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The king’s jaw pulsed. He released my wrist with a great heave, nearly knocking me off-balance. “If the Norns did not wish our clan to live as the gods, they would never have led my father, the first king of Eilifur, to Lena’s isle.”

Lena’s isle?

Djur chuckled. “You are already familiar with it, sea fae. Once it was called Galdranorn, a common trade isle for centuries. When we left it abandoned, Lena marked the shores. Should any fae or mystical blood step foot on the soil, they would not wish to leave it. If they did, they would be marked. We would find them.”

Curse the hells. Mira’s theory about the isle was true. They’d captured us in a net, and we’d not even known it.

“You lure folk to the isle.”

“Or to Eilifur. We have lures in both the warm seas and the cold.” The corner of Djur’s mouth twitched in a slight grin. “Her spell casts have made gathering blood for our harvest almost simple. It was not always that way.”

I wanted to retch.

“The isle was made of death,” I said, a tremble of rage in my words.

“Yes.” Djur clicked his tongue. “It was a pity we were forced to kill the remainder of her clan.”

My stomach turned over. “You…you killed all those folk? Your wife’s people?”

“Unfortunate, but yes. Eilifur and Galdranorn spent a great many turns as trade allies. They were keen on furs and iron from our shores, for the clan of witches had never seen such fine items. Thought us to be sent from the gods. We did not correct them.”

The old tome spoke of children of the gods. Foolish people. To think, those sea witches of old believed the mortals of Eilifur were descendants of the gods all because they were strong? Because they had fine things?

My face pinched in hate. “Why kill them?”

Djur looked over his shoulder, a quick glance at the gate before going on. “It does not truly matter, sea fae. The early witches were not as powerful as the sea witches you know. But they had a skill for a particular draught that bolstered mortal lives. It chased away weakness in the body. My father traded for the draught. Each turn we lived longer and longer, until a sea storm took my father. No draught could protect him from that. We did not trade for decades, using what we had left of the stores from earlier supplies. But we ran short. I returned to Galdranorn nearly twelve turns ago to reignite our agreements, and to reinforce their belief we were sent from the gods. They were pleased, nearly soaked our boots in tears thinking their isle was once more blessed.”

“You’re a bastard.” I spat on the ground near his feet.

Djur lifted his gaze, annoyed. “What harm did a simple ruse do, sea fae? They were overjoyed to have us.”

“What harm? You slaughtered them!”

“To save my own folk!” Djur shouted near my face. “You would do the same. It was unfortunate, after our return, when the witches confessed they had no more supplies to create the draught. In the time we were parted, storms and poor crops robbed them of the herbs needed to craft their elixirs.”

“And that earned them their deaths?”

Djur tilted his head. “No, sea fae. Isolated as they were, those witches knew the legends and powers of the Far Seas. We vowed to keep our alliances if they discovered another way to keep us living the lives of a god. Lena was the elder of the village and took the task as her burden. Not even I could predict what she would find.”

Hinges on the gate opened. Djur’s teeth glistened when his lips split into a wide grin.

A woman’s gentle voice babbled in the distant garden with the two mortal guards. Eeva.

Bleeding hells.

My lips parted. “You found the Veri Ikuinen.”

Djur kept his voice low so only I might hear. “And what a find she is. Pity Lena’s clan only saw her as a monster. If they thought more like their village elder, they might still be alive.”

Eeva rounded the corner with two guards. Her brilliant golden hair was braided simply, draped over one shoulder. She wore a pale gown that billowed around her legs with her every step. The woman pushed her spectacles up her thin nose and snickered at something one of the men said.

When she caught sight of Djur, the two guards backed away, nearly scrambling from the garden.

“It’s truly time.” Eeva clapped her palms together and beamed at Djur. She glimpsed once at me, one brow arched. “But I thought he—well, I thought he had a woman?”

Djur smiled at Eeva, one of his large palms cupped the side of her face. “Did Lena not explain this to you?”

Eeva rubbed one side of her head like it ached, then her eyes brightened. “He came back for me?”