Page 94 of The Outcast
We watched her turn and hurry back into the building. Indiana and Thor were quick to follow, but she held up a hand. “Stay here. I need to do this alone.”
It took thirteen long minutes of Thor pacing back and forth before Freya returned. Looking straight at me with a triumphant smile, she said, “Victor agreed to dedicate his time today to securing your answer. He’s confident that he can get you a guarantee before we land in the Northlands.”
“What happened between you two? Why couldn’t we be there?” Thor grumped.
“Because I didn’t want any distractions. I challenged him to a round of speed chess, and I won.”
We all congratulated Freya, except for Thor. “Dad told you not to play mind games. Why can’t you just stick to the rules?”
With a stubborn expression, she faced him. “The first rule of negotiation is to think outside the box. We got what we came for and I’m more than happy to tell Dad that it was your negotiation skills that secured the positive outcome.”
“Does this mean that I won’t have to ask Jonah about the technology?” Aubri asked.
Freya began walking. “I’m afraid not. You and I still have to work on Jonah and Shelly, but at least we won’t have to deliver results before Banni can get his guarantee.”
“But if we got what we came for, why not just tell Victor that we tried and failed?”
Freya gave Aubri a pointed stare. “Because we have honor and integrity, and because helping animals in Europe from going extinct is a noble cause.”
My feet felt like they barely touched the ground as we walked through the city with me smiling wide to everyone I met. Part of me wanted to shout to them about how much they were missing out on by not loving each other the way they did in the Northlands. But I was smart enough to understand that unless you experienced true love for yourself, you would never fully understand how it changed you as a person.
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CHAPTER 31
Sweet Tidings
Sparrow
Linea’s hands moved over my body without ever touching. “Relax, Sparrow, you’re so wound up that you’re blocking the healing energy.”
“I’m trying, but all I can think about is Banni and our future. What if the French keep him there and I never see him again?
“You will.”
I groaned. “How can you be so calm? Don’t you understand how important this is to me?
“I’m calm because I understand that if it’s meant to be it will happen. If it doesn’t happen, you should consider yourself protected from a bad outcome.”
I raised my head and stared at her. “Protected by whom?”
The light from the lamp next to her made Linea’s red hair shine with a golden hue. “By whatever greater power exists.”
“Linea, can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“How come you’re not a priestess like your mother? You work together and you do all this energy work like her, so why not be a priestess?”
“Hmm…” She pulled her hands back and looked out the window. “It was always my biggest dream, but unfortunately, I wasn’t selected.”
“Why not?”
“Because in order to become a priestess you can’t have much of an ego. I’m working hard on controlling mine, but it still sabotages me at times. It’s the Northlander part of me, I suppose.”
“Everyone has an ego.”
“Of course. It’s what makes us human, but priestesses must dedicate themselves to work for others and give up personal satisfaction for the greater good. I was crushed when I turned fifteen and my mom told me she couldn’t see me working as a priestess. She still taught me many things, but she has now chosen another to be her apprentice.”
