21. Maddy
Chapter 21
Maddy
I watch in open-mouthed wonder as the huge black serpent wrapped around Orgid glows, and his blistering skin reverts to its usual pallid complexion.
My snow cloud stops flurrying over him, drifting into nothingness.
Inga turns to look at me. "You put the fire out?"
I nod mutely and feel Kain come up behind me.
"Why?" The question comes from Orgid, and when I look at him I don't see any gratitude or relief on his face.
"Never mind that," says Erik. "Orgid, come with me to the healing rooms as soon as you're able to stand."
I look back at Inga. "You need to control your bear."
"You need to mind your own business," she answers. Orgid staggers to his feet, snake still glowing.
"I just saved your best friend's life after your own bear nearly killed him," I say.
"His snake would have healed him," she barks.
Erik mutters something about Inga needing to go and see Harald immediately, and Kain pulls me back as they all move toward the doors.
"Why did you help him?" he asks.
The doors swing open as Erik, Inga, and Orgid leave, and I see Thyrvi standing beyond them, pushing her head through.
"I am ready for battle!" she bellows at me in my mind.
"There's no battle," I tell her. I hear a sigh of disappointment in my mind.
"I will wait out here," she says.
"Thank you," I tell her. I look back to Kain. "I couldn't watch somebody burn when I could stop it."
"Even somebody who's treated you as badly as him?" he asks. I genuinely can't tell if he's impressed or repulsed.
It doesn't matter. I already know that I would have regretted it, and possibly even feared myself, if I hadn't stepped in and done something.
"You know they will owe you nothing for this?"
"Yes."
"You know they tried to kill you? They hurt you."
I stop my hand going to my arm just in time. He doesn't know how much they hurt me.
"Yes," I say again.
"So why did you put an end to his pain?"
"Because the actions of another person do not define my own," I tell him.
The answer comes easily, and I can almost hear it in Freydis' voice. She's instilled a moral compass in me that is going to take a lot more than the awakening of my power to distort, apparently, and after some of the impulses and thoughts creeping through me the last few weeks, I'm sort of relieved to have had it tested.
"Those two veslingrs getting off on seeing others in pain has nothing to do with me."
I'm sure the look in his eyes is respect, but maybe that's because I want it to be so much. Other rooks filter back into the room, hesitantly clearing up the aftermath of Inga's flaming bear.
"You all right?" Henrik asks, coming over to me, eyeing Kain warily.
"Yes," I tell him.
"Good. By the way, great punch."
Kain quirks an eyebrow as Henrik walks away. "Great punch?" he asks me. I can't help beaming as I look at him.
"Orgid used his shadows to make me nick my finger." I hold up my hand to show him. "So I punched him in the face."
Kain's face breaks into a smile, and I almost pool on the floor.
Fuck! The way his eyes are shining, and the promise of laughter in those lips, is breathtaking.
I want to see him smile every day. I want him to feel exactly as he does right now, forever.
"I can't punch people every day to make you smile like that," I say. "Although I think I'm considering it."
My hand drifts toward his face, and the smile drops.
"I'm sorry, princess," he says hoarsely, and then he's gone.
I struggle to sleep when I go to bed. Inga's flaming bear worries me because I believe, as reluctant as I am to admit it, that she's as strong as Thyrvi. Orgid's ability to heal himself from any wound is also cause for concern. After all, if you remove fear of injury from somebody, they will fight far more aggressively. If the pair of them really do have it in for me, they could be formidable.
I'm also worried about the Oskorela announcement the next day. I know I have Thyrvi and magic now, so my chances of survival if I'm chosen are much increased, but there are still many nights that the shriek attack on that very first day haunts my nightmares.
I'm still not sure that any of the rooks I could be paired with will be a good match. Henrik, Garda, Staffan, and Martom all speak to me now, but I still wouldn't class them as friends. And if I blacked out, I don't believe any of them would risk harm to themselves to save me. I don't resent them for that; I just know that it's a risk. Thyrvi will protect me, though, and I cling to that as I move in and out of fitful sleep.
At breakfast the next morning, I discover it's not my day to find out if I can survive the terrifying birds. Ulrika and Pehn are chosen to go out on the Oskorela , and we cheer them out with battle cries and cheers. Pehn soaks them up, fierce determination in the ice-fae's eyes. Ulrika, on the other hand, has silent tears streaming down her face as she leaves, avoiding eye contact with anyone. She's the only one who has been at all repentant since the attack, and I send a prayer to the gods that they both make it back unscathed, and stronger for the experience.
I feel guilty that Thyrvi's been spending so much time by herself while I've been in small rooms learning skills that she can't be involved in, so, much as I miss Sarra's workshop, I decide to spend my whole free day designing my bow in the Bear Wing.
The time on my own is good for a number of reasons. For a while, I'm out of Inga and Orgid's reach, out of the way of any impending disaster, and, most importantly, away from Kain. My brain simply doesn't function properly when he's around, and giving it a break can't be a bad thing.
After two hours of a numb backside from sitting on the shiny planks of the training room floor while Thyrvi eviscerates straw enemies, I finally convince her to move location, and the straw crackles softly beneath my weight as I settle into her enormous, self-made nest in the oversized barn.
"I shall bathe," she announces.
Before I can answer, there's an almighty splash as she launches herself into the small pool by the sunken nest. I'm far enough away that I don't get wet, though I instinctively fling up a barrier of ice.
When it drops, I bite back a laugh. She's frozen most of her pool, and is batting at it with her paws. Lumps of ice are breaking off and sinking below the surface.
"You know, you might benefit from slowing down and thinking things through sometimes," I say.
She stops, one paw in the air, and looks at me. "I meant to do this," she says.
"You lie worse than me."
"Fine. Maybe I didn't. But at least it's nice and cold now."
I leave her to break up her pool and wash, and go back to my book. The barn's wooden beams creak gently overhead in the wind, and the warm glow of the wall lanterns cast dancing shadows on the walls. It's peaceful, until Thyrvi lumbers out of the pool, filling the space with more splashing noises.
"Don't you dare shake off near me," I tell her.
She huffs in my head. "I don't shake," she says. "That's for dogs. And perhaps lesser bears."
"Then how do you dry yourself?"
She bounds into the nest and launches herself into an area where she's stacked the hay up high on one side.
She rolls around vigorously, all four of her huge paws in the air as she wiggles on her back.
"That is much more dignified than shaking," I say, unable to keep the laughter from my voice.
Her head pops up out of the hay. "Precisely."
Apparently now dry, she heaves her enormous bulk toward me and slumps down. She says nothing, just lays her head on the straw with a soft whoosh of breath that stirs the loose pieces near her muzzle. Her intelligent eyes remain half open, watching the barn door.
I carry on working, pulling out a sketchpad. Very slowly, I shuffle across the straw until I'm only a few inches from her gently heaving torso. I can smell her—snow and pine needles and something uniquely Thyrvi.
She doesn't move, or speak, though I know she's aware of every motion I make.
I shuffle again, then lean into her side, praying she doesn't shove me off.
Her breath stays even and steady, and contentment washes through me like warm mead. She's cool, and soft, and reassuring. Her fur is thick but surprisingly silky against my cheek, and beneath it, I can feel the steady thrum of her massive heart.
I close my eyes and let out my breath in a long, comfortable sigh, and I'm sure she does the same.
At dinner that night, two interesting things happen. First, Ulrika and Pehn return from the Oskorela , unharmed and buzzing with adrenaline and stories. They don't tell anyone what reward they received, but they do tell us all about a huge lizard they encountered, and that a whole pack of shrieks flew overhead.
As Pehn is excitedly describing how they hid from the monstrous birds, a wolf appears in the middle of the feasting hall.
Screams and yelps fill the room, and just about every rook arms themselves in a frantic scramble. The two Valkyrie present, Valdis and Kain, are there in a heartbeat, three birds of prey appear in the rafters, and Inga's flaming bear bursts to life in the corner, causing even more screams.
"Wait!" It's Eldith, and she's staring at the wolf with open-mouthed wonder, her hands shaking.
I'm already right by her, and have a clear view of the creature. It's not huge, but it is green. Leaf patterns wind around its torso, and its fur looks like grass.
"She's your val-tivar ," I breathe, and I hear the mutters follow as everyone else realizes it too.
"She's a… a… a…" Eldith is stunned into stuttering, and I reach out, gripping her shoulder.
"She's beautiful," I say.
The wolf turns its head, luminescent green eyes fixing on Eldith, who stumbles backward.
I recognize what's just happened. Her wolf is speaking to her.
Eldith's dazed expression breaks into wide-eyed amazement, and the fear leaks away. Then the wolf is gone.
"Odin's raven," Eldith whispers, and the room erupts into excited chatter.