Page 10 of The Midnight Death Match

I bristle. “He isn’tmyfather.”

“That’s why you can’t stay.” Her voice shakes, but she doesn’t look away. There’s fear in her eyes, but also anger. Not at me, but at what’s happening. Things none of us can control.

Runa pulls back, her eyes wide. “Did you see the sky yesterday? It turned green for a second. Like the aurora.”

Brynja rolls her eyes, but I see the way she glances toward the window. “She thinks it means something.”

“It does,” I say gently. “A shift in power. Something’s moving.”

Brynja’s expression hardens. “Maybe it’s you. Maybe you’re what’s moving all this trouble our way.”

Her words hit hard, but I don’t let it show. “Maybe. But I won’t let it touch you.”

She doesn’t respond.

Outside, a branch snaps.

Harek’s voice, low and urgent. “We have to gonow.”

Runa grips my hand tighter, her voice barely a whisper. “Will you come back?”

My throat tightens. I want to promise and I want to lie, but she deserves better than a false hope.

“I’ll try.” It’s the best I can offer. “But if I can’t, if it’s not safe, then you run. Take Brynja and the others, and get yourselves out.”

Runa nods, too serious for her age. It breaks my heart that she has to grow up so fast.

Brynja steps closer, her eyes softening slightly. “You don’t have to protect us anymore, Eira. We’re not children. Even Runa is quickly becoming a young woman. Without you and Mother here, we’ve all had to step up.”

Guilt stings, but I have no choice but to leave.

“You’re still my family,” I say. “That doesn’t change.”

She doesn’t hug me. But she doesn’t look away when I step back, either.

That’s something.

“Wait!” Runa looks at me with a desperation I’ve never seen from her before.

I hesitate “What?”

Harek speaks again. “We have togo.”

“One second.” I turn to my youngest sister. “What’s the matter?”

“I’ve been seeing things, Eira.”

My breath hitches. “What kind of things?”

She licks her lips and takes a deep breath. “Kind of like dreams when I’m awake.”

The shock on Brynja’s face matches my own. She grabs Runa’s arm. “Why haven’t you said anything before?”

I rest a gentle hand on Runa’s shoulder. “What did you see?”

She swallows. “A woman in the woods. Blood on the snow in the shape of wolf prints. A tower burning from the inside. Strange things like that. It’s hard to explain. They come in flashes, and then are gone just as fast.”

My skin prickles. “Did you tell anyone?”

---