Page 65 of A Light So Blinding
“Mother?” he asked, his voice perhaps a little gruff. “Why are all of you here?”
“Light the fire for us, my son.”
Of course she wouldn’t answer him. When did any of their people answer questions?
He tried not to grumble under his breath as he worked on lighting the fire pit, trying his best not to wince and then have them ask why he seemed in pain. The last conversation Bjorn wanted to have with his mother was to tell her that he’d pierced his own cock and that it was sore.
Thankfully, the fire lit quickly, and he could sit down on the last remaining log. Nerves bit at him. He had wanted this moment to be special between him and Astrid. The dress was meant to be a gift that he had made for no reason other than to see her smile. Now, it felt a bit like an ambush.
It was too late for him to change anything or to usher the ladies away. The door opened and out stepped Astrid and he...
He forgot how to speak.
The dress clung to her curves in all the ways he would have dreamt, but also now wanted to hide from the sight of others. The silver threading looked like gossamer. The stones glinted in little flickers that made the eye dance all over her form. She’d lether hair down, so it flowed over her shoulders, melding into the silver of the gown until he was enchanted by the goddess who stood before him.
He was unworthy of even a moment of her time. She was beyond beautiful, stunning, glorious, and he was an animal wallowing in the muck begging for a ray of her attention.
The troll women around him hummed out appreciative breaths. The one with the child said, “Well done, Bjorn. I remembered your weaving, but I didn’t know you could do this.”
His mother agreed, “He was always talented.”
One of the blood witches, Svala, he thought, said, “Now that is a witch if I’ve ever seen one. There are few like her, I’d guess. Lif, take some of that smoke and see what the rest of us can see.”
So that was what they were doing. All these women had gathered together to peer into Astrid’s potential magic without asking if she was actually willing to do so. Meddling beasts. They were going to make this so difficult for him.
Astrid walked over to his side, standing right in front of him in the dress he had made, and watched the proceedings of the women before him. “Did you want me to perform in some ceremony?”
He couldn’t help himself. Bjorn placed his hand on her hip, turning her to look at him and only him. He wanted to see her for a few moments. Just to look at what masterpiece he had created with time and energy. “You look...” He didn’t have the words for it.
A pink blush spread on her cheeks, just as he had hoped it would. “You are too kind, Bjorn.”
“Do you like it?”
She seemed to really think about his question, rolling it over in her mind before she nodded. He could feel a knot inside of him ease at her approval of what he had made, and then she placed a hand on his arm. “It’s beautiful. I just don’t know howto thank you for something that was made by such a talented hand.”
“There are no thanks needed from you. Merely seeing you in this is thanks enough.”
It was a memory that would be burned into his mind for many years to come.
“Come,” his mother said, gesturing with her hand. “Sit with us, Astrid. Now that you look the part.”
He could see the little furrow in her brow, and the confusion at what his mother was even suggesting. But she sat, and that was something that he could admire about her. At least she didn’t let their oddities bother her too much.
She sat down next to him, her legs so close they could have touched if he moved. He almost did until his mother sent smoke billowing in their direction. Both of them coughed, and he tried to move the smoke away from them with his hands. But there was so much of it coming off the fire, it was hard to get any fresh air near them.
Svala approached them through the smoke, pricking their fingers with jagged needles before disappearing. And then there were the bone readers. It was all he could hear, the rattling of the bones in their hands and how they threw them onto the ground.
“Aha!” Lykke shouted. “Not one of us after all! But similar. Close enough that it would be difficult to tell. Powerful, indeed. I haven’t seen a match like theirs in a very long time.”
“You think you saw something?” his mother muttered. He saw her blow in their direction, another wave of smoke making it hard to even see the other women. “Oh. You’re right. There it is. How did I miss that?”
One of the bone readers shook the bones in her hands, and he saw one of them fling near his foot. She must have thrown them hard. “From Hugr to Fylgja, it’s not unheard of. Just uncommon.”
“What are you all talking about?” Bjorn coughed, trying to clear the smoke a bit more so he could at least see his mother.
With a snap of their fingers, the smoke cleared.
Astrid and he were left staring at the six women, the sudden silence making it hard to do anything but focus on them.
