Holding the towel around my chest, I twisted a metal valve and marvelled at the deluge of warm water that spilled through a spout, filling the stone tub in only moments. I’d never seen anything quite like it before. How could a tiny island village have something like this when Fafnir didn’t?
It boggled the mind.
After pouring some of the salt into the water, I settled into the soothing heat and sighed.
I might have fallen back asleep like that, for a time. One blink later, the steam from the blazing bath had vanished, and the water had cooled. My body ached from my fight against the sea, the pain settling into my muscles now that I’d had a bit of rest. I could have happily spent the next day and night sleeping, but I had things to do and elves to spy on—and help win some challenges. I probably needed to do both to ensure I got my shot at freedom.
After rinsing off the soap and the flecks of sand still stuck to my skin, I toweled off and changed into the clothes Rivelin had given me. Shockingly, the deep brown trousers fit me like a second skin, and the leather belt was a perfect fit. I pulled a dark green tunic over my head but frowned at how it clung to my stomach and arms. The humid air of the island would soon make this shirt more than a little uncomfortable.
Nevertheless, it was all I had, and beggars can’t be choosers.
Back in the bedroom, I combed through my hair with my fingers and pulled the wet strands up into a high ponytail, wishing I had a mirror. I needed Rivelin to see me as pleasantly unthreatening so I could convince him to share his deepest, darkest secrets with me—and the prize from the Games, if we managed to secure the win. If I looked a mess, it’d take a lot longer to get on his good side.
I smoothed down the top of my hair and sighed. This was the best I could manage with what little I had to work with. Time to put on my best smile and do what I came here to do.
8
RIVELIN
“Here, boy.” I plucked a slice of bacon from where I’d been cooling it beside the fire, and I tossed it toward Skoll. He caught it midair, his teeth crunching into the crispy meat. He wagged his tail and looked at me expectantly. With a chuckle, I ruffled his fur and turned back to the fire.
The hallway floorboards creaked, and I stiffened. Daella had taken a long damn time in the bath, but now she was coming. Skoll let out a low growl as he sniffed the air. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a visitor who wasn’t my sister.
Daella walked into the room with a brilliant, though obviously fake, smile on her face but froze when she caught sight of Skoll. His lips curled back to reveal his sharp canines. I expected to see a hint of fear, even if she tried to hide it. Her throat would bob as she swallowed or her hand would shake. Much to my surprise, her eyes brightened. This time, it seemed real.
She knelt and held out a hand toward Skoll. “You have a wolf?”
“A fenrir. His name is Skoll.” I kept a close eye on his fangs as he took a sniff of her hand. And then he wagged his tail and licked her fingers. “Huh. He likes you. I’d take that as a compliment. He can be pretty grumpy with strangers.”
I knew what was coming the second the words left my mouth. I’d walked right into what she’d say next.
She snorted. “It sounds like you two have a lot in common.”
I lifted a brow. “Did you just snort?”
Ignoring me, she turned back to Skoll, ruffling his gray fur. “He’s very cute and fluffy. So maybe you don’t have that much in common, after all. Where was he last night?”
“Out hunting. He likes to roam the nearby forest at dark.”
She stood, and it took me a moment to remember what I’d been doing. I hadn’t noticed when she’d first walked in, too focused on what Skoll’s reaction to her might be. Then she’d been crouching, so I hadn’t seen but…fate be damned, those trousers hugged the curves of her long legs, and that tunic accentuated a pair of perky breasts I hadn’t noticed in the shadowy night. And now that her hair was no longer plastered to her long, slender neck…
I frowned at myself. None of those things mattered. She wasnot unattractive, but she was Isveig’s murk, and appreciating even a hint of her felt like a betrayal to everyone I’d once loved.
I turned back to the bacon sizzling on the skillet above the fire. “You hungry?”
“Famished,” she admitted.
Feedingthe enemy also felt like a betrayal. I hoped my parents weren’t rolling in their graves back in our homeland, the Kingdom of Edda.
Still, I couldn’t very well starve the girl if I wanted to keep her on my side, so I tossed some bacon and eggs onto a plate, along with some freshly baked bread from Milka’s shop down the road, and passed it to Daella before making a plate for myself. By the time I sat at the kitchen table I’d built myself a few years ago, she’d already finished half her food.
“So what’s the plan?” Daella asked between bites. “We’ve got four challenges to do, right? When do we get started?”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, I have to get chosen for the Games. The opening ceremony is today.”
Her chewing slowed, and strangely, I could have sworn a flicker of disappointment went through her eyes. “You mean, we might not even get to compete in these Games of yours?”
“Suddenly eager to help me now, are you?”
