Chapter 65
Thunder roars in the distance. We’ve been eating for a good while. Laughing and talking about everything under the sun. From animals to locals to myths and legends. Our lighthearted banter has raised my spirits, aided by Ari’s impeccable cooking.
Not one boring moment. Not even the silent ones, where we enjoy the pleasures of good food, good drink and good company. The spatter of rain against the roof encloses us in this intimate space—just the two of us. I wish this could last forever.
“You eat like a warrior,” says Ari with a grin.
“You cook like a woman,” I respond.
He laughs at my horrible insult.
“Responding to a compliment with an attack? Classic Kilda!”
“A compliment? Saying a woman eats like a warrior?”
“Fair enough,” he laughs. “I was just saying—”
“Next, you’ll probably say I shit like a bear.”
His mouth drops. He’s acting mortified but I’m sure he is genuinely shocked.
“Young lady,” he says like a horrified father. “Never have I heard.”
I burst into giggles—he joins me. I snort horribly and his laughter picks up further. Covering my nose in embarrassment, I’m unable to control myself.
“I… I thought… skalds had heard it all.” Another snort escapes.
He breathes deep, regaining composure.
“I’ve heard and seen many things, but never has a little girl bragged of her ability to shit like a bear.”
He only intensifies my snickering—my stomach muscles feel like they may snap. I’m almost choking to death.
“I did not say that!” I insist. “Besides, I’m a woman, not a girl.”
“But you are little,” he concludes with a finger in the air.
“That, I can’t deny.”
We laugh together again though I don’t know why at this point.
Shitting bears and little girls and women—not that funny.
But together, we can’t help ourselves. It’s just a good time, and for me, a delightful release from the tormenting pressure since Eidunn’s visit.
For a second I think of Eidunn, her plight.
But I discard it quickly. She doesn’t want my help.
I can’t save the world. Not yet at least. Tonight is for me.
Tonight my focus is on this gorgeous man across the table.
I raise my eyes to him. Ari is smiling at me. He has stopped laughing. I smile back, noting a tension filling the quiet after our laughing fit. I lick my lips to moisten them, repositioning my body into a more… desirable pose.
“Thanks for the food,” I say in my lightest, sweetest voice. So much talk of me shitting—I need a new angle on my femininity.
“A true pleasure,” he replies.
His eyes are soft but colored with intensity. He’s picked up on the energy between us. Like a stick bent to the point where it will almost snap. Almost.
Without taking his eyes off me, Ari takes my gourd—tiny in his hands—and fills my cup, then his. I crack a smile and speak in an innocent tone.
“You are very caring and gallant, for a Jotnar giant.”
“Where I am soft with you, I am hard with others.”
Our eyes lock. An open remark. He wants to be soft with me.
I have noticed, and when I think of it, he has been soft with me at every turn.
The strawberry fields, the pants, cooking, saving my life, drying me off.
And now this. I’ve been the belligerent one.
The one resisting. I’ve been the one causing problems. Problems like Njord.
I bury the thought quickly.
“I have noticed, Ari.”
“I’m happy you have.”
“I’m happy you have chosen me to be soft with.” I lean over the table. Risky—saying he has chosen me. If I’m being honest, I’m also fishing to see if he has other ladies he charms to the clouds. Girls I could murder, perhaps.
“This may sound stupid, Kilda, but—”
“It isn’t stupid,” I interrupt him, leaning farther.
He raises a playful eyebrow as he leans closer to me.
“You haven’t even heard me speak.”
“Okay, say it then,” I insist with a wave of my hand and a silly smile.
“Through your armored walls, through your blades of iron, I have always seen your glittering spark.”
My heart jumps. Never has a man spoken to me in this manner. Perhaps he is more than a troll giant, perhaps he really is a poet. I snicker but control it quickly.
“Go on,” I whisper.
“The world is cold, the night is harsh—”
“That’s what I always think, cold and harsh! I always…” I stop, seeing him shake his head at my interruption. “Oh, sorry.”
He sighs with a grin.
“A cold world with a harsh night, but your beating heart is what makes the sun rise. It’s the shining beacon of hope.”
“Oh you! You go too far!” I laugh, smacking my hands on the table. “You say that to all the girls!”
He places a hand on mine. A ripple roars through me. My senses come alive.
“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it,” he says, keeping his eyes locked onto mine.
The man’s expression is no longer playful. No laughter in the air—only crackling energy between his blue eyes and mine.
“Are you serious?” I whisper.
“I saw it in you, Kilda,” he says. “I also saw, to my great pleasure, your plump plums hanging low from their tree.”
I pull out my hand and slap it on his, howling with laughter.
“You wolf! I thought you were serious.”
He smiles, but doesn’t laugh.
“I was,” he says simply as he stands. “Now, show me your thrust.”
“I had forgotten,” I say.
“But first, the last piece of meat, for our most glorious lady, Kilda the… What will your Volva title be?”
He tilts his head as he looks at me, waiting for my title. I can’t believe it. This is actually happening. I don’t even hesitate for a second.
“Kilda the Wild,” I state.
“The Wild.” He claps his hands. “Love it! Very fitting.”
My eyes widen. He picks up the last piece of meat and holds it to my face. Smiling ear to ear. Rolling thunder sounds above—Thor approves of our bonding. The rain intensifies.
“The final piece, Kilda the Wild,” he says.
I lean closer to his hand, opening my mouth to receive the meat that will seal my title forever. Spontaneous ritual. Let this birth my status of Volva and write my name in the stars.
We don’t break eye contact. The moment is shared. The moment is holy.
As I enclose my mouth around the meat, my tongue glides across the rough texture of his thumb, sending a purr through my entire body.
His eyes flicker to my lips from the contact.
I know he felt it like I did. His finger lingers a second as I chew.
A fire is kindled beneath my belly. A hunger awakened. My life begins now.
Ari has heard my name—he spoke it for the first time.
Kilda the Wild.