Page 53 of A Light So Blinding
“And they are right. I can sense it. Her magic is waiting to break out, but there is something blocking it. I don’t know what.” Bjorn’s mother stood, staring at Astrid with the same intensity as her son.
Astrid wasn’t sure if she should be insulted or intrigued by what was being said. Eventually, though, Bjorn stood as well. Astrid noticed how shaky he was as he stood up. She wanted to ask him if he was all right. She wanted to clarify that this was what he wanted, and that was the only reason why he was so shaky. That he’d finally come home, seen his mother, he knew that his life could be put back together.
But she didn’t have the chance. His mother barreled toward her, cupping her face and turning her head from side to side. “She is interesting, isn’t she?”
“Mother, you may be scaring her.”
“It’s rare for me to get to see a woman like this. Humans are usually so weak in their magic, or they do not know how to useit.” Again, the woman cranked Astrid’s head to the side. “I wish I could peer inside you. Perhaps that would give me more clarity.”
If she wasn’t careful, she was going to snap Astrid’s neck. Eyes wide, she looked to Bjorn for help because she couldn’t tell his mother to let her go, but the troll woman did not know how fragile humans were.
Bjorn seemed only amused by his mother’s actions. He walked over to the two of them and pried her hands off of Astrid’s face. “There will be plenty of time to peer into her. But we are tired. We have been traveling for nearly a week now, and at a pace that is not sustainable. If I have any right to beg you for anything, Mother, I request food and a safe place to sleep.”
She looked him over and then seemed to agree. “You will have that, my son. It is the least of what I can do.”
The troll woman turned and headed out into the forest, as though she knew her child would follow her. And that left Bjorn and Astrid in what seemed like privacy once again. But she swore she could feel eyes on them. It was like they were never alone in this place, and she hadn’t realized it until this moment.
He gently turned her head to the side, looking at the marks his mother had left on her skin before sighing. “I apologize. She is... intense.”
“You could say that.”
“But she will be able to break our bond. If anyone can, it will be her. I am glad to see she is alive.” His thumb pressed against the ache in her jaw, tracing the redness on her cheeks that was surely there. “There will be a healer in the camp. I will bring them to you.”
“I don’t need a healer. The marks will be gone in the morning.”
“They may bruise.”
Astrid lifted her hand and pressed hers on top of his, holding his hand in place so he would understand that she was not afraidof his mother. “I don’t need a healer, Bjorn. If I think I do, I will ask for one. Otherwise, leave it be. Your mother seemed intent on getting to know me, and that is something I will indulge her. But I don’t want to find out what magic I have, or what magic she thinks I have. I know who I am. We’re here to break the bond, not for any other reason.”
Something flashed in his eyes that she couldn’t name. Disappointment, maybe? But that didn’t make sense. He wanted this to be severed just as much as she did. They couldn’t remain bound to each other when their lives were so different.
“Come with me,” he said, his voice gruffer than before. “I will show you where I grew up.”
As he turned around, she felt a cold wind tracing down her spine. She’d said something wrong, she realized. But she had no idea what that wrong was.
For a moment, she entertained the thought that he wanted to keep her. Because that kiss had been world changing.
Still. A kiss could just be a kiss. Of thanks, of desperation, of hope…all the things that they had both poured into it. But that didn’t mean it was anything serious.
Twenty
Bjorn
Bjorn hadn’t been back here in years. There was a part of him that was nervous to see how much of his home had changed. A childhood home was meant to stay the same as he remembered. Every object in the right place, every person the same age as they had been when he’d left. It was a silly thought. A child’s desire to control what little they could.
As he brushed aside branches and leaves, helping Astrid through what were the most tangled brambles he’d seen, he realized a lot had changed from his homeland. The morning light blossomed before them, illuminating a village that he had dreamt of for years.
The witches and the most talented of their women had needed more protection. This he did not understand. There were so many places where they were safe. Humans never came over the mountain, and if they did, they were swiftly dealt with by those who were like him. Berserkers, and others whose rage allowed them to kill without feeling too much guilt about it later.
That was how they had always lived. That was how they kept the blood witches, the bone readers, and the smoke breathers safe. These women were far more important than any others in their society. They were how the future was tamed.
And yet, he did not see more men like him. He saw a few of the talented witches preparing more barriers. Some of them called out to the tangled brambles and grew them stronger again once they were through the thorns that plucked at their skin and clothing. Soon he would get a better dress for Astrid. Something that wasn’t just a shirt. And then he would find jewelry for his bride.
No, he reminded himself as they stepped out of the darkness and into the light of his home. She wasn’t his bride. She didn’t even want to be.
Instead of thinking those darker thoughts, he focused on seeing his homeland through her eyes. The grotto had been built over years and years with creative hands. What had once been a hollow in the forest was now so much more.
A stone path at their feet was dotted with crystals that grew from deep within the earth. They had been cajoled there by the songs of many artists, all of their colors reflected light that danced across the stones. Some of them were amethyst, others quartz, some were even clusters of emeralds and rubies, laid out for all to see that this was a place of beauty and power.
