“Yule means the world to them. If you save the festival, they’ll not only warm up to you, but they’ll also put a crown of flowers on your head and build a statue in your honor.” I smiled up at her. “Come on. You know it’s a good idea.”
She turned away, gazing across the milky pool of water. “‘Cept, it won’t be me saving the damn festival. I just happened to stumble into the right cave at the right time and nothing more. And once they find that out, they’ll likely seize this place for themselves.”
“We won’t tell them about the cave. I’ll swear it on Freya,” Ragnar cut in. Even though he had no idea what Ulrika meant, he held out his arm again. Ulrika looked down at his offered hand, then back up to his eyes. With a solemn nod, she grasped his arm and held on tight, as if he were a lifeline in the dark.
“Only a monster can see into the heart of a monster,” she murmured so softly I couldn’t be sure I’d heard her right.
Ragnar cleared his throat. “So, do either of you want to tell me what in fate’s name you’re talking about?”
I looked at Ulrika, who merely shrugged. If I wanted Ragnar to understand, I’d have to explain it myself.
“Well,” I began, “just think of it like this. The island is alive, and you’re currently standing inside the heart of it.”
Ragnar looked around, as if seeing the cave for the first time. He took in the glowing gemstones, the milky lake, and the boat that seemed to shift on the water despite the stillness. Kneeling, he placed his fingers to the platform and brushed the sand. Closing his eyes, he breathed in.
“This is Galdur sand,” he said, his eyes flying back open. “There are hundreds of them, all over this platform. You even have Fildur sand here… Do you not know how rare it is to have access to this amount of fire magic?”
“We both understand. And I’m going to have to ask for you to leave them all here,” Ulrika said, coming to stand right behind him so that he couldn’t bolt.
He brushed all the sand from his hands and stood. “Can I ask why? There’s enough here to make you rich beyond measure.”
Or to pay off a steep debt.
The thought popped into my head before I could stop it. But it was there, bubbling in the back of my mind. Because I recognized the glint in Ragnar’s eyes. He only got it when he was thinking about his brother and the mainland. The debt he’d vowed to pay back. The entire reason he was even here.
But I’d assumed the worst about him once, and I’d been wrong. I didn’t want to make the same mistake again. So I bottled up all that doubt and shoved it deep down. Still, I couldn’t shake my uneasiness. He was clearly hiding something from me.
“I do not want to be rich,” Ulrika said tightly. “The island gives me what I need, and I take no more than that.”
I set my now-cold mug of tea on the table beside the armchair and went over to them. “That’s why we can’t tell anyone about this. If the wrong person found out about this place, they could steal all this sand and drain the island of its power.”
Ragnar looked at me, surprised. “That could happen?”
I nodded, but Ulrika was the one to elaborate “Magic is not infinite. If we take too much, the island could die.”
“When was the last time you asked the island for something?” I asked.
She rubbed her chin. “Several months now. So, it will be safe. Just don’t let Ivar steal from you again. You won’t be able to get any more supplies after this. Not for at least a few more months.”
“And Yule will be long over by then.”
Ulrika nodded and knelt on the sandy platform, her bare knee against the wood. Carefully, she collected four grains of sand, one for each of the elements. One by one, she dropped them in the milky lake. The three of us watched them vanish, the distant dripping the only noise in the heavy silence.
“As the keeper of your heart, I come to you with a request,” Ulrika began with a solemn voice that echoed through the cavern. “We are in great need of grains, vegetables, and eggs. Meats and fruits would also be enthusiastically accepted. But we will gladly take whatever you can provide us, small or large. And in return, I will continue to protect the heart of this island until the day I die.”
24
LILIA
“Well, that bag of oats was the last of it.” Ulrika pounded the side of the wagon with a fist that was twice the size of mine. “Seems you’re all loaded up now. You sure you don’t want to stay the night?”
While we’d been inside the cavern, the inky blue of dusk had pushed the sun below the horizon. Scudding clouds dampened the moonlight, and a harsh breeze blew in from the distant sea. I’d thrown on the cloak I’d packed in Ragnar’s wagon, but the chill still seeped through the wool.
“It’s only an hour or so back to Riverwold, and I’d really like to get back. Besides, Ragnar is well-equipped to see at dusk,” I said.
Ulrika dealt him a piercing stare. “Of course he is. Makes sense.”
“Makes sense for what?” I couldn’t help but ask. She clearly had suspicions about Ragnar, and I wished she’d stop dancing around it. Why hadn’t she thrown it all out in the open, like she normally did?
