Page 50 of A Light So Blinding
She finished up her apple, seeming to think about his words before she asked, “What is a troll wife?”
“Being a troll wife is not just being the wife of a troll. They are worshipped by their partner. Loved beyond reckoning, and treated like the treasures they are. Troll wives are protected not just by their husbands, but by everyone who comes in contact with them. They are worthy of that protection.” He stood, dusting off his pants before reaching out a hand for her to take. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”
She took his hand and allowed him to pull her to standing. “What if she doesn’t need protecting?”
“It’s not because we think they cannot protect themselves. A troll husband is well aware of his wife’s talents. It’s that she doesn’t deserve to hold that all on her own. His role is to makeher life easier, to take the burden off her shoulders where he can. It’s not about solving her problems. It’s about being there with her.”
They were words he’d heard his entire life. Words that he had heeded, and he’d prayed that someday he would put them into practice with a wife of his own.
He guided her away from the stream, under the branches until they came to a small glade. The stream ran through this area of the forest, but only lightly. It was a thin, winding snake, surrounded by thick bushes that likely hid what he was hoping for.
Crouching down, he pulled her to a log and set her on it. “Stay here.”
“What are you doing, Bjorn?”
He didn’t answer her. A bone deep need had begun deep in his body. It had started from the first moment he’d seen her and then gotten stronger every moment until this point.
He headed off into the bushes, following the need inside of him that said he had a job to do. Until he realized what it was.
His magic had woken. Finally. After all this time, when he’d thought it had abandoned him to his rage, it was back.
The bushes hid a surprise that he now knew was perfect for Astrid. He reached into the branches, gently cajoling the tiny creatures into his palm. Holding his mouth over his cupped hands, he whispered a request to them. And though they didn’t know the language, his magic made it known what he wanted.
“I don’t like spiders,” she said as he approached. “If you hand me a spider, Bjorn, I will start screaming.”
“They aren’t spiders.”
“They?” she repeated, her tone growing more and more frightened.
But then he opened his palms, and all the fireflies lit up. Each of the glowing creatures flew toward her, landing on her hair andaround her shoulders, some even along her wrist like a bracelet. She was covered with sparkling creatures, all of them blinking on and off in hues of gold and light green.
“I have failed you as a troll husband,” he said. “The first thing I was meant to do is cover you in gems. You should be dripping in jewelry by now, but I have none to give you. I don’t even have my own jewels in my ears. Trolls wear their piercings as marks of honor. We earn them through honorable deeds. And you should be covered in them for what you have done.”
“I haven’t done anything, Bjorn. Not really.”
“You saved me. That is more than I could ever have asked for.” And yet... the fireflies burst into flight, all of them heading back to the bush where he had gotten them. His eyes tracked them, looking away from her blinding beauty. “But you are not mine. I have struggled with that. I do not know how to be a good troll husband to one who is only with me temporarily.”
“You’ve been keeping me alive. It’s more than I could have asked for.”
“I should do more,” he murmured. “I could, if you were mine.”
But she wasn’t. He wouldn’t even dream that she could become his, because it would only end in heartbreak. They were here to sever the bond. She’d saved him. He would bring her to her sister.
That was where their story ended.
He moved to give her space, but paused as her tiny hand grabbed onto his.
“Your magic is with animals?” she asked, her voice quiet and introspective.
“Yes. I had forgotten. It was dormant in the cells, but there weren’t animals there either. So perhaps that was all it was. I thought it had abandoned me.”
“You become more and more interesting every day, Bjorn.” She used her grip on his hand to pull herself upright. “I’m lucky to have met you. I didn’t know what an adventure this would be, or how hard it would be to sleep on the ground, but... I am glad I’m here. I don’t regret this.”
His heart beat a little harder in his chest. Ducking lower, he told himself it was just to catch a small bit of her scent, not because he thought for the briefest of seconds that he might kiss her. “I am glad it has not been all bad, Priestess.”
Nineteen
Astrid
