Rock, Paper, Shivers: Act Six and Seven (Bitter Ashes Book 4)
Page 10
“Just one dance!” he begged. “Let us celebrate while we still can.”
Underneath his revelry I could sense his sadness, though I could probably only feel it because the alcohol had weakened his emotional shields. It gave me pause, and I shook my head at Alaric, who'd been coming to rescue me. He stopped glared at Mikael, but didn't continue his approach.
Mikael pulled me close to him, and swung me in slow circles. Since he was eight inches taller than me, I had to crane my neck upward to look into his eyes. The same sadness that I'd sensed for him was there in their amber depths.
He broke eye contact and leaned his face down to my ear. “She knows, doesn't she?”
“Erykah?” I whispered back.
He nodded, sliding his hair across my cheek.
For a moment I debated telling him, then not seeing the harm I answered, “Yes.”
“You know you can't tell anyone,” he whispered, still crouched so we'd be cheek to cheek.
“She told me I couldn't,” I answered. “She said it wouldn't change anything.”
He nodded again. “She was always wise beyond her years.”
He pulled back and we both took in the people around us as we continued to dance half-heartedly.
“I came back when I heard what had happened,” he explained as he pulled me close, “but I was several weeks too late. Since then I have been there each time the key was used, waiting for my chance at revenge. When it was sealed away, I thought it was over, then one of my spies brought word that the other clans were looking for it once again.”
“You have spies among Estus' people?” I questioned.
He nodded. “Among Aislin's as well. I knew who you were before you even stepped foot in Norway.”
I laughed, despite the current mood of our conversation. “Of course you did. I'm sure you knew where the key was hidden all along as well?”
He let out a bitter laugh. “Just like many other things, the location of my chosen Salr was not mere happenstance.”
“And what about coming back here?” I pressed. “Was this all part of your master plan?”
He shrugged, and led me to dance in a more quiet part of the Salr. Alaric watched us like a hawk, ignoring the invitations he was receiving to dance.
“I had intended to come here on my own,” Mikael explained, “once I knew that the key might resurface. I wanted to speak with Erykah so that I would be prepared this time.”
“And when the key came to you, it just made things a little more convenient,” I finished for him. “How did you get the Norns to agree to this?”
A wicked smile crossed his face, reminding me of the less sad Mikael, hell-bent on becoming ruler. “When the Vaettir abandoned their old ways, they abandoned much of their magic, including the Norns. Under our new way of living, we were forbidden to shelter them.”
I rolled my eyes. “And you suck at following rules.”
He nodded. “The Salr were made for the Vaettir, and the Vaettir alone, but we can bring others there if we wish.”
“You found them a home,” I concluded, “and a trip back in time was your payment.”
He pulled away from me, and led me to a vacant bench to sit. “A payment that took me several hundred years to call in. I've been waiting a long time for this.”
Alaric finally took his cue to approach us as we looked out at the crowd. “You're sure we can't save them?” I asked, unable to let it go.
“I'm sure,” he said sadly as a group of young children ran in front of us, giggling as they shoved each other playfully.
I bit my lip, thinking of my own potential child. “How do you know?”
Mikael's eyes met mine just as Alaric reached us. “Because I've tried before. There are other magics that can alter time, and I tried to save them weeks after their deaths.”
Alaric watched Mikael warily as he helped me to stand, then leaned down and kissed my cheek. “We should get some rest.”
I nodded in reply, but felt unable to look away from the raw emotion in Mikael's gaze. Everyone he loved was about to die, a reality he'd already suffered twice, though I was sure he would suffer just as much the third time around.
It was all because of the little key around my neck. The key that chose that moment to buzz with energy against my skin, almost as if it wanted to remind me that it was there.
I felt the key's satisfaction as the thought that I would never forget its existence danced through my mind. Our existences had been woven into one string of fate. When that string broke, we would both unravel.
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