Chapter 26
Twenty-Six
Astrid
As much as Astrid felt the pressure to get to her sister, she also felt a strange need to stay here and linger.
It was so beautiful in the grotto. Almost impossibly easy to convince herself that Bjorn was right—her sister must’ve been fine.
If the trolls in Trollveggen were the same as the ones here, then they were almost certainly kinder than her initial thoughts of them.
After their moment in the field, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about kissing him, lingering on those warm lips and feeling those strong hands moving over her body. She hadn’t thought she would ever be interested in him like that.
But maybe that was a lie as well. She’d thought about it the very first time she’d seen him strung up on the ceiling like he was a feast for whoever wanted to claim him.
He’d slept on his mother’s couch since he’d returned home, something Ylva was clearly displeased with.
Astrid didn’t want the woman to think less of her, but she also wasn’t going to rush this relationship with Bjorn.
They were still learning each other. Sleeping in the same bed would likely lead to them doing something neither of them wished to rush.
She had the idea of getting Ylva a gift this morning, though.
There were markets in the grotto where artisans sold their wares every morning.
She wasn’t entirely without wealth. Astrid had carried her necklaces and jewels from the pearl gown this whole time in a small pouch that she wore underneath a woolen gown Bjorn’s mother had given her.
Now, she was going to put those pearls to good use.
The market was a pretty place to be, where the grotto opened up onto this street that wasn’t a street.
The houses on either side glowed in the morning light, so green they didn’t look real.
Cobblestones beneath her feet were already warming as she walked barefoot through the street that had more stalls lined up on either side than she would have guessed.
The first one she ducked into was a small pottery shop.
The artist was particularly talented at creating vases.
They were each hand painted, painstakingly depicting historical moments that all trolls would apparently know.
And though she was impressed herself, she wasn’t all that certain that Ylva would be.
Another stall, another interesting feature. This troll seemed talented at growing plants that likely wouldn’t grow here on their own. Each of the tiny flowers was so perfectly unfurled, they looked like little art pieces.
But from what she had seen of Ylva, it was unlikely the woman would want a flower either. She seemed hard around the edges. Less likely to take care of something that delicate.
As she exited the stall, a heavy arm wrapped around her shoulder. For a moment, she thought maybe Bjorn had caught her sneaking out, but then she looked up into a decidedly feminine face attached to a massive body.
“Wandering on your own? Probably not the best idea.”
She’d seen this woman before. But where?
Astrid searched her memory until she remembered this was one of the women who had been wrestling when they’d first arrived in the grotto. “Oh, Tyra, is that right?”
The troll woman seemed to expand a bit with pride. “Good memory, little human. I’m glad you know who I am.”
“I was looking for a gift for Ylva. Bjorn’s mother is not very pleased with me.”
Tyra tilted her head back and let out a booming laugh that filled the market. A few trolls looked at them with disappointed expressions, but most of them seemed to watch the proceedings with amusement before they went back to their work or shopping.
“Ylva is not known for being an easy person to be around. I’m not surprised you’re finding her difficult. What’s got her all in a knot?” Tyra started guiding her through the shops, bypassing many of the stalls that Astrid would have originally paused at.
“Bjorn’s sleeping on the couch.”
“Why?”
The innocence of the question made Astrid hesitate to answer.
The trolls seemed far more easygoing with their bodies.
They touched each other all the time. She saw so many of them hugging, kissing, always touching each other in some way.
They linked arms, held each other’s hands, tugged and pulled each other when there was no reason to.
Making Bjorn sleep on the couch would be so far beyond what Tyra would understand. Clearing her throat, she came up with the very first lie that she could. “He snores.”
Tyra blinked at her. “What?”
Oh, she was in it now. So rather than preserve her dignity, she just made snoring sounds. Loudly. Very similar to the performance she’d put on in the labyrinth, honestly. Honking, pig-like noises and then she shrugged. “While he sleeps. The whole time.”
Tyra’s eyes had widened in horror. “You should make him sleep outside then.”
“I agree. But still, it angered Ylva, so I thought I’d get her a gift.”
“By the gods,” Tyra muttered before dragging her into a jewelry stall. “You should get her plugs for her ears. Perhaps she’s angry because she isn’t sleeping at all.”
The lie would haunt her for the rest of her days here. She was certain of it.
The stall they walked into was a good distraction, though.
Astrid had always loved jewelry. Perhaps that was part of why she didn’t mind so much being a priestess.
Some of them had fought very early on to not be part of the order.
A few girls hated even the thought of being a priestess, but Astrid had seen how beautiful the older girls were, and how they dripped in wealth, and she had wanted to be like them.
Standing here was a bit like the first moment she’d seen those priestesses. Surrounded by wealth and jewelry so delicate, it looked like they were conjured out of thin air rather than created by a real person.
“These are beautiful,” she said, noticing that the woman standing behind the stall was staring at her.
Not just looking at a human, but staring. And the more she looked, the more upset the woman seemed to be. Astrid tried to ignore it by looking at the jewelry, but soon enough, even Tyra noticed.
“Give me a moment,” she said, before pulling the other troll woman to the side.
Astrid tried not to listen to their conversation.
She picked up a pair of stunning ruby earrings.
They were like little drops of blood, suspended by such thin metal it almost looked like there was nothing holding them at all.
They would defy gravity in such a way, and she thought maybe Ylva would really like these.
Astrid had certainly never seen any earrings like them before.
She placed them in the center of the stall and then started looking at the necklaces.
Maybe there would be a matching set, but she had no idea how much they cost. The bag full of pearls should be enough, but she wasn’t all that certain if the trolls even liked pearls.
They seemed to be more interested in gemstones.
Unfortunately, the necklaces were closer to the other two women, who were muttering loud enough for Astrid to hear them.
“No!” the vendor said, her voice a little too loud. “She slights Bjorn, flaunting herself throughout the market like there is nothing wrong. I will not sell to her.”
“She doesn’t know our ways.”
“Clearly she does! She buys for Ylva, does she not? She is a shameless woman. Walking around without a single piercing. She dilutes his honor, and he shouldn’t let her leave the house without bridal piercings.”
“Maybe they haven’t talked about it yet,” Tyra said. “They’re newly bonded.”
“Then that is a flaw for both of them to rectify. I will sell nothing to a woman who dishonors her husband so publicly.” And then the vendor stalked away from the stall, clearly not going to sell anything at all to Astrid.
She waited until Tyra returned. The troll had a sheepish expression on her face. “I guess she had somewhere to be. Don’t worry, I have another idea.”
“What are bridal piercings?”
Tyra’s deep red face paled. “Um. You heard that?”
“I heard most of it.”
“I thought humans didn’t have very good hearing,” she muttered, rubbing the back of her neck before taking a deep breath. “When trolls are bonded, truly bonded, they get piercings. I’m sure he told you that. Women pierce our ears. They’re the markings of a troll wife, through the lobes.”
Tyra gestured to her own ears, and Astrid could see of all the decorated piercings that marked up and down the cartilage, there were no piercings on Tyra’s lobes.
“Ah,” she said. “And the vendor was angry that I didn’t have them?”
“Guess so.”
She took a deep, steadying breath. Piercings weren’t on her list of things to do, but she supposed if that was what it would take to get people to trust her, then she would do it. “I think I need to speak with Bjorn, then.”
So much for a gift.
So much for anything reasonable.
There was too much rattling around in her head now. Bridal piercings, Bjorn’s poor abused cock, not to mention the kiss. He wanted to stay bonded with her, which essentially meant they would stay married as far as his people were concerned.
She hadn’t even given that much thought, considering she didn’t think they were married. It had been a mistake for her to read a few words off a knife, and then they’d accidentally brushed their cut hands together. It shouldn’t be that easy to mistakenly get married!
Tyra must have stopped following her as she headed back to Ylva’s, because she was alone as she stood in front of the door.
She wasn’t even sure what she was going to say to him.
Only that there was a strange feeling in her chest that wouldn’t go away since the vendor had said Astrid was dishonoring him.
She didn’t want to do that. He was quite possibly the best person she’d ever met. And she trusted him. Liked him, even. But was she sure she wanted to dedicate her entire life to a troll? No, of course not.
He had kept her safe. He’d done everything in his power to give her a chance out here, and then he’d done everything in his power to get to her sister. So it felt like... Well, not quite that she owed him. That wasn’t the right word.
But it did feel like she wanted to return that trust and favor.
Astrid headed into the house not knowing what she was going to say to him.
He was standing in the back, perhaps cooking breakfast considering all the food spread out around him.
He had a knife in his hand, a cutting board on the counter, and very much looked like he was involved in something torturous.
But he smiled at her the moment she walked through the door.
“Mother headed out already. There was someone who needed her counsel with the smoke, so it’s just you and me for breakfast.”
“I’d like to go get my sister now,” she said, the words blurting out of her before she could even talk to him about what had happened in the market. But then she added, “And why haven’t you talked to me about bridal piercings?”
He froze, with the knife held in his hands and a blank expression on his face. “All right.”
“All right, what?”
“All right, we can go get your sister now. I wasn’t expecting us to be here forever.” He set the knife down. “Now what was it about the bridal piercings?”
“A vendor wouldn’t sell anything to me in the market.
She said I was dishonoring you by flaunting that I don’t have anything in my ears.
I used to have my ears pierced.” She ghosted her fingers over the lobes.
“I’m not even sure that I’d need them to be pierced again, honestly.
I can put earrings in my ears. I just didn’t know it was important. ”
That blank stare wasn’t helping. He just looked at her. For longer than was comfortable. Was he even blinking?
Then finally he blinked, swallowed very hard, and said, “I didn’t think you’d want to wear the earrings. They are a sign of a bonded couple, and you want to break the bond.”
“But you don’t.”
“No,” he replied vehemently. “I don’t.”
And that snapped something inside of her. She had been trying so hard to stay away from this, but it was getting harder and harder when this life he offered her was damn near idyllic.
Sighing, she said, “You promised me that you would try to show me what a life with you would be like. I cannot promise anything until I see my sister is safe with my own eyes, but I... I can show you what a life with me could be like.”
His hands clenched so hard around the side of the table she heard it crack. “I can accept that.”
“And if it means that you are more honored when your...” She slipped over the words, but they were important to say. “Troll wife is wearing earrings, then I will wear them. If you have some. I’m afraid I don’t have any.”
He nearly tripped over himself as he rushed into his mother’s bedroom.
The last thing she wanted to do was anger the already angry woman by stealing some of her jewelry.
Astrid thought Ylva wouldn’t like it if someone had rummaged through her things.
But he knew the older woman much better than she did.
When he returned, it was with a pair of earrings that sparkled like stars in the night sky. They were clear crystals, but the way they were cut refracted the light and made them seem like bottomless gems that trapped even the slightest sunlight within them.
“These were the earrings my father gave my mother when they became bonded,” he said quietly as he handed them over to her. “I hope they bring us better luck.”
“I can’t take these. They’re your mother’s.”
“They are mine to give to my troll wife.” He wrapped his hand around hers, closing her fist around the sparkling jewels. “I give them to you, Astrid. Please. Wear them for me.”
Why did that make a shiver travel down her spine?
She popped the backs off the earrings and slid them into her ears. Thankfully, neither of the holes had closed up and then she was wearing his mark. His earrings. A sign that she was his.
His gaze flicked back and forth between her ears, and then he seemed to take in the entire picture of her wearing all of it. His throat worked in a swallow, and then he winced. “You look too good in those, bright one. Too good.”
“The same problem as before?”
“Trolls heal fast. Not the same as before.” But the twisted expression on his face didn’t change all that much. “I’ll prepare us to leave. Trollveggen isn’t far, but the journey will be a few nights in the wild again.”
“Nothing we haven’t done before.”
The heated expression he gave her made her entire body shiver. “A little different from before, troll wife.”
There it was again. The shiver as she backed toward the guest bedroom to gather her own things as well. But this time, the shiver was nearly impossible to ignore.