’s palms itched with the memory of the strange power that had surged through her in the Frostfen Deep. The deep emotion she felt at the possibility of losing Sven had triggered something that she felt but didn’t understand. She couldn’t ignore it any longer.
“Dr. Martin,” she blurted, her voice too loud. “Take my blood.”
Martin blinked. “Your blood?”
“Yes.” She forced the words past the dryness in her throat. “If you have the ability to identify the toxin, then perhaps you can also uncover… me. Sven said that he’s talked to you about it. I need to know who, or what, I am. We have to start somewhere, so blood seems like a logical starting point.”
Sven straightened. “Bryn, are you sure?”
She clenched her teeth. “I’m positive. I need to know.”
Martin nodded. “Very well. Let’s do it.”
He set his bag on the table and pulled out the supplies he needed. Bryn sat rigid while the needle pierced her arm and the vial filled.
“You’re certain about this?” Sven’s voice was softer now, meant only for her.
Bryn kept her eyes on the vial and wondered what secrets it would reveal. “I can’t run from what I am.” She met his eyes. “I love you. And if we’re going to have children, I need to know for their sake as well.”
He took her hand. “We’re in this together. You don’t have to face it alone.”
“Love is so mushy,” Martin teased as he wrote on the vial and put a bandage over Bryn’s arm. “I’ll process this immediately.” He headed for the door. “Oh, and your grandmother was looking for you both.”
