Page 3 of Baldr's Secret Mate

“Do you want me to read to you?”

I could almost hear him smile. “Yes please.”

Chapter Two: Mist

Iloved it when Baldr read to me. It was one of the things that not only kept me sane, but made me feel like a normal person again. Of course, I knew people didn’t just sit around reading to one another in the outside world. I didn’t have a lot of memories of my life before my imprisonment, but I did remember that much. I knew Baldr was reading to me to be kind and to show me he cared. And I loved him for it.

Well, I loved him anyway, but I kept that detail to myself because I wasn’t sure if it was real. For years and years, I’d been trapped in this magical hellhole, tormented and tortured by Tyr as he tried to force me to use magic I couldn’t reach. There were times, especially early on, where I thought that if I tried hard enough, Tyr might grow to love me. Maybe he’d eventually see me as his own kin and start to treat me better. And if I finally did exactly what he wanted, maybe he’d let me go.

After a while, I started to care for my captor and tormentor, blaming myself for his emotional outbursts that led to pain and suffering on my part. It wasn’t until Baldr came along and showed me what true kindness was that I realizedhow far I’d fallen into the darkness. After that it was a long road back to the surface, clawing back whatever sense of normal I could find. Baldr helped me along the way, always being there to support me even when I lashed out at him or spent our entire meeting crying because I couldn’t process how I felt.

Being trapped in a dome for years on end with no way to reach the outside world made me feel insane. And it was only in the past couple of years that I started to feel a little closer to normal. Then again, Tyr had been paying less and less attention to me as well, giving me a break from his tyranny. There were times where he’d only visit once a week, dropping a sack of food and closing the shield without a word. Those were my favorite times because I hated that man with my entire being.

Still, I knew that if I could give him what he wanted, he’d let me out of the dome. So, I continued to try to find my power. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t reach it. Most of the time, I didn’t think I had any to begin with. I knew better, though. There was only one time Tyr managed to break me and he nearly paid for it with his life.

But I didn’t want to think about that. Not while Baldr was reading me a story.

“This one is a bit different than the ones you usually bring,” I said during a pause in Baldr’s reading. “It’s… I don’t know… somehow more ethereal than the other fantasy books you’ve brought.”

“Earthsea is like that,” he replied, a smile in his voice. “I think that’s why I like it so much. Sometimes it feels almost like a long meandering dream instead of a story. There’s something enticing about that.”

I leaned my head back, resting it against the dome. The magic buzzed warmly, like it always did when Baldr was just on the other side. We were sitting back to back and even though we couldn’t actually touch, it was comforting, nonetheless. I felta little tingle run down my spine and pool near my groin. Being this close to him always got me a little excited despite my best efforts to be decent.

“Do you think Ged will win against the shadow?”

“I hope so,” Baldr replied. “It wouldn’t be a hero story if the hero didn’t win at the end.”

I hesitated for a moment, a question hovering on the edge of my mind.

“What is it?” Baldr asked, prodding me through the telepathic bond. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“It… It’s stupid.”

“I bet it’s not.”

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “I guess I was just wondering if my story would be like Ged’s?”

“How do you mean?”

“Do you think someone will defeat the shadow in my life?”

The question took Baldr by surprise. That was easy to tell. But the emotional response wasn’t anger at Tyr like I expected. Instead, it was a soft sort of pity, the kind that cut me down to the deepest places of my heart. I hated making him feel like that, especially when I was the cause. I didn’t want to be pitied, and I didn’t want my best friend to feel bad on my behalf.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “I told you it was dumb.” I shook my head, trying to clear the thoughts away. “Don’t worry about it. Just keep reading.”

“Mist…” he began, then stopped.

“It’s okay,” I said, repeating his earlier sentiment. “Just say what’s on your mind.”

He seemed to steel himself, gathering up his courage before he spoke. “I’m gonna get you out of this dome,” he growled through gritted teeth. “I don’t care what it takes. I will get you out of this hell.”

“Baldr…”

“No! I’m gonna do it!” he shot back. “I’m getting stronger and stronger every day. I can even teleport over short distances now. Not very often, of course, but that means my powers are growing. At this rate, it’s just a matter of time before I can get you out of here for good. And then you can come live with me… I mean us, up at the hotel. You’ll never have to go outside again if you don’t want to.”

“That would be really nice,” I replied, a tinge of melancholy hope in my voice. “I would love that.”

“It’s gonna happen. I promise.”

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