Page 31 of The Shadow of Polaris

It was a change of watch, leaving the gates unguarded for only a few minutes. The sun crept just below the horizon as we charged towards the passageway, stepping silently through the darkness. When finally, I felt the bright orange light of the sunrise against my face, we were beyond the wall. I could breathe again, drawing in long pulls for my neglected lungs.

“You ready for this?” Rune asked, taking my hand in his.

I nodded towards Arcturas, who had shot ahead down the dirt road.

“I don’t think I have a choice, even if I’m not.”

“You’re probably right.” He smirked as we followed the wolf’s trail.

We walked for most of the day, following our shadows as they stretched further and further in front of us. As we traveled East, the snowpack began to thin and green buds perked on the tips of branches. I had shed my thick cloak and my skin glistened across my brow by the time the evening arrived.

“We should set up camp here before it gets dark. I don’t want to know what roams these woods after dark.” Rune dropped his pack and stretched his arms. The skin of his hips peeked from beneath the hem of his white cotton tunic.

My face burned. I focused on unrolling my sleeping pad, catching my wandering eyes follow the sliver of exposed skin.

“I’ll go find us some firewood.” Rune trailed into the shadows of the surrounding woods, twigs cracking beneath each step.

The fading day’s light cast shadows across the clearing. Pockets of young greenery poked through cracks in the forest floor. I closed my eyes, letting the gentle breeze brush against my brow. The air was vibrant and new, as if it too was a fresh bud of spring, nearing its bloom. Evening birds cooed in the distance, letting their melody bounce across the branches above.

The harsh frigidity of the northern climate was far behind us, and I couldn’t help but smile. The mild, setting sun beams warmed the nape of my neck. Piling my locks in a messy knot at the top of my head, I let the cool air dry the beads of sweat that accumulated during our travel. When Rune returned, staggering against his arm full of kindling and fallen branches, we built a fire and unpacked the rations Frya had sent us with. Nibbling on a wedge of dry cheese, I tossed Arcturas a strip of dried lamb.

“Look what else that crazy barkeep packed for us.” Rune’s eyes grew mischievous as he pulled an amber bottle of spiced wine from his sack. I raised a brow in his direction.

“Are you sure she packed that? Or did you slip that from behind the bar when she wasn’t looking?”

He shrugged and pulled the cork with his teeth. The bottleneck popped loudly, and he drank deeply before passing it across the firelight. Wiping the remnants of cheese from my hands, reaching for it, I took a sip, the familiar warmth of cinnamon and clove pooling in my stomach.

“So the woman you um…melted, who was she?” The amber flames flickering across Rune’s face reflected in the golden flecks of his unsure eyes. I paused for a moment. Hela’s dissolving skin flashed through my mind.

“She was my chambermaid in the tower. A cruel, insufferable woman. She’d look for any chance she got to crack that whip across my back.” I took a large swig of the wine and passed it back to him. “It was rare if I didn’t receive a lashing for not answering a question the right way or leaving too much of my breakfast untouched.”

Rune’s gaze drifted to the flames between us.

“I’m so sorry.” His voice was low, struggling to find the proper response. “I can’t imagine the strength it took to survive so many years around such cruelty.”

“It wasn’t strength or resilience that got me through it.” I took a breath, hesitating before admitting to him what I hadn’t yet accepted myself, “Anger. That’s how I survived. I’d lay in bed at night, sore from the healing wounds on my back, and imagine all the slow and painful ways I’d murder that bitch.” Rune was quiet, a look of fear, and maybe wonder passed across his face as he handed the wine over once more.

“I’m the Queen Slayer, as you said. A monster. That tower stripped everything from me. All that’s left is violence and this horrible, unwavering rage.” I swallowed the rest of my words. I’d said too much. The wine numbed the feelings bubbling up, so I continued to drink deeply.

“I’m sorry I called you that. It’s not true.” Rune slid around the fire until he sat next to me, the heat of his body radiating against me. “I should’ve stopped those guards the second they held you down. I’m so sorry Elpis. She should’ve never even gotten close to you in that courtyard. I should have done something. Anything.”

His eyes were intense, and he took my hand in his. “You’re not a monster. Anyone who’d been through even a fraction of what you have would feel the same way.”

The shadows lurking just beneath the surface of my skin said otherwise, but I smiled anyway. Maybe he’d truly believed what he said, but death and darkness gravitated around me, haunting my thoughts and flooding my veins with icy violence and this barbaric rage.

The embers dimmed softly as the last lick of flame fizzled away, leaving us in a quiet darkness. I wrapped the scratchy wool blanket tighter around me, attempting to push out the chill spreading through my chest.

Rune leaned into me. That familiar pulse of electricity jumped between us, jolting across my chest and settling in the pit of my stomach. Running his thumb against my cheek, he lowered his lips, only inches from my mine. The scratch of shadow lurking beneath the surface faded until it was merely a tickle. His warmth against mine chased the darkness away. He wrapped himself around me, holding me fiercely against his solid chest. The heat of his touch melted my blood until I felt human again.

The Queen Slayer, the Monster, the Demon.

It didn’t matter what they called me, so long as I was safely tucked away in him.

His kiss stole the remaining breath in my lungs, and I pulled away, lips swollen and cheeks burning. Those eyes didn’t belong to the goofy, pestering man who’d followed me into the tavern after Festival, cracking jokes and making himself laugh.

No, they were the eyes of a man who’d experienced just as much hurt and despair as I had in his life. They were eyes that glimmered in the starlight and sent shivers throughout my entire body. Tracing the length of his jaw, I was the one to close the gap between us this time.

Curling my fingers through his soft, brown hair, something unlocked. A faint groan escaped his lips as I lowered the two of us to my sleeping mat and laced myself against him. Something ancient and powerful pulsated through me, taking hold of my body as I explored each curve of his chest.

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