I might have lost my father’s rune, but I would have lost it when Lika faced the gods anyway. The gods erased an heir’s inherited rune before they allowed them to carve the one they’d selected into their flesh.
Only the king and his loyal men were allowed to wield more than one power.
But Darcke? He’d lost the one he’d earned—the one that made himhim.
“Then why…howis Njord here?” I tried to keep away the simmering apprehension that I could be the one to do the same to my people, but given the look Darcke shot me, I wasn’t successful.
“Your gods must have allowed it,” he said quietly as he placed a hand on the wall, his face turned into the night. “They’re always starved for entertainment. Perhaps they want Njord to watch as they erase what little is left of his people.”
A haunting sense of foreboding made my throat close up.
What if the gods weren’t judging me but simply amusing themselves with my struggle?
My hands tightened in my lap. “They wouldn’t?—”
“Wouldn’tthey?” Darcke interrupted. “They’ve watched your people take over almost this entire continent, and they’re still asking for more blood. They don’t want to risk any other gods becoming too strong—they want everyone tohonorthem.”
“Stop!” I hissed. “Stop talking like that.”
My head whipped from side to side as if Odin and the others might appear in this cramped cabin.
Darcke laughed hollowly. “Why?”
“They’re everywhere!” I continued in a worried whisper. “They can hear you.”
His tongue slid over his top teeth. “Even better.”
“Stop it,” I said again.
Darcke turned around, his back against the wall. “What are you so scared of? You’re anheir. Your very existence is an honor to the gods. Your power is allowed even though you didn’t earn it yourself.” He chuckled. “As if that’s fair to everyone else.”
I picked up the cup of wine Darcke had left on the table and took a deep sip.
Darcke’s eyes narrowed. “What are you so scared of?”
“Nothing,” I replied quickly. Too quickly.
When he raised a brow, I shrugged a shoulder. “Everything? We have two trials coming up. I need to earn my wood and my steel before I can face the gods, and I have a feeling you’re not going to make it easy for me.”
“That’s not it.” He took a slow step toward me. “What are you really scared of?”
I lifted my chin. “I just told you.”
“No.” Darcke’s voice lowered. “You just lied to me. I can feel what you feel. You tied me to you, remember?”
As if I could forget. Especially with the emotions that made me jump to my feet as Darcke came closer.
“Thanks for the food,” I said. “I should get going.”
“To sleep in the woods?” Darcke cornered me against the table. “Hide from the other initiates?”
Unease whirled up my spine.
He chuckled darkly. “You’re clearly excited about that.”
“It’s not like I can stay here,” I replied as I tried to sneak around him.
Darcke moved with me, blocking my path. “Now, now.You’ve made your problems my problems, heir. Time to tell me what makes you so skittish.”
