Page 74 of A Darkness So Sweet

“Wasn’t that the scout sent to the base of the mountain with the war band?” a troll murmured. “I thought they were supposed to leave and come right back?”

“Damn it,” Ragnar hissed, before turning on his heel and heading into the throne room with the other generals.

Too many questions burned in his mind, and none of them were going to get answered if he didn’t go into that room. The guilt would hound him until he returned halfway on the journey to his home. So he joined the others standing before the throne, waiting for the scout to give his report.

The young troll was breathing heavily, trying hard to stay conscious while the king stared down at him. Scouts weren’t allowed to talk until the king bid them to, and it was obvious this young man wanted to purge everything he had seen.

“Go ahead,” the king said, his voice grave.

“The war band reached the edge of the mountain. They put up signs to warn humans that we will hunt them, but it seemed like the humans knew we were coming. An army attacked us almost instantly, and there was more blood than I have ever seen. They had different weapons. Arrows that rained down from the sky. Swords that were sharp enough to pierce our flesh. Many died.”

Ragnar’s heart twisted in his chest. He didn’t enjoy hearing that trolls had died, no more than he enjoyed knowing he hadn’t been there to help. The other generals shifted on their feet as well, each of them likely having similar thoughts. They should have been there. If one of them had gone, perhaps this wouldn’t have happened.

“Ragnar,” the king called out. “Your supplies. Have they been replenished after the cave-in?”

“Only by half, my king.”

“We’ll likely need all those supplies and more, if I am correct. The humans have been watching us too closely if they were able to guess our next move.”

A grumble came from the troll beside him, an elderly man who had been a general for many years. “It’s almost as though there is a spy in our midst.”

Everyone shifted uncomfortably at the thought. But then they were looking at Ragnar. Like he knew something they didn’t, or perhaps, as though he housed someone they could not trust.

He bared his teeth in anger, shaking his head so his tusks glinted in the wisp light. “Don’t even say it.”

“It’s an explanation to a question we have no answer to.”

Gunnar walked up beside Ragnar, his arms crossed over his chest. “I’ve brought her to the gardens and back every single day. I’ve seen many humans who lie and cheat and steal. I’ve been around them my entire life, fighting them, losing to them, and I know a spy when I see one. That woman is no spy. But she is a troll wife, if you were willing to look.”

“All humans are the same,” another general proclaimed. A few other trolls nodded in agreement, grumbling under their breath about weapons the humans built and the acid they poured on innocent trolls.

He hated hearing it, but now was not the time for any of this argument. More so, it was yet another way for her to show her worth. “My king.”

King Egil’s eyes narrowed on him, as though he knew what Ragnar was about to ask. “Speak, healer.”

“My magic is stronger with the presence of my troll wife. I would like to bring her to heal the wounded warriors. She has use to me, and thus, to the rest of the trolls as well.”

Every single person in the room froze. Half of them watched their king with hatred in their hearts, willing him to say that was a boundary no one could cross. The other half perhaps knew the meaning of what Ragnar asked.

Let her prove herself again. Let her heal the trolls, the people who had taken her in. Even if they wouldn’t entirely trust her after that, they would at the very least know that she wasn’t the spy they thought she was.

After giving it some thought, the king nodded. “You may bring her. Gather your supplies, now, healer. Save all those you can and bring them back to Trollveggen.”

Ragnar turned swiftly, rushing back to the room where he would gather his supplies. Gunnar and three other trolls went with him, knowing they would be useful in carrying all the supplies that were necessary.

Gunnar stopped him at the door. “Go get her, Ragnar.”

“I need to tell you what to bring.”

“We know the potions. You’ve used them on all of us before. Get her here safely and keep an eye on those other generals. Not everyone thinks highly of Birger’s opinion, Ragnar.”

He nodded, fear already spiking through him. It might not have been the best choice to bring her, but at the very least, they had to try. He wouldn’t keep her in the dark forever, no matter what the others said.

ChapterThirty-One

MAIA

“Don’t plant that there,” Maia grumbled, trying to grab the herb out of Birger’s hand. It was a very delicate breed of parsley that somehow didn’t mind growing underground, and the damn thing was the only plant giving the food flavor down here. She would not allow him to plant it anywhere that would risk its life.

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