Page 82 of North Is the Night
He just shakes his head, that same shadow of fear flickering in his deep blue eyes. “What you ask is impossible.”
I smile. “Fighting Kalma was impossible too. Escaping Lumi and her wolves was impossible. Finding a shaman who doesn’t want to be found was impossible. And yet, here I am. I don’t doubt that I can do the impossible. Why do you?”
He sighs again, stretching out his long legs before the fire. “I shared your faith once. I thought there was nothing I couldn’t do.”
“What happened?”
He holds my gaze through the flames, his eyes taking on a hollowness as he searches my face. “I survived the impossible too,” he replies, his voice haunted but sincere. “Surviving it too many times is a fate worse than death. I don’t want this life for you. Please don’t ask me to help you.”
“I have no choice.” I shrug. “Help me, Väinämöinen.”
He grunts. “Gods, you’re relentless. You’re worse than a horsefly. Who is this person for whom you would risk so much?”
I’ve had a long time to consider what I might say, how I might persuade him. In all the stories and songs of his great adventures, Väinämöinen was only ever motivated by one thing. I watch the shadows cast by flames over his face. “You had a great love once... a love you lost.”
He goes still.
“I’ve heard all your songs. You wanted to marry the fair sister of your rival, Joukahainen. You asked for her hand, but her brother forced you to win her in a contest of strength. He lost, but she chose to die rather than betray him. Your story ends in sorrow.” The age lines around his eyes crease. “You couldn’t be with your beloved Aino—”
“I know my own damn songs,” he mutters, blowing out a cloud of smoke.
“Well, I’m still writing mine.” I crawl around the hearth to take his tattooed hand, holding it in both of my own. “My Aina chose to die tosaveme. That’s the depth of the love we share. She didn’t think twice. She let Kalma take her to spare me. You ask who she is? Let me tell you our stories, and you can decide for yourself if I am right to save her at any cost.”
Tears well in his blue eyes. “Her name is Aina?”
I nod, giving his hand a squeeze. “Let me tell youourstory. Let me tell you about my dearest friend.”
27
Aina
I’m standing in thedark of the forest, snow on the ground, a tree burning to ash before my eyes, and I’m not alone. I stand in my husband’s embrace. The word sounds so strange to me, even unspoken. Husband.Myhusband. I take in the features of his bearded face—the tilt of his lips, the wild tangle of his black hair, the way the scar over his eye creases as he gazes down at me. I shift my hold on him, hands trembling as I run my palms over his forearms.
“We must finish the ceremony,” he says in that deep voice. It’s rich and melodic yet edged in iron. He’s not asking me. His hands are firm against my hips, keeping me close.
I nod, heart in my throat. “Yes, I—tell me what to do.”
His mismatched eyes watch me, so like my raven. All this time, he was Jaako? In the hours of my long confinement, he was always there. I whispered my secrets to him in the dark, all my heart’s desires. He knows everything about me. But I know nothing of him, at least nothing real. I don’t know the limits of his magic. He can become a raven, control fire and the dead, change his appearance at will. What else can he do? How does his magic compare to the Witch Queen’s? Can he truly protect me from her?
“Aina,” he says again, his hand brushing under my chin. “We must finish the ceremony.”
“How do we...” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I pull away from him. “Oh—my lord, but I—I’ve never—”
“I will not hurt you,” he soothes, bringing his lips towards mine. “I vowed kindness, remember? It’s only a kiss.”
But it’s not only a kiss to me. I’ve never kissed a man before. A few boys in the village have asked. Two even tried without asking. Siiri took care of one. The lad couldn’t sit for a week. Her brothers took care of the other. Now my new husband wants to kiss me. He wants to bind me to him, blood with blood, soul with soul. The curse is not broken until our marriage is sealed. His face inches closer, one calloused hand cupping my cheek. I hold still, knowing Tuoni is about to kiss me.
Tuoni.
Recalling his name, the dream of standing with a handsome stranger in the dark snaps with the violence of a tree crashing to earth. Tuoni, god of death, holds me in his arms. Death wears many faces for me now—Kalma the destroyer, Tuonetar the deceiver. His face overwhelms me—the intensity in his iron gaze, the determined set of his jaw. I see the truth in his eyes: He wants me. Hecravesme. He means to claim me for his own.
“Wait.” I step back, tripping on the hem of my dress. My cowl slips from my hair, falling around my shoulders.
He glances around the dark wood, seeing things I can’t. “Aina, we have little time.” He holds out a hand to me, the chains of his long confinement still dangling from his wrist. “Come, my love. The coup has begun, but my curse is not yet fully broken—”
“Wait,” I say again, clutching at my chest. My heart feels like it’s beating more quickly than a bee’s wings. “All this time—all these deaths—and now you’re here. You’re...you.”
He lowers his hand back to his side, his dark brow furrowed. “I am me, yes.” He tips his head slightly to the side, so like the raven. “I fail to understand why you hesitate. A moment ago, you were so sure—”
