“Your mother?” She shakes her head. “Is she in Skalor?”
“Yes.”
“Why don’t you leave? Or kill her?”
Spoken like the true daughter of Sigvid. I dare not express that sentiment, for her fury is too comparable to his.
“I am saddled to my Hold as their Jarl. She helped ensure it was difficult for me to leave.” He runs his hand through his beard. “I have imagined every way of ending her life. She has stymied me at every turn.”
She hesitantly places her hand on his arm. “There is always a way out.”
And more than anything, he wants to believe her. But it will take the death of a god to return him to Treland.
11
AURA
August 29th, Year 21, 10th Era
Blackwood Forest, Treland
Every day reveals something new about Calder. Today, he offers nothing more than scowls and glares. Even now, he walks beside her in silence, wearing a blank expression.
Like everything else in her life, she feels lost with the Iss Drengr.
As much as she adores and admires her Papa, his Drengr are everything. They would do anything in his name. Calder’s presence in the Inner Circle signifies that his loyalty lies solely with her father.
She glances over and, just as when they first met, her stomach twists with longing from his rugged appearance. He looks strange in Salt, devoid of his great axe and armor. He is dressed only in his black tunic, with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing faded Skalor knot tattoos. They resemble those in Salt, but they lack the flair of added embellishments.
A seriousness permeates his steadfast mood. Yet beneath all of his coiled muscle, trauma, and tension lies a darkness that draws her in.
With all of Isabel's uncertainty, being in his presence soothes the pain, even though he is both a coil ready to spring and a man who could bring a woman to her knees with a single word.
And a devious part of Aura dreams of pushing him to his limits just to witness his response.
Yet, here they are, two weeks after her dear father blacklisted her among the Drengr. It is laughable to think Calder holds any concern about the Princess when he is also twice her age.
At least she can find bitter solace in knowing that no matter how much she yearns to approach him, a man of his age, who is loyal to her father, would never think twice about touching someone so wildly forbidden.
Although he did watch her touch herself…
Damn the Norn for settling her with the quintessential Drengr. One of her father’s first-ever pledges.
She shakes off her thoughts as they trudge silently along the treeline of Blackwood Forest until they reach the Guardian Mausoleum.
Taking him here is a poor idea.Remember the last time you shared a piece of yourself with another?
Calder is different, she argues with herself. Besides,he needs something adorable in his life.
They hike behind the circular stone building. Yet another part of Treland life for which the gods did not choose Aura. Thora was selected as the next Keeper after Mum, while the gods had yet to guide her father in choosing his replacement. As his direct descendant, that role should fall to Aura.
Should.
She plops down on a log next to a rushing stream. An enormous stump sits at one end of the fallen tree. She pats the space beside her, allowing him the comfort of the stump. “Stay quiet, and our friends will appear.”
Calder's massive form gently lowers beside her, scanning the bank. “How long until they show?”
She presses her forefinger to her lips, adorned with the four stacked runes. She swears that a hint of a smirk from the Iss Drengr lingers on his face.
