Page 56 of A Darkness So Sweet

Perhaps it was the animal in him. Perhaps he was just proving that his line wasn’t so far removed from the fur and the scales. But in this moment, he did not care. He wanted his retribution, and he wanted it now.

His brother nodded. They would fight together. Ragnar would remain slightly behind the others, but no troll would argue his right to fight with them. No troll would deny his desire for blood and for the screams of a human to ring in his ears.

Together, they moved as one. He felt his blood heat with the desire of the hunt, even if it meant that his new troll wife might hate him for it later.

ChapterTwenty-Three

MAIA

Maia woke to someone knocking on her door. Which was silly, because she didn’t have any customers today. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had come to her asking for a flower arrangement. Why? In her groggy state, she wasn’t entirely sure. Maybe it had something to do with her father being completely incapable of managing their accounts. Too many people had been charged twice for flowers, and eventually they were just going to find someone else to do the arrangements. She really needed to talk to her father about that.

Staggering out of bed, she blinked her eyes so slowly it was almost like she was walking down the hall with her eyes closed. She needed to go to the market today. Something in her head said that she didn’t have any food in the house, and she wouldn’t mind baking something today. Her father loved fresh baked bread with butter. Maybe he’d be in a better mood if he woke to that this morning.

Swallowing the cotton mouth that made her tongue feel a little thick, she made her way to the front door and threw it open.

Only to stare up into the face of a troll woman. Which couldn’t be right, because there weren’t any trolls in her town.

Until she finally woke up and remembered everything that had happened. This was, indeed, a troll. Because there were many trolls in this city. Because she was no longer in the human kingdom where she was surrounded by her own kind, but instead, she was surrounded by trolls.

A rush of anxiety trickled down from her head to her toes, turning her face likely bright red. What was her name again?

“Inkeri,” the troll woman said. Her dark blue skin seemed almost magical in the light of the wisps. “I’m sure you remember me from your journey here, but there has been much that happened since and it’s very easy to forget those you have met when you’ve been introduced to so many.”

“I’m so sorry,” Maia blurted, then opened the door even wider. “I do remember you, of course. It’s just that I just woke up and I don’t really know what’s going on, to be honest.”

“It has been a very long night for all of us.”

And then it all rushed back to explain why she was so tired and sore. Every muscle in her body felt like she’d been running for hours on end, and in truth, she had. What an idiot! How did she not remember all of this?

Rushing forward, she grabbed onto Inkeri’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “Are you all right? That should have been the first thing I asked. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s happening to my mind.”

“That would likely be magical depletion,” Inkeri said with a soft laugh. “I’m surprised Ragnar didn’t warn you that using so much magic at once would lead to this. It makes memories difficult to recall, but it’s also very hard to wake from. Your magical reserves will have to be rebuilt before you feel better. You had very little to give, and clearly, he expected you to give it all.”

Well, that didn’t settle well. “He didn’t ask for all of it. I did offer.”

“Of course you did. You want to fit in here. This is your new home, and you’ve only been here for a few days before we were all attacked and now you are living in a kingdom where nothing makes sense. You have no close friends or ties other than the husband you did not want.” Inkeri’s eyes cast to the rubble of the room, the stones in the corner, but at least that there wasn’t as much dust as there could have been. “Did I summarize that correctly?”

She did, but... “You speak like nobility,” Maia stammered. “I didn’t realize that trolls were so eloquent.”

“I trained with the troll princes and princesses. My mother thought I would marry one of them, but clearly, I did not.” The blue-skinned troll looked her up and down. “He has not dressed you appropriately yet, I see.”

Maia looked down at the shirt he had given her a few days ago. It wasn’t a dress, that much was certain. But it wasn’t like she was regularly running about the streets. Ragnar just continued to give her shirts, and she washed them in the tub when she needed to. “I think there’s not been time.”

Inkeri’s eyes cast to the piercings in her ears. “Well, at least he replaced those disgraceful earrings. Hulda’s thoughts were in the right place, but it was a slight against his honor. Come with me, troll wife. We will set you to rights and make sure that you fit in better than your husband has clearly intended.”

Maia glanced around the room, not sure what she was supposed to do here. Did she follow the troll woman she really didn’t know? Or did she stay here and wait for Ragnar, who was...

“Do you know where Ragnar is?” she asked, her brows drawing together in confusion.

“The war band has been sent out to discover the meaning of our mountain’s fear. I’m sure they will return with answers for us soon enough. But that will be enough time for me to get you new clothes, and some food in that belly, as you are in desperate need of.”

Food sounded good. At the thought, her stomach rumbled loudly. She didn’t remember the last time she’d eaten anything other than trail rations and the few pieces of bread that had been in the kitchen. Ragnar didn’t keep it well stocked, and she’d eaten what she could, but... a real meal? Warm food that wasn’t out of a cabinet and questionable of how long it had been there?

Biting her lip, she nodded and followed the other woman out of the front door.

“I don’t know how to lock it,” Maia said as she stepped out onto the street.

“There is no need.”

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