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The woman was bold, to be sure. Smaller than both the boy and the man, she stood straight, chin lifted between her son and his father. Her hair was a fiery shade and grew down to her waist. The boy’s was untamed and like the darkest night.

When the man made an abrupt move, like he might shove the woman, her son stepped in front of her. From where I stood, I could not hear the words spoken, but something about his son caused the bastard to fall back a pace.

He jabbed his finger at the woman once more before turning on his heel and striding away.

“Roark?” Lyra touched my arm. “What is it?”

I shook my head, watching the mother speak to her son. I don’t know. I thought her husband might strike her.

It was more than that, crueler. A rage took me from behind, there and gone, when the moment faded. I didn’t understand it.

Injustices lived in every land. I could not stop them all.

“Ah, you may wish to meet Jordis the Gentle.” Gammal stood in front of a rounded house with smoke billowing from the top. She used a wooden walking stick and pointed toward the farm. “Her son is called Sindri the Wild. An interesting boy. Unique. I think you will find his gifts curious, but it is why Brokk has a distaste for the child. Now, hurry on. We have much to discuss.”

Lyra took hold of my hand, guiding me toward the hut. Before the boy stepped into the stables, he faced the road. He looked at me straight on. My pulse quickened at my disconcertment.

For half a breath, I could’ve sworn I was looking right at my brother.

41

Lyra

Gammal’s hut was round and spacious enough that we all could fit inside without being shoulder to shoulder. Roark and Brynn commanded the two wolves and two Stav Guard to remain near the door while the rest of us stepped inside.

Auki and Gunter roughly handled Kael onto a chair in the corner. My brother kicked at Auki when he tried to bind his ankles.

“Easy, Berserkir.” Gunter gripped Kael’s shoulder, giving him a little shake. “You’ll play nice, or my prince will crack your skull again. Might be a good thing, to be honest. Knock some sense into your warped mind.”

“Gunter.” Brynn touched her friend’s wrist. “Leave him. I’ll keep watch.”

Kael scowled at Brynn, his pale eyes tracking her movements, but he stopped thrashing.

Gunter drew in a long breath through his nose and shook his head as though disappointed. “Piss-poor luck, Brynnie.”

With that, he settled between Emi and Yrsa. Tension had lessened a bit between the women, but since stepping into the township, they were not speaking much.

Cushions made of fur and wooden stools littered the space, but Gammal sat in a high-backed seat in front of the flame.

The woman pointed to tall ewers with ale for us to take. Gunter and Auki did not waste a moment. Brynn offered one to Kael. He accepted a horn and even returned a grudging nod of thanks her way.

Gammal laced her aged fingers in her lap. “So many paths have crossed in this room, and it has all been, at times, cruelly designed by the Norns who shape our lives. Elskan, you have learned that the dark melder has given you his blood.”

I swallowed and knelt to the side of her chair. “You took my blood as a girl, but if you did so, then you already knew we were connected.”

“I did not know until I laid eyes on you and saw him looking back at me. A few spells from blood crafters looking for quick coin, and it was clear the blood in your veins belonged to another I once knew. He comes from these lands.”

“Fadey is Unfettered?”

“A boy who grew up here. A boy who took pride in his rare craft.”

“You have craft in the Unfettered clans?” I asked, my voice soft.

“Our folk are not forgotten from the sagas of craft,” Gammal said. “Many are born seers or visionaries. We see power in the blood, and are here to guide it, to free it, to aid it.”

I closed my eyes for a breath. “He has found a connection with me. It took blood craft, or so I thought, to link us—”

“I’m certain his blood crafter queen realizes there is a blood bond between you, even if Fadey does not,” Gammal said. “It would make it simpler to keep the connection to your thoughts.”