Yes, and you should heed it. Do not go back to those people. They do not have your best interests at heart.
My smile plummeted. “But those people are my family.”
Only a handful are. The rest are not.A pause.You told me they left you to fend for yourself in the woods for years. You were just a child.
“Well, yes, because the guild has rules.”
No rule would keep a good man from his daughter. If he truly cared for you, my sweet friend, he would have chosen you over a life of killing.
Eldi’s words knifed through me. I sucked in a sharp breath, staggering away from him. Surely he couldn’t mean that. Even though we were bonded, he didn’t know my past and everything I’d gone through to get to this moment. If he did, he…
He might still say these very things.
Tears burning my eyes, I said, “From an outside perspective, I can see why you might think my father doesn’t care for me, but my family has been a part of the guild for generations. It’s who we are. It’s in my blood. He was probably waiting for me tocome to terms with it. He must have thought I’d come around eventually.”
My sweet friend, look into your heart and ask yourself if you truly believe that. And before you make a decision you’ll regret for the rest of your life, imagine what your future will be. Ignore what your ancestors did. What is it thatyouwant, Frida? Choose your life for yourself.
I swallowed, taking a step back. Eldi’s question was fair, but it made my stomach churn. I’d spent the past year with an all-consuming focus on one thing: joining my family. I hadn’t allowed myself to question it or even contemplate a future that was anything else. It had been my way of coping with what I must do if I wanted to escape my loneliness.
Today’s conversations with Rune and Eldi had formed cracks in the ground beneath my feet, and I didn’t know where to step to avoid falling to a tragic fate.
“I need to go,” I whispered. “I’ll come back to see you tomorrow.”
I look forward to it, my sweet friend. Ask Rune if he still has his dragon’s saddle. I quite like the idea of trying out a short flight.
The village felt alive. It had been well over a week since I’d come into town, so focused was I on building Arvid’s fence and learning how to communicate with my dragon. In just that short time, the streets had been transformed.
Already, the shell of Helga’s new home took shape between the neighboring buildings. Strings of garland looped from one side of the road to the other, embellished with wildflowers, pine cones, and brown feathers. The minstrels had erected awooden stage outside the tavern, where they were launching into an upbeat song for the villagers dancing nearby. Several folk, including Lilia, were weaving through the throng and handing out tankards topped with froth.
“What’s all this?” I asked Rune. He stood tall beside me, clad in a snug-fitting cream tunic with twisting vines embroidered along the collar. He’d rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, which I found increasingly distracting. Something about the way his forearms flexed brought a flush of heat to my cheeks…and thighs.
Rune surveyed the boisterous street. “Since the Elding has moved on, the village is embracing the coming of summer. Everyone here prefers the outdoors and the open sky. Kind of like you, Frida.”
I smiled up at him. “And you.”
I still felt unsteadied by our discussion and my subsequent ‘conversation’ with Eldi. When I’d returned to the cottage, I’d expected Rune to pick up where we’d left off. I was sure he’d throw out more reasons why the guild wasn’t my home. And while I didn’t fullydisagreewith him, I also didn’t want to talk about it right now.
He’d sensed my reluctance to talk, and I’d been relieved when he hadn’t brought it up.
Now that we were here, I felt like I could breathe again. How could a girl feel trapped beneath a dark storm-cloud when minstrels were singing, pixies were dancing, and the best ale in the Isles was being passed around. As if reading my mind, Rune grabbed two tankards when Lilia bustled past.
“Here you are,” Rune said reverently as he pressed the tankard into my hands. “Lilia’s ale.”
I took a timid sip. The smooth, rich liquid tasted of what I could only describe as magic. Surprisingly sweet, it vanished from my tankard far quicker than I’d intended. After I’d drainedthe entire thing, I caught Rune’s laughing eyes as he watched me.
“Thought you might like that,” he murmured.
A thrilling heat curled through me. “I’m surprised you’re so fond of it. To me, it tastes like the kind of ale you’d find in a romance novel. It fits the descriptions I’ve read.”
“Ah. That’s because she’s from around here. She probably modelled it off Lilia’s ale.”
I blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Your favorite writer. She lives on the Isles. Last time I checked, she was in the Whispering Woods, over on the island called Hearthaven.”
“I had no idea,” I said, smiling. “I guess I just assumed she lived in a big city somewhere on the mainland.”
I didn’t know why it mattered, but the idea of Silva Sweetwater living in the Isles made a warmth flow through me. And to hear she might have based her stories on what she’d found here…Perhaps all those sweet moments, the perfect home, the friendships, and the romances really were possible, just like I’d always hoped.
