Chapter 37
Thirty-Seven
Rose
Rose was quickly swept up with the other men and women who were readying themselves for a bonding.
Gunnar's hand slipped out of hers and suddenly she was thrust into the arms of the troll crones who were waiting on the sidelines.
They were all giggling as they separated the men and women, heading off in groups.
"Rose?" a voice called out through the chaos.
She turned, trying to find the owner of the voice, only to stop, frozen as she saw another ghost at the edge of the trees.
The queen herself. Staring at her husband with tear filled eyes, and her hands pressed to her lips.
But she was smiling underneath those hands, as though she was proud that her husband had brought them all together like this.
A wind stirred through her skirts, and the beads in her hair crackled together.
She noticed Rose looking and waved a hand. Then mouthed, Go, just as a hand closed around Rose's arm.
There was a time when that might have made her panic. Instead, she could tell whose hand it was by the claws and all the rings that decorated each finger. Vigdis. She had been the one who had called for her in the crowd of people. Not the queen.
"Come on!" Vigdis said, tugging her forward. "We're getting ready for our bonding, and there is so much to do in such a short amount of time."
Astrid appeared on her other side, her sister's blonde hair glowing in the bright blue light that shone down upon them. "Are you ready for this?"
"I've been ready for a long time, I think," she replied quietly, looking around them one last time.
But then she remembered that she was already bonded. She didn't need to go see a blood witch, and neither did Gunnar. This was a waste of time for them all to tiptoe around it, like she and Gunnar weren't already tied together as all the other couples were soon to be.
"Oh, wait," she said with a soft sound of disagreement. "I'm already bonded."
"Yes, I'm sure you are," Astrid replied. "But there's a ceremony with the trolls. A blood tie that intertwines your magic."
Rose frowned at her. "I know. We've already done that part."
Both Vigdis and Astrid froze, their expressions suddenly nervous. They both looked at each other and then at her.
It was Vigdis who quietly said, "You did the bonding ceremony? You mingled your blood and watched as your magic joined?"
"Yes. It was an odd color at the end. I wasn't particularly partial to it. But it's his and mine, so I suppose it should be fine." She shrugged. "I don't need to see the blood witch. What's the next part of the ceremony?"
Again, they shared a look before Vigdis said, "It's my bonding day, too. This is for you to deal with."
Then she headed off with the rest of the crowd, leaving Rose alone with her sister, who still looked rather troubled.
"What?" Rose finally asked. "What is the problem?"
"It's just that competing in the bridal games is sacred. I'm not worried about you, of course. They wouldn't punish you for this. But Gunnar, he's..." Astrid trailed off as heavy footsteps approached them.
Bjorn. Of course it was Bjorn.
Rose winced, not looking forward to dealing with the big brute who always made her a little uncomfortable.
He was still very short and gruff with everyone, and hated crowds as much as she did.
But his problem was that he could get very violent when he felt like he was closed in, and she just receded into herself.
But she wasn't that person anymore. She wasn't going to be. Neither was he. They were both moving forward, trying to learn and grow from a horrible experience that had torn them both apart in more ways than one. They should be friends, considering how much they shared with each other.
Still, it was hard for her to look up at him only to find that he was glaring down at the two of them. Not that she believed he was actually mad. That was just his face.
"What's the problem?" he grumbled.
The sound of his voice still sent shivers down her spine.
His voice had been one that had haunted her dreams when she was in the labyrinth.
So many women had prayed they wouldn't be given to him, although some of them had hoped for it.
She always understood why. They wanted him to kill them, and he had done it.
Over and over again. Killing so many people, it was hard to imagine how he didn't look at his hands and always see blood there.
Shaking her head, she refused to let those memories swell over her head. She was different.
He was different.
"I have already bonded with Gunnar," she declared.
He looked so angry immediately. His entire face morphed into rage, pure and true. She could already see him swelling a bit, the berserker in him ready to destroy anything and everyone who stood in his way.
"He what?" Bjorn snarled.
Oh, right. People were going to be angry about this.
Rose cleared her throat, trying to push the words past the anxiety that told her to run. "It's all right, though."
"All right?" He thundered, completely oblivious that Astrid had placed a hand on his chest to calm him down. "It is not all right!"
But then Rhydian appeared beside Bjorn, looking far too bored considering the situation. The spirit leaned against Bjorn's massive shoulder, as if it wasn't insult enough that he wasn't afraid of the terrifying beast. "He's angry on your behalf," Rhydian said.
She tilted her head to the side, not wanting to talk to someone who wasn't there but also needing more information.
"He thinks Gunnar didn't tell you everything about the bonding.
To Bjorn, you are still a wanderer. Lost in your own head.
A danger to yourself, and therefore someone who must be coddled.
He hasn't been present for your awakening, dear one.
" Rhydian sighed, looking down at his nails and then tsking.
"He cares for you, Rose. He doesn't want anyone to hurt you, and to him, Gunnar has hurt you. "
"Right," Rose muttered, before looking up at Bjorn who was breathing through his nose like an ox. With gentle hands, she reached for him.
She watched her sister and Bjorn freeze as Rose touched him for the very first time.
And it was terrifying. Of course it was.
He reminded her of all those dark days, and all the times she had fled from her own life, and how she still had a lot of guilt for not facing those memories head on. Even if she couldn't.
Trembling like a leaf, she said firmly, "I was the one who bonded us, Bjorn. With the guidance of those who have come before. The spirit of a blood witch guided my hand, and I made the choice. If you should be angry with anyone, it should be me. I bonded with him while he was paralyzed."
Bjorn stared down at her with wide eyes. His gaze trailed to her hands against his chest, and then back up to her eyes. "You're braver than you were before."
"I've always been brave. I just didn't want anyone to know until I felt safe.
" She cleared her throat and took her hands off his chest. "I do now, in case you were wondering.
I'm not... I'm not going to leave again.
I don't really want to, if I'm being honest. I'd like to be present and part of your lives, if you'll let me. "
Oh, no.
The big man had tears welling in his eyes. What was she supposed to do now? Hug him? She still didn't like to be touched.
Gods, he didn't like to be touched.
What was she supposed to do? Rose was done forcing herself to do what other people wanted just because she was smaller or weaker. So she reached out and patted his shoulder. A couple of times. Just a few hardy slaps that hopefully proved she cared that he was upset. In some way.
With a gurgled sound that rumbled in his throat, he sniffed hard enough that she could hear the snot going back up his nasal passages, and then nodded. "Right, we need to talk with the king, then."
"Why do we need to talk to him?"
"I can't bring you to a blood witch and then have her find out that you've already bonded. He'll get angry and think the same thing I did, so it's best to bite the head off the snake now." Bjorn stepped away from both of them, although she could see how hard it was for him to do.
Maybe he wasn't the terrifying man she had thought him to be. Maybe he'd never been that man at all. He just wanted someone to hold on to him too, just like everyone had in that place.
Rose frowned, but then nodded. "I'm all right if we do that. I don't mind talking with the king."
Except she kind of did. He terrified her, just as much as everything else. But as they all started walking toward where the king still stood at the podium, Rhydian strode beside her. And she felt a little stronger because of his presence.
"Is he really going to be angry?" she asked Rhydian.
Bjorn started answering, but Rhydian talked over him. “Yes, he's going to be furious. There is a reason the trolls do these things the way they always have. But that's all right. You have a trick up your sleeve."
"Which is?"
Bjorn and Astrid both stopped talking and looked at her oddly.
"Sorry," Rose said, "I'm talking to the dead."
That gave her even stranger looks from her siblings, but she didn't have time to explain her newfound power.
Instead, she looked around them to see that Gunnar was already standing with the king.
Apparently, her mate had the same thought as Bjorn and Astrid.
And yes, King Egil did look furious as he watched the three of them approach.
But there was a woman standing next to him, as she usually was. The queen herself. She smiled as Rose approached them, and that radiant look on her face told Rose that everything was going to be all right.
"And you?" the king snarled. "What do you have to say for yourself? Tradition exists for a reason, young lady. You will be punished for this, both of you. I promised your sister that I would look out for you, but I cannot put my kingdom at risk. Not even for you."
Young lady. No one had called her that in a very long time.
Rose smiled up at him and didn't worry that she maybe looked a little daft with that expression on her face. But she knew everything was going to be all right. Because before Rose could even speak, the queen was already talking to her.
"Ask him about my perfume," the queen said. "Rose hip and sandalwood. I always sprayed it on myself first thing in the morning, and he would spend the evening chasing down the scent that had worn off my skin. He misses it. But it’s the only thing that will remind him of love."
Rose took a deep breath. "Rosehip and sandalwood."
The king frowned. "Excuse me?"
"Rosehip and sandalwood," she repeated. "You chased it for most of your life, seeking that smell. But you can't find it anymore. Because the smell was always better when it was mixed with her scent."
His face paled. She watched his wings wilt behind him, and for the first time, she saw the king look frightened. "Careful what you say, girl. You have no right to speak of that. This does not endear me to your plight. I can throw you out of this kingdom."
Gunnar placed his hand on her back, and she could feel the tugging of his magic. Not yet. Not until the king believed.
The queen reached for Egil, her hand hovering in the air in front of his face. "Tell him there was a time when he knew what romance was. He would have chased me across the entire kingdom with the hounds nipping at his heels if he could have gotten one more day with me. He knows what love is."
Rose smiled. "She's touching your face, King Egil, asking you to remember how much you loved her, and how you would have chased her across eternity for one more memory. She says you know what love is, and that you need to remember it."
Then she released her magic, feeling the surge of it flowing into Gunnar's hands so that he could conjure the queen.
She stood in front of her husband, regal and poised, with her hand just in front of her husband's face.
The king fell to his knees.
He couldn't touch her. She was just a spirit, after all, and his hands went through her hips when he tried. But he stared up at her with a lost expression and tears in his eyes. "What magic is this?" he begged. "What tricks do you two play?"
Rose shook her head. "No tricks, just the ability of a bonded pair."
Gunnar rumbled, "How would I even know what she looked like, Egil? She died long before I could have met her."
Then the queen herself was the one to speak, and Rose could see how the sound of her voice shot through him like a hundred arrows.
"My love. You would have granted clemency years ago.
I remember how you would laugh when the young ones disappeared with their lovers, and how you and I would soon disappear after them.
Do not let hate fester in your heart. Give them this chance, and may they gift us all with glimpses of those we love. Because we have never left you."
Tears streamed down his eyes. Then she felt the flexing of Gunnar's magic again, giving the queen more form. The king couldn't touch her, but she could touch him. The queen cupped his cheek in her hand, and he fell into her touch like a starving man.
"I love you," the queen said. "I never left, darling. How could I? You're still here."
A broken sound erupted out of him, and then the queen turned to them with tears glittering in her eyes.
"Release me, Gunnar and Rose. I will remain as I always have, but if I may grant one pardon beyond the grave, it would be for the two of you.
Go. Love each other well. And give more people the same gift you have given myself and my husband. "
The magic faded, slowly, and she disappeared into the shadows where Rose could still see her crying. Happy tears, though. Very happy tears.
King Egil remained on his knees, his wings draped around him, a hulking, broken mass of a man. But he looked up at them and nodded. "Whatever my wife says," he said. "Pardoned. Now go and love each other."