Page 26 of A Light So Blinding
“Bjorn, you need to eat,” she said.
He grunted, turned the cup back and slugged it down. All of it. In one big gulp, like it wasn’t a big deal that there was just mashed food and the juices of other things inside of it. He just drank it down and then used his claws to clean the cup out the best he could. Without looking at her, he brought it back to the corner where water was gathered, and set it down.
“They usually bring water soon after feeding us,” he murmured. “I need to rest, but if you’ll get water from them, there will be enough for both of us.”
She stared at him, unsure of what to say with this massive creature who had just made sure she’d eaten while he’d gotten nothing in return.
“All right,” she stammered. “I’ll stay awake so you can rest.”
He was limping as he returned to the cot, then patiently waited while she stood. He fell down face first onto the cot, sprawled out like he hadn’t a care in the world.
“Do you want...” She fingered the blanket around her shoulders before starting to pull it off.
He didn’t even look at her as he replied, “Keep it. Humans need to be kept warm.”
She had no idea what that meant as the troll drifted off to sleep. But she kept her eyes on the hall, just as he asked, ready to get water for them. And while she did, she made a plan.
Astrid didn’t need a map to escape this place. All she needed was her wits and the troll locked in here with her.
Ten
Bjorn
Bjorn watched the priestess as she worked on her map once again. She should’ve known it by heart now. She’d been in this cell with him for nearly five days, rotting away with the rest of them, and nothing had changed. The reality was that they were not getting out of here.
He had spent years figuring out the weakness in the wall that had given Ragnar and his people their escape. Bjorn knew without a doubt that that exit had been the only way to leave this place.
He knew the halls well. He was the only one who had been in here for this long. Ten years was enough to remember this labyrinth by heart. He’d played Astrid’s game for multiple nights now, pointing out flaws in her plans to leave and nudging her hand when she made the mistake of turning a hall in the wrong direction on her floor map. But none of it would help.
Even if they could get out of this cell, they wouldn’t be able to leave. There were too many guards. Too many chances for things to go wrong.
They were stuck here, just like he had always been. Nothing was going to change that.
“You can’t go in that direction,” Bjorn said, sitting on the cot and picking through the scraps they had been given for dinner. This was a rare opportunity for them to eat twice in two days.
She didn’t like the look or smell of it, so he tried his best to pick out what he could find that didn’t seem too mashed. Tonight was harder though, and he was going to have to figure out a way to get her to eat. She was already shaky. He’d noticed how she had to hold on to the walls when she was upright, and how pale her features got when she stood. There was something wrong with her, and he suspected it was that she wasn’t eating enough.
He’d tried to make this place tolerable for her, but there was no comfort here. The cells were cold and damp. Her clothing had not been created for a place like this. Soon enough, she would beg him for release just like everyone else had done.
He wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Killing any woman had always felt wrong, and especially so now that Ragnar had awakened something in him. Bjorn wanted to take care of her. The memories that had been so buried were now screaming at him that no matter what he did, he had to keep her safe. That was his job. His duty.
His honor.
Picking out a half-eaten carrot, he whittled away at the end with a claw so she wouldn’t notice someone else had already bitten into it. “Not that way, either.”
Astrid blew out an angry breath and glared at him. “Are you going to be helpful?”
“I am being helpful.”
“You’re just pointing out flaws. If you have an opinion on the best way to get out of here, why not share it?”
He speared the carrot onto the tip of his claw and held it out for her. Good enough. If she wanted to be snippy, she could eat the damn thing with someone else’s teeth marks. “There is no good way to get out of here. We are trapped.”
“I refuse to believe that.”
Bjorn could see he’d made her angry. Her ears were bright red, and she wouldn’t even look at him, which he had come to learn meant that she didn’t want to deal with him at the moment. Which was fine. He didn’t need her attention all the time.
He just liked it. Maybe a little more than he should.
