Page 9 of Rune

Sigrid heaved, stopping to bend over and catch her breath. The tight curls by her forehead were pinned to her skin with sweat. Then she straightened. “I’m not here to fight.Faðirneeds you for dinner right away, and he said to clean up before you appear.”

Tova plucked her axe from the sand. “Tell him he better have warmed the water already, because I won’t bathe cold.”

Sigrid spoke over the crack of me prying my axe from Tova’s shield. “The chieftain and his son are at our home, and they’re waiting.”

I dropped the axe and sucked in a breath. Everything froze. My voice was far away as I spoke. “Do you know why?”

She stopped huffing long enough to get a twinkle in her eye. “Marriage.”

The ground swayed. I grabbed Tova’s hand. “He’s actually done it.” I hated I doubted Trig, but I’d spent my life pining for this boy and it hardly felt real. Every time he held my hand, every time his lips landed on mine, I braced myself for the moment he’d pull away, where I’d immediately wonder if he’d ever come close again. I lived my life in those in between moments, doubting if I’d get another taste of him and hoping to all gods he wanted another taste of me.

But it was real. He wanted it to be real for the rest of his life.

Aegir made good on his end of the deal.

I tipped my head up to the sky, letting the fading colors of dusk wash over me as I sent Aegir a silent thanks.You and I will both soon be revered amongst the clan. Our time in the shadows is done.

I still hardly believed it. Trig had told hisfaðirof his intentions to marry me. Hisfaðirhad approved.

“Congratulations, Rune,” Tova said in a soft voice. Her smile was rigid, and I wondered what was going through her mind. As wife of the chieftain, I would be almost as loved as her. I’d never needed the unending love from the clan like she had. I just needed the chance to prove my worth, and him. Now I had it—my little slice of happiness.

A storm gathered beyond us, at the tips of the mountains, where it grumbled with thunder. The air turned remarkably colder.

I ought to have taken that as my first warning sign.

The way Sigrid’s face fell should have been the second.

But I ignored both. It wasn’t until Sigrid cleared her throat that I suspected something was wrong. “Rune? Why are you congratulating her?”

Tova frowned. “On capturing the heart of Trig.”

Sigrid glanced between the two of us. My stomach sank. Slowly, I eased my hand away from Tova. “Sigrid, who is he planning on marrying?”

“I thought it was obvious,” Sigrid said. “Trig is here to ask Tova to be his wife.”

Four

I STEPPED AWAY from both sisters. “What?”

“Are you certain?” Tova asked Sigrid, staring up the beach toward the trees that blocked our home from view. I tried to ignore the way her voice hitched with hope.

For a fleeting moment, I’d thought I’d found joy that somehow, someone had valued me. But I’d been wrong. Very, very wrong.

Sigrid shifted from foot to foot, chewing on her lip. “I’m certain. Why would he be here for Rune?”

Her words were like a punch to the gut. “Some people fancy me,” I said through gritted teeth.

As if remembering my presence, Tova turned my way. “Rune, I didn’t ask for this.”

I clenched my bite against my cheek to stop from crying. I might throw up. “Just go.” I barely got the wordsout.

“Maybe Sigrid got it wrong.”

I closed my eyes. She didn’t. I’d seen how Jarl Hakan looked at Tova yesterday, then how he’d looked at me. No one else would gain his approval to marry his son than the girl who was marked by the gods. It made sense, and I criticized myself for not knowing it sooner. Ourfaðirshad likely planned this match a long time ago; if not officially, then in their minds.

“You should come with me.” Tova reached for me, but I writhed away.

Come to watch the boy I love ask for my sister’s hand in marriage? That was a particular form of cruelty. “I’d hate that very much.”

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