She rests her cheek against his soft chest, sensing him shudder as he releases the emotion he has no doubt quelled beneath his stoic focus.
There is not a single word of comfort she can utter to this man, for she knows that’s not what he needs from her upon her return to the mortal realm.
“Even with the great axe, I still feared,” his voice is thick with emotion. “I thought you were truly lost to me, Aura.”
She licks her dry, cracked lips, wondering how he could have possibly entered and returned from an afterlife realm.
What had he done to free me from the cage of shadows where Makt had trapped me for what felt like an eternity?
“How did you do it?” She whispers against his ear.
She attempts to pull away when he doesn’t answer, but his grip tightens, refusing to let her out of his arms.
“I slew Makt.”
She lets out a sigh of relief.
At least he didn’t make a deal.
“And I owe Volund a favor.”
Her body seizes as she struggles to slowly process his words. “Volund? As in the God of Death?”
At last, he pulls her away so their gazes lock. His icy eyes are unnaturally red from lack of sleep, and tear stains mar his cheeks. “You need to understand something, beautiful girl,” his fingers trail along her jawline, “there is no life withoutyou.”
“I love you, Iss Drengr.”
“Forever, Princess.” His forehead rests against hers as they silently relish the quiet peace, broken only by the songbirds outside the window.
Footsteps approach the chamber, and Edmund’s shriek nearly sends her back to the Abyss. “She’s alive! Aura is alive!”
The rest of the afternoon is a whirlwind spent relaying the events of her possession and Calder’s journey into the underworld with the Healers, Gothi, Crystal, and her parents.
Aura spent much of the time in the Abyss wandering through an eternal darkness that threatened her sanity. She is forthright in answering their questions, while Calder clamps his jaw and provides minimal information.
She still has yet to see Argnier or have anyone tell her what happened after Makt took control of her body.
Each time she broaches the subject, Edmund suffers a coughing fit and exits the room, leaving a knot twisting in her stomach.
Thankfully, by the time her belly grumbles loudly enough for the room to hear, the Healers announce that she is healthy, and the Gothi agree to hold a gathering to discuss the spiritual implications of the existence of gods trapped in the Abyss.
“In my lifetime, I have never known a mortal to enter Volund’s domain and re-emerge.” Crystal leans against the far wall as she braids her long red hair over her shoulder. “Your favor to the God of Death must be continent-changing, Calder.”
His grip on Aura’s hand tightens.
Avina enters the room with a tray stocked with Aura’s favorite foods.
“Thanks, Mum.” She gushes as Avina sets the tray beside her on the bed.
“You gave us quite the scare.” Her mother leans around Calder to kiss Aura’s cheek. “Why did you agree to Makt? Surely you knew your father and Calder would find a way to destroy him.” Avina leans against her father’s side, who has remained strangely silent since she awoke.
Aura picks apart the piece of cinnamon sugar cake into tiny pieces before explaining her interaction with Makt in the tower, and the revelation that she was the willing sacrifice.
Calder tenses at her side while Crystal bristles by the window.
Aura parts her lips to ask what happened after Makt assumed her form, only for her father to clear his throat.
“May I speak with Aura alone?”
