My pace turned into a run when I glimpsed Cinnamon’s head popping out of the stable’s entrance. Then my heart melted when she neighed at me as she moved out of the doorway.
Oh! She was fine. She was alive, and she was…happy to see me!
I leapt onto her, wrapped my arms around her neck, and squeezed my eyes shut. She nickered at my hug. “I missed you, too.”
Then she snorted and sniffed at my backpack. I moved her inside. “I see you’re still the little piggy. Calm down, I’ll give you one, don’t wo—” I gaped at what I beheld. “What in the gods’ names?” I mumbled.
Three bales of hay hung by sturdy ropes from the wooden beams. Theyfloatedmidair. That forced Cinnamon to work for her food. And the troughs were all filled to the brim. The valve leaked a thin stream of water, slowly but constantly filling one of the troughs. I went to close the valve but halted midway. My eyes prickled…because at the far end, the bale cage…was full.
The bale cage is full.
“Replenished bales, as promised,” Aegir said from behind me. “I would say my end of the bargain was fairly met, wouldn’t you?”
Tears streamed down my face, yet I still managed to find the courage to turn around, to face him. “How?” I breathed. Aegirbrought his arm forward, as if to catch my tears, but pulled away just as my heart quickened.
He cleared his throat. “As I said, I have my ways.”
I looked at Cinnamon, an excuse to break our gaze. She lay down in her favourite spot, and I knelt near her, wrapping my arms around her neck once more. “Do you see that? That’s all for you,” I whispered to my mare, my forehead resting on hers.
I wiped my tears and rose to my feet, taking a few steps towards Aegir. “How? How did you know?” My voice was soft yet full of demand.
“Well, I was sure that if you had to bargain for something, you would bargain for her.”
“But, you—you did all of this before we left, which was early morning…you did this—”At night, I was going to say, but he did not let me finish.
“Or maybe it was just a lucky guess. If you had bargained for something else, you would have ended up with more, you know?”
I stared at him. “I wouldn’t have bargained for anything else. Thank you.” And I meant it.
“I’ll leave you two to catch up,” he said, turning to leave.
“Aegir, wait!” He halted.
I rummaged through my bag, then let it drop to the floor.
“Here, pick one,” I said, two bones in hand.
“What’s this?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at it and bringing it closer to his face. His nostrils flared.
“Don’t,” I blurted, moving his arm away from his face. “That’s cheating.” He turned his puzzled gaze towards me.
“They’re called bones ofsurprise,” I told him. “You have to bite it first, then drink the surprise fruity liquid, andthenguess the flavour. Then you chew on the rest.”
Aegir snorted, shaking his head, lips curled upward.
“Are you ready?” I asked.
“I’m ready.”
A small giggle escaped my mouth, and I asked him, “What’s your flavour?”
“Grape. What’s yours?”
“Apple,” I said, with gleaming eyes. But then my smile faltered. “You knew that already.” My tone came out hushed.
“Can’t we pretend I didn’t?” he murmured.
I lifted my eyes, giving him a soft smile. I nodded. “We’ll pretend, then.”
