He nods.
I turn away from him. Ylvin is aware of this? Why didn’t she tell me? That woman and her secrets. Slimy bitch.
“Fuck,” I whisper.
“Indeed.”
“So what? You just told them? Out of the blue?”
“They both knew. Elof… knows things.”
“Elof? Muscle man fuck monster Elof? He knows things?”
Ari raises an amused eyebrow.
“Fuck monster?”
“Forget it.” I wave the question away.
Ari stands, holding up the cloth that barely covers him. Sure enough, his leg is fine. He can walk like normal. He stretches it out properly with a light groan. I turn before I catch a rude glimpse under the cloth. Ari may call me short-tempered. He may accuse me of having a filthy mouth, but wanton? Nope.
I can’t keep the anger and confusion from my face.
“So why are you here then?”
“Here with you or?”
“Don’t act stupid. In Opdal, you’ve been here what, two years? Why?”
“It’s a valley high in the mountains, very scenic and?—”
“Cut the shit!”
“Look, it’s hard to explain.”
“I bet it is. Jotnar business, healing frost—too much for a thrall to understand maybe?”
A smile grows on Ari’s face as he sits again.
“You’re not a thrall,” he says.
Tears press behind my eyes. It’s all too much.
“What the fuck am I then?”
“You’re Kilda. Or as you would say, fucking Kilda.”
He laughs at his own joke.
“Ha-ha-ha!” I fake laugh. “So funny.”
I rest my face in my palm. What to do? What to think? Releasing a long breath helps calm my nerves. This all feels like a joke. A big joke.
“I need sleep,” I whisper, more to myself.
“Same here. First a duel, then this. Tiring day.”
“I… well… Thanks for the duel. You’ve saved Eidunn.”
