Chapter 80
Istagger forward, almost falling to my knees.
“Ylvin… Is that… is that you?”
The white wolf tilts her massive head. Her maw splitting into what resembles a smile. She found me. The eyes. I know it’s her. It has to be. But… How?
She steps into view. Massive. The size of a horse.
Fur like fresh-fallen snow, gleaming faintly in the moonlight.
Her breath clouds the air in soft puffs.
She must be ten times larger than a normal wolf.
This is no simple trick. This is Seidr magic, born of the old world.
Her eyes carry wisdom. The wisdom of nature. Of the wilds.
“Who did you think it was, Ki—”
A sob tears out of me. There is hope. There is fucking hope.
I run forward. No time for doubt.
“Please, Ylvin, I… Help me.”
I crash into her chest. She’s so warm. Her fur is so soft.
A spicy scent fills my nostrils, a musky weight.
It feels safe. My shoulders relax for a second.
The first painless breath for hours. The wolf lowers her head, laying some of her weight on my shoulder to return my embrace.
I’m not even sure if I deserve this. After the ruin I’ve brought.
Our moment is interrupted by a howl from below. A tortured scream accompanied by crashing trees. The sound vibrates through my bones. Even Ylvin stiffens beneath my hand. Fuck.
“Move!” I shout as I find my way to Ylvin’s side, tugging at her fur to get there faster. I don’t wait for her to kneel or invite me. I just scramble onto her back, my hands shaking so hard I slip. The hammer thrashes against the necklace in my satchel. I’m grateful Ylvin dips to accept me.
“No yanking!” her deep voice growls.
“Go! Please!”
She snorts, hot breath combating the cold mountain air.
Ylvin explodes into motion without another word.
Such speed. I hold on for dear life. I’ve never moved this fast. Letting go means getting my head bashed in.
Ylvin’s muscles gather under me like coiled rope, flexing with every leap.
The world blurs. Trees fly by as she launches up the slope, her paws barely touching the ground.
Throwing a glance behind me, I see Ari crushing trees as he advances. His shape grows smaller as the distance widens. He is too slow. Too clumsy. The forest and slope hinder his advance. His gait falters as he struggles to climb the mountain’s incline. Ylvin is too fast. We’re escaping.
I allow a spark of hope to bloom in my chest. If Ari follows, maybe his energy will run out. Maybe he will become himself again. I press my heels into Ylvin’s sides like a rider on a horse.
“Woohoo! Faster, Ylvin!”
“Watch your feet!” she snarls.
But she grunts and picks up speed. Weaving between rocks and roots with effortless precision. Her long body stretches in powerful strides. Wind blasts my face, cooling the burning skin where Vidar landed his blows. Ylvin’s pace forces tears from my eyes.
Ari bellows, but his voice is farther now. Fainter. Or maybe it’s the rush in my ear from Ylvin’s sprint. By the gods… we might just survive.
Trees thin as we crest a ridge. Only birch surrounds us so high on the mountain. The familiar sight of the lavvus and fire warms my heart. We’ve arrived at camp. As angry as I was when I stayed here, now it brings back fond memories. Safety.
Ylvin slows before lowering herself, allowing me to slip off her back. My knees buckle. My legs barely remember what the earth feels like.
I throw myself around Ylvin’s neck, squeezing her as hard as I can.
“Thank you so much,” I whisper.
She growls deep, but it’s warm, not menacing.
Elof stands in front of the fire, eyes closed and arms folded across his chest. It’s like he’s preparing. Like he knows what’s coming.
“Elof,” I pant and step toward him. I’m so relieved. Even Elof should get a hug of gratitude. But Ylvin’s wolf-voice stops me.
“He needs to concentrate.”
Elof doesn’t budge. No movement. He just stands there, shirtless like always, even in this bitter wind. The air feels dense around him, harder to move through. I turn and give Ylvin a quick nod.
“And… Eidunn?” I ask.
Ylvin’s gaze turns to her own lavvu. And there I see her. A trembling silhouette in the entrance, wrapped in a blanket that swallows her thin frame. Pale-faced and worried. Her eyes widen when she sees me.
“Kilda?” she whispers.
“Eidunn!” I shout and run forward, opening my arms and grabbing her in an embrace. Eidunn made it. She fucking made it.
“You’re alive,” I whisper.
To my surprise, Eidunn doesn’t complain. She doesn’t resist. She accepts my hug and repays it two-fold, sobbing into my shoulder. I don’t want to let go. Her body shakes against mine. We’ve both been prey so long… we were bound by more than friendship.
“You’re alive,” she says.
I cry. She cries. Hours of tension finally release. I feel lighter than ever. We may die tonight. But we will die together. And we will never be slaves again. We will die free.
“I’m right here,” I whisper, though I can barely believe it myself. “How is your eye?”
She ignores my question.
“What is happe—”
A tremor runs through the earth.
Elof’s head snaps toward the trees, his eyes open and sharp.
Ylvin’s white fur bristles.
Eidunn stiffens in my arms.
A second of silence… but then.
Ari’s roar shatters the night. He’s closer now. He’s come for the hammer. Come for me. I let Eidunn go. Her eyes are terrified, tears pouring down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry,” I say to her.
“Don’t be,” says Elof as he turns to the tree line, stretching his massive shoulders and cracking his bull-like neck. His calm is even more unsettling than Ari’s roar.
The trees at the edge of the ridge are split apart. Two massive hands drag them to the sides. They fall away like twigs.
Ari’s face appears. Twisted in anger. Recognizable yet so foreign.
Seeing him like this, I feel… I feel I am mourning a man still breathing.
Somewhere inside that towering monster is the man who pulled me out of the river.
Let him survive this ordeal. I can’t take another corpse to my name.
Not his. I pray he hears me through the storm in his mind.
“Ari!” I shout.
Ylvin runs to place herself in front of Eidunn and me. To stand between us and the monster I once shared furs with.
“Stay back,” she says calmly.
Elof steps forward. Slow, steady. Resolute.
He expands. Like Ari did, but controlled. With purpose. Nothing snaps. His body doesn’t complain. First his legs. Then his arms. His flesh turns to stone. Old as time.
I swallow hard, gripping Eidunn around her shoulders. She does the same to me.
Two giants stand before us. Mightier than the tales ever described.
Ari raises himself over the ridge, but Elof doesn’t give him the chance.
He jumps at Ari, growing mid-air into an enormous man of stone. A living mountain. He collides with Ari’s frosty form, a landslide crunching into an avalanche. My vision swims. The sheer force rattles my insides. The air crackles with raw energies.
Eidunn and I cover our ears. The ground shakes.
Elof’s attack pulls Ari with him down the mountain and crashing into the forest.
A battle between giants.
Forces of nature no one can stop. Tearing each other apart.
Primordial. Beyond ancient.
Trees snap. Rocks the size of houses tumble.
A sound rips through the night, tearing at my heart.
I run around Ylvin to look down from the ridge.
The air vibrates with the roar of combat. But I can only hear one thing.
My poor Ari’s shrieking howl.