Page 63 of The Daughter of the Scarred Elf

Kolfinna opened her mouth to answer truthfully: that she had used Ivar’s mana to overwhelm the runes, since a giant body of mana was needed for such power, but then she could imagine what Sijur would do with that information. If he realized the fae could drain people of their mana and their lifeforce, wouldn’t he try to abuse that? Would he make her and Joran test it out on unsuspecting people, in order to grow their strength, and in turn use runes that could enslave people to him? But then she remembered that he had already seen her use Joran’s mana—he must have already known that.

Still, she carefully picked her words. “I don’t really know. I just used runes to expel the toxins. I didn’t think it would work.”

“Fascinating.” Sijur nodded slowly. “We’ve been reading about rune magic healing people, but we’ve never been able to do it, so it truly is fascinating to hear that you were able to. From what Joran has studied, it seems you have to know about the anatomy of the human body to a very specific degree in order to repair tears and not cause further damage to the body. For example, a broken bone will not be healed by simply writing heal on it. You must push the tendons, the flesh, the nerves, and then repair the bone in a way that takes into account what’s surrounding it. Since you were able to do it, I’m supposing that simpler procedures or circumstances, such as poison or an upset stomach, or something of that matter where you know what the root cause is, is easier to cure?” He ate the rest of the cookie. “Good job being able to figure it out, Kolfinna.”

She could only bob her head.

“I also read that you were able to manipulate nature even though it’s winter? How did you manage that?”

Joran lifted his head, his curious gaze cutting over to her.

Kolfinna shifted on her feet as everyone stared at her. Birgitta with thinly veiled confusion, Sijur with intrigue, and Joran with surprise. “I just used it. I’ve been trying to do it for a few weeks now, but I think I wasn’t at a level with my mana manipulation or mana control that I could do it successfully. Even now, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do it again.”

“Hm.” Sijur rubbed his chin, and bits of cookie crumbs stuck to his clean-shaven jaw before he seemed to notice and brush them away. “That’s very interesting. Joran will have to look into that too, won’t you, Joran?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Um, sir?” Kolfinna cleared her throat and tried to sound as uninvested as possible. “I was wondering, what happened to the woman we captured?”

“The womanBlárdefeated and captured, you mean?”

Kolfinna hesitated. “Yes.”

“The supposed elf.” It seemed to her that Sijur was watching for a reaction. “She’s here. Imprisoned. That’s all you need to know.”

“Is it possible that I can meet her?”

He blinked. “Why would you want to meet her?”

To ask her about the half-elf commander. To see if she was a part of Ragnarök. To confirm her suspicions.

“I want to see if she’s actually an elf.” Kolfinna hoped her smile appeared genuine. “I’ve only read about them once or twice at the Eventyrslot ruins, and during the fight, we were so busy fighting that I didn’t have a chance to see her properly?—”

Sijur waved his hand and reached for another cookie. His rings clinked against the ceramic rim of the plate. “There’s no need for you to interfere.”

Silence filled the room before Sijur spoke again. “Anyhow.” He rested his free hand on Birgitta’s knee and gave it a pat. “Let’s get down business. Do you remember how with Olia, we weren’t able to bind her? I’ve hypothesized it’s because she was unwilling to be bound.”

Kolfinna’s heart sank and she looked between Sijur and Birgitta.

“Well, Birgitta here doesn’t have that problem. She’s a willing participant. A human too, so we’ll see if a willing human is able to be bound or if it’s just fae.”

Not this again.

She should’ve expected it, but she had been so preoccupied with the elf woman—who was imprisoned somewhere in this fort—that she hadn’t thought that there would be a repeat of the Olia incident. Except this time, with a woman whowantedto bind herself. She likely had no idea what she was getting herself into.

She looked at the woman, who was perched on the edge of the couch expectantly. “You’re … awillingparticipant?” Evenas she said the words, she heard the doubt in them, and she watched Birgitta’s smile fall. “Do you even know what that means? You want to be enslaved?—”

“Kolfinna, stop talking,” Sijur snapped.

“—to him forever?” As the words came out of her mouth, a wave of pain passed over Kolfinna and she gasped sharply, falling to her knees. She placed a hand on her throat and tried breathing through the throbbing pain that shot up from her rune mark and spread through her chest. She realized bitterly that he had issued an order and she had disobeyed. A few seconds passed and the pain slowly ebbed away.

“You can speak now, but don’t try to scare our guest. That’s very rude, Kolfinna.” Sijur’s tone was light and airy, but the razored glare he sent to Kolfinna told another story. He dropped the cookies on the plate with a soft plink, seemingly uninterested in them now.

Kolfinna was dizzy from the pain.

“Let’s begin now.” Sijur gave Birgitta’s knee a final pat before Joran stepped forward. “Ah, actually, Joran, I think Kolfinna should be the one to do this.”

Joran paused and then turned to Kolfinna, who stood frozen in place. “Are you sure? I can handle it?—”

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