Page 65 of The Daughter of the Scarred Elf

“Hm. You’re hesitating even though I gave an order.” Sijur lowered his hand and frowned. “That must mean that even though you’re disobeying me by not doing it, it’s not hurting you. Maybe because the two commands contradict each other?”

Kolfinna was suddenly reminded of her time in the Eventyrslot ruins when Revna was teaching her about runes. Revna had demonstrated to her how runes worked by making her writehotandcoldrunes on the spoon. The two runes had neutralized the other. That was likely what was happening here.

“Okay, let’s push this even further now.” Sijur took the knife from her and placed it on the coffee table beside the plate of cookies. “Kolfinna, write a rune that says she will love me forever.”

Kolfinna dug her feet into the floor to keep from swaying. Love him forever? Was it possible to use runes to manipulate someone’s emotions? It soundedwrong.

“I’m not sure—” she started.

“Do it,” he snapped.

Kolfinna took the woman’s hand once more. Like before, she pushed her mana into the runes. But unlike last time, nothing happened. No runes materialized over Birgitta’s skin. The relief Kolfinna felt was palpable.

“It didn’t work.”

“Joran, you try it.” Sijur motioned for Joran, his voice bordering annoyance. “Maybe Kolfinna used up most of her mana and that’s why it’s not working.”

Kolfinna certainty hadn’t used up much mana, but she was more than happy to step aside and let Joran try. She didn’t want to manipulate anyone’s emotions like that. It made her sick to her stomach.

Joran took Kolfinna’s place while Kolfinna stood a few feet away. She thought about backing out of the room altogether, but it was illogical to even think about it. Running away right now wouldn’t solve her problems, and who knew what would happen to her if she disobeyed Sijur in that manner? Would she die if she distanced herself too much from him? If he issued her a command and she was too far to even know it?

After a minute, a line formed on Joran’s forehead and he shook his head. “It’s not working. My guess is that … you can’t manipulate emotions with runes. They’re likely too complex.”

“Hm.” Sijur took hold of the knife and tapped the edge of it on the glass top of the coffee table. “I had hypothesized as much, but it was worth a try to test it out.”

Kolfinna wanted to leave. She eyed the exit and then everyone in the room. “So, now that we’ve tested out the runes, how about we?—”

“We’re still not done yet.” Sijur’s smile sent chills down her spine. “I want to see how far the bond will go.”

That sounded like trouble.

Birgitta seemed to be thinking the same thing because she laughed nervously. “What do you mean by that?”

“Let’s see … How about you grovel at my feet?”

Birgitta’s forehead crinkled. “That’s it?”

“Yes, we’ll start with that.”

Kolfinna watched uncomfortably as the woman got down on all fours by Sijur’s feet. Sijur, however, didn’t look particularly pleased. It came too easily, his expression seemed to say. He probably didn’t need rune magic to make her kiss his feet.

He glanced at Joran and snapped his fingers. “Joran, bring the boy.”

Joran’s spine became a stiff rod, and Birgitta raised her head. Kolfinna was just as confused as her.

Joran scuttled out of the room, averting his gaze. Birgitta was still curled up by Sijur’s feet, seemingly unaware of what was happening. It didn’t take long for him to enter the room with a young boy beside him. The boy couldn’t have been much older than eight or nine years old. Shaggy blond hair framed his youthful face.

Birgitta’s eyes widened and she pulled herself to her feet quickly. Her cheeks reddened with color, though Kolfinna wasn’t sure if it was due to anger or embarrassment. “What’s the meaning of this? Why did you bring my son here?”

“Momma?” The boy rubbed his arm uncertainly.

“What is he doing here?” she demanded. “I never gave you permission to drag my son into this. I don’t work that way, do you hear me? You can buy time with me, but you can’t bring my family into this. I think I’ve had it with this whole strange session.” She pushed past Sijur and rushed to her son. She placed her hands on his shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Aksel. Let’s go home?—”

“No.” Sijur smiled wolfishly. “I don’t think so.”

“I don’t care. We’re leaving—” A scream ripped through her throat and she fell to her knees, her fingers digging into the runes etched on the back of her hand. Kolfinna inhaled sharply as those same runes she had placed on her were now causing Birgitta excruciating pain. Pain Kolfinna had felt before—and never wanted to feel again.

“You can’t disobey me, sweetheart.” Sijur sighed. “Come on now, get up.”

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