27
AURA
October 5, Year 21, 10th Era
Viktoft, Skalor
“This inn is worse than the one in Geit,” Calder grumbles as he lights a fire in the hearth that is only large enough for two small logs.
Outside their window, the sun twinkles along the lake outside the window of Viktoft’s lone lodge.
Looming in the distance is the solitary mountain encapsulating Makt’s Temple.
They now face a waiting game for Edmund and any of their other companions to join them.
Aura drops on the edge of the bed.
Why do I feel as if my life is spinning off its axis?
After Calder froze Harvart in the longhouse, it seemed he was beginning to confront the emotions he had tried so hard to wall off toward her.
Yet, why did finally unleashing their passions in the woods makeherthoughts on Calder more uncertain?
“My beautiful girl. What troubles you?” He kneels before her, taking both her hands in one of his.
Her heart thunders in her chest. If she shares her pain at the looming end of this mission, he will view her as a childish girl yearning for more than she deserves from the most powerful man on the continent.
The sense of security he cultivates around her will vanish.
“I worry about accessing the Temple.” A genuine anxiety, to be sure, but not the worry that gnaws at her insides. Entering the ancient shrine of a malevolent god has kept them both on edge.
“What specifically concerns you?” His thumbs massage the tops of her hands as he tilts his head.
“What if we can't enter? Or what if he learns of our presence and tries to sabotage us?”
“Then you will call upon the gods forseidrto demolish the front door.” His index finger strokes her jawline. “If he attempts anything untoward, I will kill him.” Calder’s growl is low and promising.
“Speaking of the gods,” she says, moving beside the hearth. “I have thought long and hard about this and intend to call upon them for guidance.”
“Who are you…” He groans in acknowledgment of her smug smile. “Oh no, this is a bad idea, Princess. When you brought this up casually, I thought you were joking.” His joints crack as he stands. “He won't talk to you regardless of your possession of the Treland Sacred Stone.”
She fiddles with the nautilus shell between her fingers, ignoring him.
The god she intended to call upon operated independently, and she fully anticipated Calder’s disapproval of the matter.
However, if this works, it would provide a solid guide for entering the temple.
“Briny and Maeve are more invested in your fate than even the damn Norn. Bringinghimin will not yield the answers you hope.” Calder lays on their bed with his fingers intertwined behind his head while she paces before the cold hearth.
I carry the Treland Sacred Stone. I hold a direct line to the gods.
Why not investigate its lengths?
A glance over her shoulder shows Calder cocking a brow. At least he seems more amused than frustrated with her.
With a toss of her curls, she clutches the nautilus shell in one hand. “I, Aura Sigvidsson-Redwood, Princess of Treland,” she conjures an authoritative tone, “granddaughter of the God of Strength and Goddess of Wisdom, invoke the God of War.”
In the background, she can hear Calder audibly sigh.
