Page 69 of The Daughter of the Scarred Elf

Kolfinna’s hold on the woman tightened, her mind whirring and panicking with what she needed to do. There had to be some runes she could make. Maybe something?—

All at once, Birgitta stopped moving. Her hand slipped off her son’s face and hit the floor with finality. Her eyes were still wide and trained on her son. The life that had shone in them was now gone.

Aksel screamed something incoherent. Kolfinna’s breathing hitched. What had gone wrong? She had written the runes perfectly, so why?—

It hit her then. Just because Birgitta couldn’t feel the pain anymore didn’t change that she had been disobeying Sijur’s command.

Thiswas the result of going against the rune contract.

Tears stung Kolfinna’s eyes and she stared helplessly at Aksel. How long had the entire affair taken? Ten minutes? Fifteen? That was all it had taken to kill Birgitta, and her son had to watch the whole thing.

She wanted to vomit.

She inhaled sharply, suddenly feeling like there wasn’t enough air in her lungs. Her head felt light and her breaths became shallow.

Fifteen years.

This would be her fate.

Birgitta’s lifeless eyes continued to stare at her son.

Kolfinna released Birgitta and fell backward. Aksel’s cries became warbled to her hyper sensitive ears. She could hear her own ragged, quick breaths. Every inhale brought forth a wave of metallic, stinging rust to her nose. She couldn’t rip her gaze away from Birgitta’s motionless form.

“—Kolfinna.”

Sijur touched Kolfinna’s shoulder and she jolted back to reality. She shook his hand away. If her actions annoyed him, hedidn’t show it. There was too much excitement on his face, in the air around him, that her small action couldn’t have dampened his mood.

Of course he was excited. He had just learned that disobeying him meant death. He must’ve felt so powerful in this moment, to drive a woman to death because she refused to kill her son. It made Kolfinna sick to her stomach.

“Do not do that again, Kolfinna,” he said. “I’ll let it slide this once, but if you do it again …” He gestured to Birgitta’s body. He didn’t need to finish his sentence; the threat was already heavy in the air.

Kolfinna’s mouth was dry. Joran was practically hugging the wall, his face pallid. Aksel continued to weep and call for help, but no one paid him any attention.

“What will happen to him?” she whispered.

“Hm?” Sijur was still standing in the middle of the room, his hands on his hips as he stared at Birgitta’s limp body.

“The boy.”

“Oh. He’ll be given the money I promised Birgitta; it’s enough to live very comfortably.” He shrugged, like it wasn’t a big deal. “I’ll send him to a reputable orphanage. I’m sure Birgitta would be thrilled to know that.”

“Is it enough?” Kolfinna’s voice was barely a whisper. She didn’t have any strength left. Not after everything.

“Hm? The money? Yes, darling, it’s enough.”

Darling.

Since when did he start calling her that? Her lips curled back. “Is it enough for her life? You think he’ll be happy taking money that was exchanged for his mother’s life?”

He looked down at her with mild interest. “Whether you see it or not, Kolfinna, these experiments are necessary to make a better society. All great changes require sacrifices. Birgitta’s life would’ve amounted to nothing. She would have made nodifference to society. But now?” He grinned at her corpse. “Now, she has made an advancement in rune knowledge. That is incredibly powerful, don’t you think?”

Kolfinna suddenly felt lightheaded again. It might’ve been due to blood loss, since the gashes on her palms were still bleeding profusely, or it might’ve been her heightening horror at his words.

Sijur’s gaze flicked down to Kolfinna’s hands. “You’re dismissed. Go get your hands taken care of.”

“Is that an order?” She rose to her feet unsteadily.

He considered it and then chuckled. “No.”

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