Bonded by Mande Matthews

Bonded by Mande Matthews

Author:Mande Matthews
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mythology, Magic, Adventure
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Published: 2011-12-13T00:00:00+00:00


Chapter 28

"She refuses my request?"

"I told you." Olrun sat cross-legged on the ground. She looked like a giant ship knot as she chewed on a string of smoked deer meat. "Godhi’s son. Guardian. The Goddess incarnate. No one demands an audience from Serpent Mother."

Olrun sprang from her spot, fumbling to untangle her legs as Swan appeared behind her.

"Sweet Freyja woman! Do you practice sneaking up on people or does it come naturally?" The drengmaer’s face smoldered out of jealousy, or admiration—Hallad couldn’t decide which.

Swan swept up next to Hallad, brushing against his shoulder. Since Thyre’s death, she’d remained by his side, even at the pyre. They had watched in silent companionship while his mother burned, Thyre’s flesh released to the gods. Though he had braved a stoic appearance for the others, he could not hide his suffering from his sister. They shared the pain through the connection between them. He knew Swan understood. Not only had she lost her own mother, their mother, but the realization of Thyre’s final words drove home the fact they’d both released their father to the lands of the gods as well. Grief gripped each of them with the knowledge that they would never see Avarr again.

Rota crouched by a giant oak bouncing up and down on her mighty thighs, the muscles beneath flexing with every spring.

"When will she call for us?" Hallad addressed Rota, but as usual, she ignored him.

"How should we know the mind of Serpent Mother?" replied Olrun.

Hallad stretched his overworked muscles. The women had drilled the twins the last few days in training. Though he admired their skill and was learning new proficiencies, he couldn’t help but think they wasted time. Emma’s time.

He settled away from the others, pulling the medallion out of his pocket. Runes displayed across the face of the gold piece but as if coaxed from within, rather than carved from without. The man who had given him the medallion had disappeared so mysteriously that even the drengmaers' hunting party failed to find him.

Hallad closed his hand around the metal. He thought it hummed against his palm. He flexed his hand and peered at the peculiar piece, spotting the runes once more. He didn’t recognize them—an oddity, because as the son of a noble he had been taught all the known runes of the Scandians.

He realized the medallion would lead him to Emma, but how? If he knew where to go, he would leave tonight. Weigh all sides before making a decision, his father had repeated over the years. But waiting grew unbearable. Slow. Arduous. Ineffective. His bones itched to take flight; to run, to find Emma and fulfill the promise he’d given to Thyre. But his heart broke in two—he had also sworn an oath to his father to protect Swan with life and limb.

Swan rested by her bedroll, seeing him without looking—the way he saw her—by feeling, not by eyesight. He crossed to his sleep sack, climbed inside and laid down to stare at the banked embers in the fire pit.



Download



Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.