A day later, the Fri ship was loaded and manned. The crew consisted mainly of fishermen who were glad for the opportunity to foul Wolf plans. Ida and Una had quite an audience when they walked along the pier. Una waved playfully, and Ida rolled her eyes.

“Oh go on, wave to our adoring fans.”

“You mean all the people you left dissatisfied?”, Ida quipped.

“Ouch.”

Theodorus laughed heartedly. “I already miss you guys.”

“Aw. You are growing soft, how cute. Do not worry. We will be back soon enough, and with troops at our back”, Una grinned.

“Be careful”, Tone urged them.

“Of course, Father.”

Sylvia held out a letter to Una. “This is for Aulikki LiljaKnut. I need not tell you how important this message is. It has the best chances of arriving in good time if you take it with you to Guldhamn and send it north with a ferryman on the Ader.”

“Consider it done”, Una nodded.

Hugging Ida, Sylvia whispered into her ear. She pulled back and met Ida’s eyes. Ida nodded. Sylvia patted her on the arm and left.

“Be well. We will await you at Holms Fäste”, Oskar finalised the goodbyes. He looked up and noticed Sylvia glancing over her shoulder. Keeping his expression carefully blank, Oskar turned his attention back to the ship.

Sylvia hurried past the inn and met Afi at the stables. Natta and Rise stood saddled and ready. Leading their horses, they passed the wickets between the districts until they reached the outer defences. One of the Nordborg soldiers pulled the metal bars out of the way and let them out. Mounting Natta, Sylvia exhaled audibly. She heard the bars being pushed back into place behind them and looked out over the landscape of abandoned arable.

“Are you sure about this?”, Afi asked.

“No”, Sylvia admitted. “But it is the best I have got.”

She gave a loud ‘Pah’, and Natta sprung into gallop.

“Guldhamn in sight!”

“Finally!”, Una exclaimed. “I cannot wait to get off this ship and eat something other than fish and porridge. Disgusting. I am gonna go to the market and get some saffron tea and a sweet roll. Or maybe I will just ask Guld for some. I bet he has some saffron to spare.”

“Sister.”

Una sat up and looked over at her sister.

Ida was sitting by the table, her back perfectly straight and a nearly empty mug of sweetened wine in her hand. “The letter Sylvia gave you. Give it to me.”

Slipping out of the hammock, Una opened her bag and found it. She walked over and sat on the edge of the table. She held the letter out. When Ida reached for it, she pulled her arm back, keeping the letter out of reach.

“Una!”

“Why do you want the letter?”

“I will make sure it is delivered”, Ida said.

“Do not lie to me”, Una demanded.

Ida finally looked up.

Una frowned when their eyes met. She scooted closer and placed a hand on Ida’s cheek. “Why are you scared?”

Ida sighed deeply and turned away. She finished the wine and pushed the mug away from her. It slid into the middle of the table and toppled over.

“You are going to have to practice that some more if you want to impress in Storhjärd”, Una teased.

“I doubt I will”, Ida mumbled.

“Sister. What is going on?”, Una insisted.

Ida forced herself to look back up. “There is something you need to understand. I am not going to come home with you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I will get you Guld’s army, ships, siege, all of it, but you will have to lead them to Holms Fäste on your own. I will deliver the letter. You should spend your time preparing. You should leave again as soon as humanly possible. Make sure to meet up with Oskar in time.”

“What are you on about? Of course you are coming with me”, Una chuckled.

“Do not fight me on this. I will be fine. Just do what I say.”

“Why should I? No way. I am not leaving you here.”

“Sister, please!”, Ida exclaimed.

Taken aback, Una frowned deeply.

“This is something I need to do. My place is here from now on. You need to do your part. Go to Holms Fäste and help Father. Help Oskar and Yri. Everyone is relying on you. Please, do not hesitate now. Remember your training.”

“I remember it. But—”

“Then please do not force me to give an order. I have never given you one and I do not want to start now. Do not force me to part from you with such a burden on my chest.”

Una averted her gaze. She handed the letter over.

“I am sorry”, Ida whispered.

Una shook her head. She forced a smile onto her face. “Just promise to enjoy all the riches of Guldhamn. I will not be able to, so you will have to enjoy it for the both of us.”

“I will try.”

“You had better”, Una teased. She stood and stretched. “Let us go see this bejewelled lapdog of yours.”

Ida huffed a laugh. “You are a marvel, you know that?”

“What do you mean?”

“The way you deal with things. Nothing gets you down. I wish I was a little more like you.”

“No. You do not want that”, Una stated.

Ida hugged her tightly. “I am going to miss you.”

Stroking a hand through Ida’s hair, Una mumbled a little affirmation.

They packed up and headed up on deck in time to watch the ship dock. It was interesting to see the large wooden construct manoeuvre to the pier with centimetre precision. Thick ropes were thrown and fastened to balusters, and finally the walkway was put into place.

“Wait here”, Ida instructed.

“As you wish, My Lady”, Una teased.

“How do I look?”, Ida worried.

“Like always”, Una mocked.

Ida rolled here eyes.

Una squeezed her arm a little and then shooed her away.

Leaving the ship, Ida held her head high. At the end of the pier, Linus and Edward stood waiting. Linus bowed his head lightly and Ida did the same. When they met each other’s eyes, both smiled. The cheerful expression fell from Linus’s face a split second later. He came up to Ida and reached for her face. He hesitated, but when Ida merely kept smiling, he placed his hand on her skin and felt over the scar on her cheek.

“It is just a scratch.”

“I am happy to see you”, Linus said softly.

“I am afraid I am not here for a friendly visit. I am here for business”, Ida stated.

Taking a respectful step back, Linus nodded. “Of course. Let us speak over dinner.”

“We do not have the time for that. I have come to request your aid.”

“Because of the ambush?”, Linus wondered.

“Yes. Holms Fäste has been taken by Wolves and we are weakened. The King of Sev and Yri Fri ask your assistance to take the city back.”

“What do you need?”, Linus asked.

“Soldiers and provisions, and siege, as much as you can spare. The entire force needs to move to Holmen within the week. That will require ships.”

Linus stood silent for a long moment. He came closer again and bargained, “If you marry me, my army will be yours and you can order this.”

Seeing the disappointment on Ida’s face, he placed a hand on her arm to comfort. “Sorry. I did not mean any disrespect. I—”

Ida waved a hand to silence him. She firmed her voice. “What if I say no? Will you really let me leave here without any aid, any protection?”

“Ida, I do not wish to lock you in, but I do wish to keep you out of harms way. Please, I beg of you, stay here with me where it is safe, until the Crown rises anew. I shall give all the aid I can afford, but what am I to do if you fall in battle? Do not break my heart, Ida. Stay with me.”

Ida nodded in agreement. “I am going to stay, not as a prise, but as your betrothed. My sister will lead your army as her own.”

“Of course”, Linus agreed. Turning to the nearest guard, he prompted, “Mobilise the army.”

The man bowed and hurried off at once.

“Guld”, Edward interjected. “May I ask our guest a question?”

“Certainly.”

Stepping forward, Edward bowed to Ida. “You said Yri Fri is headed for Holms Fäste. I heard Yri died in the ambush.”

Ida shook her head.

“Kaija”, Edward concluded.

“Yes.”

Turning to Linus, Edward straightened his back. “Guld, please, I ask that you let me go to Holms Fäste with the army.”

“Very well. You will be Una’s shield instead of mine”, Linus agreed.

Intertwining her fingers with his, Ida captured his attention anew. “Linus”, she said softly. “You do know that I would have returned, right?”

“I know you would have tried”, Linus responded. Leaning in, he hesitated. “Are you angry with me, Ida? Did I disrespect you?”

“Yes.” Ida leaned in and kissed him. “I told you that I do not follow tradition. You are not merely a man to me. Do not treat me as merely a woman.”

Smiling, Linus pulled her into a tight hug. “Never.”

Sylvia and Afi made it all the way to Nyberg without running into any Wolves. Prioritising speed above all else, they did ride along many roads, but all of them were unsettlingly empty. When they reached Nyberg, they avoided the village altogether and made camp under the protection of the silverwood tree.

“I will look for food. Get started in the meantime. We do not have a lot of time”, Afi prompted.

“I might as well”, Sylvia agreed. “There should still be something growing on the farm. We planted perennials. Do you remember the way?”

“I think so”, Afi nodded. He took a bag and strode off toward Sylvia's childhood home.

Sylvia took her shoes off and felt the dry mossy ground under her feet. If this continued much longer, even the hardiest moss would witter away. Sighing, she turned to the silverwood tree and bowed her head. “Thank you for having us.” Her eyes flickered to the roots covering Rebecca's skull. “And for protecting her”, she added.

Picking the next best boulder of blackstone, she took out the whisperwood knife and got to work. Channelling her intent, she sliced into the stone. Creating a deep score was easy enough, but she had to get crafty to reach deeper into the stone. Taking a stick, she held it in hand together with the knife and jammed it further into the boulder. Channelling through the stick, she cut ever deeper. A clawing sensation in her chest discouraged her, but she could see the end, and it was not like she had used much magic yet. She walked around the boulder and came at it from the other end. She urged the knife and stick along the edge and the slice of blackstone thumped to the ground. She threw the stick away and lay the whispered knife down, but the clawing in her chest did not stop.

Bewildered, Sylvia held a hand over her chest. Fear gripped her, squeezing her soul. She was no longer applying any strain. Why did the clawing not stop? Suddenly dizzy, she leaned against the boulder and gasped for breath. She clenched her teeth while that claw from within broke though her ribcage and skin. Then it was over. Sylvia let her head fall.

Pushing a hand under her clothes, she rubbed over her chest. Since this had clearly been a soul related ache, she expected to find nothing but skin. To her horror, she felt a small object caught in the cloth of her tunic. Pulling it out, she stared at it wide eyed. A brown shard of crystal lay in her hand. It was no larger than a fly. She pushed her hand back under her tunic and pressed the shard against her chest, but it did not return to her.

She looked at it again, turned it this way and that between her fingers. She held it against the light and saw a liquid swaying within it. Frowning, she pulled out the god and held it up beside the shard. The liquid inside it behaved much the same way, swirling in agitation. Sylvia stared at the two crystals. The liquids began striving toward each other, climbing up in their containers to come as close as possible to one another.

“I found some bitterleaf”, Afi said.

Sylvia wrapped her hand around the crystals and hid them in her pocket. She looked up at Afi with a smile.

“It is growing like weeds on the farm now. I got a few roots too.” Noticing the cut stone, Afi whistled. “You are really getting good at this whole magic thing.”

“I wanted to make sure that I get the shield ready in time”, Sylvia said.

Afi eyed the thumb thick slice of blackstone. “I doubt I can carry that.”

“I will thin it out. It just has to be fire proof is all. It will still be heavy, but I think it will be manageable.”

Nodding, Afi sat down and stoked the fire.

Sylvia exhaled hard. She glanced down at the crystals in her hand and saw that the brown one had disappeared. A swirl of brown was inside the god now, mingling with the yellow. The mix of liquids was pushing to one side with a ferocity that made Sylvia shiver. Letting the god guide her, Sylvia walked to the silverwood tree and crouched down. Realising just what the god was striving toward, she eased the roots aside and placed the god down on Rebecca's skull. The liquid calmed down at once, stilling, and finally appearing almost solid.

“Rest here then. Take care of her for me”, Sylvia whispered a final prayer.

“Are you okay?”

Sylvia pulled the roots back in place and turned around. She nodded and smiled. “Just fine. Why?”

Afi met her eyes and swallowed hard. “No reason. Are you hungry?”

“Very.”