Page 13 of Ulfar

Which means I’m so totally screwed. And not even in the fun way.

* * *

“Well,aren’t you a sight for sore eyes!” Vi’s booming voice greets me before I even see her. I whirl around to find her standing there, arms outstretched and a huge grin on her face. If she was exuberant before, now she’s positively glowing.

“Vi!” She pulls me into a hug and her strength nearly chokes me. “Vi! Okay, I get it, you’re choking me—”

“Ah, sorry ‘bout that. Sometimes I don’t know my own strength, ya know?”

“It’s fine,” I croak, pulling away from her grip and taking a deep breath. “I’m glad to see you too.”

We start walking down the cobblestone path, following it past the rows of flowers to the small creek bursting with all types of alien fish. Mushrooms as large as trees tower over us and provide a canopy from the sun, each one as brightly colored as the last. Strange birds chitter and clack overhead, and soft pink petals flutter through the air on a gentle breeze.

It’s a perfect day, and I realize for the umpteenth time just how nice it actually is here. Even though it’s merely a contractual obligation, I wouldn’t mind living here. The landscapes are gorgeous, and the men aren’t bad either.

In another life, if the Syndicate wasn’t hunting my father and me down, maybe we could have a life here. Maybe we could be happy.

“Sarah? You still in there?” Vi’s voice jerks me out of my thoughts, and I give her what I hope is a convincing smile.

“Sorry, yeah. I’m just...thinking.”

“Bout what?” Vi isn’t one to sugarcoat things, but I appreciate that about her. Bluntness is helpful when there seem to be hidden motives around every corner.

Hidden motives like mine,I realize with a grimace.

“Just. Everything. It’s a lot to take in, you know?”

“That I do. How’d your heat go, anyway? I know you were nervous about it. The big fella calm down once you got to know him?”

I snort, but the blush that rushes to my cheeks gives me away. “Something like that.”

“Oooh, sounds like you had some fun. Spill!”

“He’s...” As I try to think about how to describe him, my heart skips a beat and I can’t miss the pang of emotion that burrows its way deep inside. “He’s nice.”

“Nice? So you mean youweren’tgetting plowed into the mattress for the past two weeks?”

“Vi!” I gasp at her forwardness, but I should have expected it. My thighs clench at her words, the memory of his affections all too recent. “But yeah...that too.”

“Ayy, atta girl!” She slaps me on the back with a laugh. “Knew you could do it.”

“Yeah,” I say, but my thoughts are already far away again. With every word, with every second, the lingering knowledge of what I’m going to have to do hangs over me like a weight. There’s no escaping it. I made the deal, and if I fail to uphold my end of the bargain, I’ll not only lose my father, but my entire village...

With a deliberate swallow, I push down the nausea and change the subject to something I know she wants to talk about. “So how was yours, then? I haven’t heard anything about your mate. Who’d you get matched with?”

“His name’s Djorn. And let’s put it this way—I want to fuck him almost as much as I want to strangle him.”

I raise an eyebrow at that. “You want to strangle him? Is he mean to you, or?”

“Nah, not like that. We just butt heads. It’s all in good fun.” She winks at me knowingly. “And besides, it makes the sex super hot.”

“If you say so.”

We reach the banks of the creek and find it glittering in the midday sun, the crystal-clear waters almost blinding. I can see fish swimming to and fro from here, and the sandy bank is scattered with small pink stones in the shape of stars.

“They call them fallen stars,” Vi points out. “Local legend says if you toss one into the water you can make a wish. Wanna try it?”

A wish. I could sure use one of those right now. With a small, sad smile, I nod. “Sure.”

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