In my periphery, Will stands, hand reaching for the pistol in his pocket.
No, we can’t do this here. Not with the ring still on the man’s finger.
Møller finishes laughing, and that’s when he sees my face. “The mute!” He stumbles off the stool. Alia and I were not identical, but with my hair long again and in the low light, the resemblance is close enough for his mistake. “The entire kingdom’s been looking for you.”
The girth of him spills into the space between us—this man is the kind who could reel in a baby whale all by himself, and then drink his weight in hvidtøl to celebrate. “Why don’t you come with me, right up to the castle. My buyer can wait.”
He places a hand on my wrist.
“Excuse me,” Will says, appearing next to Møller. “Unhand my friend, sir.”
The tavern is now completely silent, every eye on our little circle. Møller with his hand wrapped around my wrist. Will with his hand on the hidden pistol. Sofie and Agnata both standing with their eyes the size of dinner plates, now completely recognizable as the komtesse bride and her hofdame.
My eyes swing to Will’s. His swing to Sofie’s. In a blink, we’re all in motion.
Will’s other arm rockets forward, punching Møller in the face. The man stumbles back but doesn’t let go of me.
“Frijøsa.”I whisper, making my wrist go cold enough to burn.
Møller reels back, frostbite already blackening his fingers. Sofie takes the opportunity and lunges, yanking the ring off his other hand. She stabs it onto her thumb and grabs Agnata’s wrist to run. Will takes my hand, and the four of us are now sprinting, triumphant, toward the door.
But it’s already open, and twenty guards in shades of Øldenburg blue and Holsten green are streaming over the sandbags and into the room.
34
Evie
THE RAIN HAS BEEN GOING NONSTOP FOR HOURS, THEsea king’s anger now unrelenting.
It’s enough that the water crests yards above my polypi branches, sloshing up and over the cove’s boundaries. This teacup of mine is already spilt, the contents running up the pewter shores, lapping the fence of boulders surrounding the place.
And worse, the ring isn’t here.
I asked for it before the rain began, but it has yet to come. I’m a powerful witch, but this magic I need will not work without it.
“Evie!” Ragn’s voice carries across the length of my lair. She rushes past the polypi and the bubbling mire. Her long hair streams behind her in a straight line. “It’s happening!”
I move to meet her, but she’s going so fast, I barely getaway from my cauldron before she collapses in my arms, her heart a hummingbird beating against my breast.
The old woman draws in a few heaving breaths—and I wait. There’s no point in peppering her with stupid questions. I know what’s coming. I just need her to confirm it.
“It’s happening,” she repeats, ice-blue eyes wild. “The ríkifjor is tapped out; the magical balance has tipped closer to level. It’s happening tonight. He’s already flooding the shores and claiming land so he and his army can make a move. But there’s more....” She takes in another few breaths. “He blamed mines for Alia’s death and Runa’s disappearance... whipped everyone into a frenzy over them. Buthe’sbeen detonating them!”
This last part I didn’t know.
“The humans laid them first for their war, yes, but he took that technology and made it his own,” she says, a sob coming. “I had my suspicions, but it wasn’t until after he lied to everyone about the twins that I was able to find the truth.”
“It’s not just fear; it’s propaganda.”
Ragn shakes her head, disgusted. “If we were humans, we’d be lighting torches and carrying pitchforks.”
“What if you talk to the merpeople? Maybe you can calm them? Keep them from blindly following?”
“I don’t—”
“Runa joined with the witches on land and blew up the entire Havnestad U-boat program,” I say, cutting her offbefore she can fully tell me no. “She’s using her magic to protect the sea kingdom and strengthening the land’s hold on magic in the process.”
“She did? Oh, Ru.” The old woman smiles. “She can grow anything from nothing, even witches.”
