Page 64 of The Daughter of the Scarred Elf

“Yes, I think it’s good for her to practice.” Sijur smiled. “Kolfinna? Come now, we don’t have all day.”

Kolfinna swallowed down her rising panic. She closed the distance between herself and Birgitta. Sitting on the couch, she tentatively took the older woman’s hand. Kolfinna’s voice came out low, hollow, and bitter. “What should I write?”

Sijur drummed his fingers on the leather armrest. “That she will obey me.”

Kolfinna held the woman’s hand lightly and closed her eyes. She reached for her mana hesitantly. She wondered if there was a way around the runes. A way to make them not work. If shedidn’t write the runes or only used a little bit of mana to make sure they failed?—

Then she remembered the crippling pain she had been in when she had disobeyed Sijur. If she purposefully failed, she was sure that it would only hurt herself in the end.

But there had to be another way. There had to be something she could do.

“Kolfinna?” Sijur tapped his foot impatiently on the floor. “Is something wrong?”

“No, I’m just trying to focus.” She quickly racked her mind for a solution, an alternative, but nothing came to her. Sighing, she reached for her mana and envisioned the runes.Birgitta will obey Sijur Bernsten.

Nothing happened.

Kolfinna’s brows came together. “It’s not working.”

“Did you specify a time frame?” Even though Joran was asking Kolfinna, he was staring at Sijur. “You need to add that.”

“Ah, yes, I forgot about that.” Sijur rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Let’s say … hm, what about one year?”

Birgitta became rigid but didn’t argue.

When no one disputed, Kolfinna wrote the runes again in her mind. Mana sizzled at the surface of her hand.Birgitta will obey Sijur Bernsten for one year.

The runes glowed in the air and imprinted on the back of the woman’s hand. Birgitta’s eyes widened and she held out her hand in fascination. “Is it done?” she asked.

Kolfinna’s stomach sank while Sijur jumped to his feet excitedly. “Itworked. I suppose this means”—he took Birgitta’s hand and turned it over to stare at the runes better—“that a willing participant is needed in order to use runes to bind a person. Even a human can be bound with rune magic! I suspected as much when rune magic worked on Inkeri, but Ididn’t think—” He shook his head and plopped back down on the couch. “Excellent! Truly excellent.”

His enthusiasm only chipped away at Kolfinna’s guilt and unease. If she didn’t hurry up and figure out a way to break the rune binding her to Sijur, then who knew how many people Sijur would force her to bind to his will?

“All right, now, put on another rune.” He reached for a teacup and slurped it loudly. When Kolfinna didn’t move, he raised a brow. “We’re not finished.”

She licked her lips. “But … the runes are set. What more do you want?”

“Write that she cannot hurt me in any way.”

Kolfinna placed a hand over Birgitta’s forearm this time. She poured her mana into the runes as she envisioned them.Birgitta cannot hurt Sijur Bernsten in any way.As she thought them, they materialized over the woman’s skin with a bright glow.

“Excellent.” Sijur reached for something in his pocket and yanked out a small knife. He slammed it down on the table and motioned to the woman. “Now, Birgitta, I want you to pick up that knife.”

Birgitta hesitated for a split second before picking up the knife. Kolfinna’s heart pounded against her ribcage like a loud drum. She could only imagine what Sijur wanted to do with that. She wanted to ask if she could leave so she didn’t have to witness anything, but a sick part of her wanted to see this to the end. To see what Sijur wanted here.

“And I want you to stab me.”

Kolfinna blinked. This wasn’t what she had expected.

“What?” Birgitta said with an uneasy laugh.

“Yes.” He held out his hand. “Right here.”

Birgitta hesitated and twisted the knife in her hand. “But … I would be hurting you.”

“Yes.”

“I …” She seemed to be at a loss for words. She turned to Kolfinna, but Kolfinna had no advice to offer her, and when she looked over, Joran didn’t either. “Are you sure?”

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