by Tom Hansen
Just have to make it outside.
She rounded the door, grateful it was open, and saw water.
All she had to do was make it out of the window and into the ocean and she would be back to new.
Behind her, a scuffle of boots and grunts reminded her that the men weren’t that far behind. Ynya tried to count them but there were too many.
Why am I counting, anyway? What do I hope to accomplish by counting feet?
It’s because feet mattered, and she knew that for a fact.
As she flew through the doorway, Ynya slapped the wooden door to close it behind her, but it hit something hard and bounced back, knocking her foot to the side just enough that it tripped up her gate.
See? I told you feet mattered.
Ynya stumbled into the bed and rolled. Her wild hands grabbed at anything she could hold, which was slightly sweaty bedding.
Wow, you are very sweaty! Ynya, the very sweaty girl. Now go wash up before dinner!
She hit the headboard with a solid thunk, finally able to draw in a partial breath to her burning lungs.
The room wavered and swam before her. She probably looked like that poor guard she’d just kicked.
Poor man with so many booboos!
What is wrong with me?
Her head wasn’t thinking straight.
Somewhere, deep in the recesses of her mind, she was aware that she had overheated, and the lack of air to her body was making her go slowly insane.
Yes, all the booboos!
Ynya tried to get up, but she was trapped. She felt something soft around her, but couldn’t quite figure out what it was.
“Haul her down to interrogation before the family gets back.”
Shadows loomed over her. Ynya tried to kick but each movement was like swimming through a vast, hot ocean.
One of the shapes spoke, but she didn’t know if it speaking to her or the others.
It was so pretty, like an angel above her.
Ynya tried to reach out to touch the angel but her hand wouldn’t move.
Everything was all right though, because she slipped deeper into the shadow as the angels moved above her.
Chapter Seventeen
Ynya slept for a long time, while visions of black birds, dragons, and her mother swam in her head.
She remembered being moved. Was it by the angels? No, it was the guards. She knew that now. She’d overheated and hallucinated some things. It was all too much for her. Her body had done what it needed to keep her alive.
No time.
“I’m sorry, Mama. I’m sorry I keep making mistakes.”
Time, Ynya. No time.
“I’m sorry I haven’t found Synol yet. I’m sorry I refused to see her get married.”
“Who’s Synol?”
Ynya wasn’t talking to her mother, nor was she talking to her angels. She was talking to one of the guards.
It was the book guard, the first one. Behind him was gut punch guard.
She didn’t see the other one. She did feel bad about what she’d done to him.
Still deserved it.
“Are you talking about Mrs. Torkelsen?”
She shook her head. “Water.”
“Not till you answer my questions.”
“Water.” It was a struggle to say anything at all, with how dehydrated she was.
Her eyes burned, despite the room barely having any light at all. She was soaked through with sweat from being wrapped in the blankets.
Ynya still felt the lingering effects of the punch to her stomach, and the overheating.
She was severely dehydrated. Her body must have done all it could to shed heat, and barring her breath, which she realized now just how important breathing hard was to maintain her elevated body temperature, she’d sweat profusely.
It also explained why she’d gotten so delirious there at the end.
Ynya was tied to a chair. The bonds cut into her skin, probably the men’s anger from having to work extra hard that day. It was fine. She probably deserved it for kicking and punching them, but she needed to get out of here. She needed to escape.
“Water, then talk.” She managed to squeak out.
The guard growled. “Get her some water.”
The other guard grabbed a skin from a dark corner and shoved it in her mouth.
Ynya guzzled water, draining the entire skin, or at least the amount that didn’t pour down her chest.
I’m like a dog. Guzzling water that splashes everywhere and panting to stay cool.
She licked her lips to get every last drop into her mouth. “Get me more, but we can start talking now.”
Ynya needed more to properly cool off and get enough energy to break her bonds.
The first guard grabbed another chair, flipped it backwards and sat down, his legs splayed out behind the back.
Maybe he did that to protect himself after what she did to the last guard.
She smiled.
“Think you’re so funny, huh? Sneaking in here looking like a maid. What were you here to steal, huh?”
The fire raged within her once again. “I’m not here to steal anything, you witless oaf. Did I take anything? What about all those jewels displayed in the bedroom? Did I take any of those? Or did you notice the others using the bedroom for other things?”
She was spitting at the man by the end of her tirade.
Calm down, Ynya. Smoke, not fire.
Ynya took a long breath, closing her eyes in the process. She needed to relax. Using up valuable energy on this moron wasn’t going to help anything.
Smoke.
“I’m here looking for my sister.”
The guards glanced at each other. “Your sister? Is she a maid here?”
Once again, the stupid questions itched at the back of her head, begging to get unleashed back at him, but she shoved them back down.
Smoke, not fire.
She couldn’t help it. She was tired of dealing with idiots and snapped at the man.
“Do you see my hair? Do you see what color it is? Is there anyone else in this household that looks like me? Maybe a couple years older than me? Maybe she just showed up to this house a couple months ago? Got married? Is any of this making it through your thick skull?”
All right, maybe just a little fire.
The man got a stricken expression on his face and whirled around to glance at his partner, who stood in the shadow, frowning.
“How do we know you’re not lying. Hair can be dyed. Or maybe you’re a siren from the depths here to lure us away. You did try to seduce Jan after all.”
After another long, calming breath, Ynya addressed the guard in the back. She dug through her memories to remember all the details she’d seen on the marriage certificate, plus the rumors of the recent marriage she’d heard from the shopkeepers.
“My name is Ynya Oblit. I hail from Kropprfjell to the southeast. My sister married your master, Stefan Torkelsen. At the time of the marriage, which was two months ago on the full moon, I was unable to make it here, but I travelled all this way to see my sister. She told me to just come in and the staff would treat me like royalty. I can see clearly that you do not, in fact, treat anyone with the station they have, but rather accuse us of misdeeds and tie us up like common criminals!”
A different kind of fire burned just behind her eyes this time. It was a cool fire, something she felt when she lied to her sisters about how safe the jump was going to be, or trying to convince Synol not to tell Mama about her latest antics.
It wasn’t a fire she was able to control, but it came in handy, and she was glad it reared its head this time.
“Go ahead, check my story. Shopkeepers will remember I came into town a couple days ago asking about my sister. Check my hair against any she left behind on a hairbrush. You will see they match.”
The two guards stared at one another for a moment, seemingly trying to come up with a solution to this mess. The one in the shadow cocked his head to one side, motioning
the other guard to get up.
They left the room.
“Hey! Don’t forget I need more water!”
Chapter Eighteen
They left her alone for a while.
Unfortunately, without more food or water, Ynya didn’t have enough energy to burn through the ropes.
Even if she did, she worried would catch the rug she sat on or set the wooden chair on fire.
And that would just burn down Synol’s new home.
The place crawled with staff at the moment. Dozens of voices shouted in the distance. Doors opened and closed. The clomp of boots ran up and down the hallway. Something was clearly going on outside her little room.
Even if she escaped, Ynya might be able to take out a maid or two, but any guards with even the remotest amount of training would just capture her again. And she didn’t think they would restrain their angry blows this time.
The best thing for her to do was wait, bide her time, and hope they brought her enough food to regain her energy.
With enough energy, anything was possible.
The door slammed open, and the two guards filled the doorway.
“Did you bring water?”
The one in the back scoffed. “You had enough water.”
Worry crept up her spine but she ignored it. Ynya would figure out something. The staff had to leave at some point, go home their own lives, and once it was down to just her and one or two other guards, then she could always burn the whole house down and use the fire to escape.
“Fine. If that is how you are going to play it, then my sister will be hearing about the way you have treated me, and you, both of you, won’t have your jobs in the morning. Enjoy them while you can.”
“Oh, don’t you worry about Miss. We’ve contacted the Queen’s royal soldiers. They were quite interested in meeting you. They are sending over their top interrogators to personally escort you to Reyoarfjell.
Ynya’s blood froze right in her veins at the mention of the location.
She swallowed. “You mean the Skarmyord?”
The guard got a big grin on his face. “I see you know about them. They are going to love you.”
Ynya willed her fear back down.
Her heat rose once again, burning off precious energy. Energy she might need to burn down this house soon.
One of the guards kneeled down before her, sticking his face close to hers.
“They’re giving out nice rewards to anyone who turns over someone like you. We don’t need to have these jobs anymore with as much as they will give us to hand you over to them.”
Her mind raced, but she tried to keep a level head and a serene face on the outside.
The other guard picked a knife up from his scabbard and tossed it into the air, catching it with his gloved hand. “Since you know about the Skarmyord, you know how deadly they are, right?”
“Oh yeah,” the kneeling guard replied, “they’re legendary around here. Trained from birth.”
“Imbued with magic.”
“Helps guide all their attacks.”
“They don’t miss. Even inches from death, in massive pain, they never miss.”
“Oh, and don’t get us started on how they get information from people.”
“You will tell them everything.”
“Everything.”
“They know how to hurt you in such a way that you will never die, but the pain will be so intense that you will wish you were dead.”
“Imagine how bad it’s going to be.”
“Stop!” Ynya screamed, her mind racing faster than she could process. “Stop talking, alright? You got your point across!”
The first guard stood up, a wry smile on his face. “I think she understands, don’t you?”
“Oh yeah.”
“But first, we have a little payback in store for you, in honor of our buddy Jan. He told us to make you sing all high pitched like he is now.”
The guard balled up his fist and punched her in the gut.
The pain lanced through her stomach, knocking the wind out of her once again.
“No! Please!” Ynya tried to talk, but the words came out as breathless whispers.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear that, you’re going to have to speak up if you want us to listen to you.”
He reared back and punched her in the jaw, knocking her head backward with a snap.
The door burst open, startling the guards.
Ynya tried to open her eyes but they were filled with tears, unable to see. Her ears rung from the blow, but the voice from the doorway was unmistakable.
“Get away from my sister!”
A lithe form with red hair rushed through the room and stopped in front of Ynya. “What have they done to you?”
Synol whirled around at the stunned guards. “I said leave her alone! Get out of here and never come back! You are both fired and if you do not leave this house this instant I will have you both arrested for assaulting a maiden.”
The guards hesitated for a second, looking at each other, then they looked to the door where a man stood. He was a few years older than Ynya, with long black hair pulled to a ponytail. He wore the fanciest clothes she’d ever see on a man, almost like a dress for a lady. He nodded to the guards.
“You heard my wife. You are done here. Get out of here before I remember your names.”
Both guards rushed from the room.
Synol turned back to Ynya, cupping her face in her hands.
Heat from the blow still pulsed in Ynya’s face, but her sisters’ hands felt so cool on her burning skin.
“Hoy, Syni. Can I get some water?”
Chapter Nineteen
“Can we get her some food and water?”
Synol undid Ynya’s ties, allowing the ropes to drop to the floor.
“Of course, my love.”
Stefan leaned out of the doorway to bark orders at the staff.
“Are you hurt?” Synol’s voice sounded much like Mama’s as she looked over Ynya’s body for injury.
Ynya smiled. “Nothing worse than I’ve gotten in the past. Remember when I fell down that crevasse?”
Synol drew her lips to a line and her eyes went wide with alarm.
Her eyes bored into Ynya’s for a fierce second before relaxing. “My husband will be bringing food and water. For now we need to get you cleaned up.”
Ynya thought she knew what Synol was so worried about. Can’t let anyone know you have magic. It was the same thing Ynya had to do all growing up whenever someone not from the town was around.
Like it was some family secret or something.
A shudder went down Ynya’s spine at the thought. It was a secret, and it leaking might have gotten her family killed.
The weight of her quest slammed into her, and whatever smart retort Ynya was about to say disappeared into the black haze as she realized just what her Mama had meant all these years.
She’d been too young to understand. It was critical that she keep her magic hidden. Now it was quite clear. Now it was too late.
It was too late for anyone now. The secret was out and her family was dead.
It was all her fault.
Ynya burst into tears and slumped onto Synol’s shoulder.
Just like her Mama before her, Synol took Ynya in her arms and rubbed her back.
“I’m here now, Ynya. I’m here.”
They stayed locked like that for a long time. Each in her sister’s arms like they should be. All the fighting and bickering from the past and they were here for each other now.
The food arrived, and Synol broke. She stood and smoothed down her dress. The prim and proper Synol was back. Ynya needed the other Synol.
“Synol, we need to talk. It’s about Mama and Papa.”
“Get this girl some food.” Stefan pointed to the floor in front of Ynya.
Ynya locked eyes with her sister, pleading with her to get rid of the extra people so the two could talk. Food could wait.
“Come, eat.” Ste
fan picked up a pickled egg and tried to hand it to her.
“I need to talk to my sister. Something has happened.”
Stefan’s expression changed in a heartbeat. He dropped the egg back to the platter and stood, taking Synol in his arms with his hands around her midsection.
Slowly, his hands worked their way around her hips, dipping low on her abdomen before resting under her stomach.
Synol tensed at the motion, like she wasn’t entirely comfortable that a man had his hands placed this low on her body.
Ynya felt the heat rising once again in her head. She didn’t care if she was smoke or fire anymore.
“I’m afraid that any discussion around Sarah will need to remain…clean, shall we say. As you can probably tell from the glow she now has, she is with child and we must think of the health of the baby above all else.” His voice had an edge to it that Ynya had heard many times from her mother when it was clear she didn’t want to talk about something.
Ynya remembered the staff talking about Synol’s pregnancy earlier, but her sister barely looked pregnant at all, her stomach just barely sticking out. She must not be very far along.
He craned his neck over to kiss her on the cheek. The action seemed to calm Synol a bit. Her face muscles relaxed and she returned a small smile. She even placed one of her hands over one of his.
Watching the two hold each other like that made a shiver travel up Ynya’s spine.
“Besides, Sarah’s family is perfectly safe back in Kropprfjell, aren’t they, my love?”
Synol nodded, a mechanical, hollow motion meant to convey exactly what she was required to, and nothing more.
Ynya finally understood why Synol was going by Sarah. She was hiding in plain sight.
The red hair was unheard of this far north, and with the recent decree by the Frost Queen, they probably decided to use this marriage as a way for her to change her name and place of birth in order to hide her true identity.
The marriage to this wealthy merchant family suddenly made more sense to Ynya. What better family to hide you than one with the resources to whisk you away to safety should the Frost Queen come around looking?