"Astri, I think you should eat something. You barely had anything yesterday or the day before." Aria tells me for the fourth time today. I continue polishing my hunting knife, politely ignoring her and she knows it. Getting a bit of food in my stomach isn’t a bad idea, but for some reason I have no appetite. We’ve been stuck in the old mill for days now without any kind of solid plan. Day after day has passed and I’ve lost my inner strength, lost faith that there’s some good left in this world. Even my Pixies aren't happy. Jetli’s only just woken up from her coma, and yet again, everything’s falling apart. The fact is Jorgen hates me, and no one really knows what his brother’s planning to do to him.
Everything’s still one giant mystery.
"Astri, you have to eat. I know that I’m nagging, but you need your energy," Edvard backs his daughter up and I finally raise my eyes to look at the both of them. Seconds later, Jetli shoots through the window rolling over the table a few times, before landing on her butt. When she finally stops, she looks flustered and excited. She’s franticly pointing and gesturing outside the window, flying up and down the room. Most of the time I can guess what she means, but right now I have no idea what she’s saying.
"I'm sorry Jetli, but I don't understand. Where’s Lenin?" I ask. Jetli makes a frustrating sound, then flies over to my arm, still pointing at the window. "And Edvard, I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me. Besides, we aren’t planning anything, right? There isn't anyone who can help us."
I might sound negative, but unfortunately this is the truth of the matter. Other shifters aren't interested in rebelling against Ruscal. They’re scared, and I'm not surprised. Since he’s taken over the city, a lot of people have lost their lives.
Edvard opens his mouth most likely to disagree with me, but a second later Lenin darts through the window too, landing straight on my chest.
I manage too cup him in my hands, worried that he might be hurt. When he starts cursing, I know that he's all right. Jetli flies over and starts shaking him, and keeps pointing at me. She's really going off, and even though she’s mute she can be scary at times.
"All right, all right. I'm telling her now, just stop hitting me," he tells his sister, trying to get away from her. "Astri, we have information about Emilia. We spoke to the fairy in the forest, she was alone … and a bit annoying, but told us that Ruscal sold Emilia to the trolls. They’re planning to transport her tonight to Hommis knows where!"
I stand up and my heart jolts in my chest. Finally, Lenin and Jetli manage to find some real information about my ex-boss’s whereabouts. I have no idea what happened to her, and no one in the city has seen her either. We arrived in Rivenna thinking that nothing had changed, until it did. Ruscal had taken control of the castle and executed many shifters on the spot. He imprisoned his own father and brother just so he could claim his so-called “birth right” to a land that never lawfully belonged to him. He was taken away from his mother at birth, and for years Jorgen had no idea that he even had a brother. Apparently, he found out when he was an adult.
We’ve been stuck in the old mill since Jorgen was captured and Edvard saved my skin.
"Trolls? Are you sure?" I ask, injected with new energy.
Edvard shifts his weight to the side, and Aria moves closer to be able to listen to what Lenin has to say.
Ruscal has people everywhere, so our movements around the city have been limited. After some deliberation, we decided to stay in the human populated area, knowing that it's safer there. The old mill had been abandoned for years, so it was the perfect place for a hideout.
It's been hard going for me, because the man I thought I knew turned against me. Jorgen refused my help, and denied our love. We mated, and yet when I when I went to save him, he wanted to stay in the cell, rather than spend a minute in my company. That freaking hurt.
"Yes, yes, the fairy didn't want to talk to us at first, so I had to persuade her with my magic. Later on, she said that Ruscal used his wizard to disable Emilia. Apparently, he showed up in the city out of the blue. Soon after, he sold her to the trolls in the mountains. They want to send her away to the labour camp tonight," Lenin explains, and Jetli nods, looking worried.
This is bad news, bad, bad news and I know instantly that I have to find a way to free her. Emilia has always been like a mother to me, and she has the biggest heart of anyone I know. Besides, trolls are dangerous and I have no idea what they might have done to her.
"In that case, we must free her or we won't stand a chance in a fight against Ruscal," I say, with fresh determination in my voice. Edvard nods, and Aria starts clapping her hands, looking very excited.
"That's my girl. It looks like we have our Astri back. We really thought that we had lost you," Edvard says and I suddenly feel a little embarrassed.
Lately I’ve been inactive and uncooperative. Jorgen's disappointment kind of broke me. I don’t remember how I managed to return from the underground prison. That day is still very blurry. My invisibility spell worked, but my heart was in pieces. I love him, and I made a terrible mistake. I should have told him from the start about all that I've done. Maybe then, he would’ve understood.
When I stood right in front of his cell, he didn't even want to listen to me. My reasons didn't matter to him any longer.
"She’s that nice witch who helped you when you were young, right?" Aria asks, and I nod.
"Yes, we’ve always been close. She hired me when I had no experience. I’ve been so worried about her. Trolls are nasty and dangerous creatures. They might be small, but one of them wanted to cut off my fingers once," I explain, taking a few deep breaths and trying to stay calm, but energy begins surging through my veins. I remember that day in the cave, when I was searching for protective crystals. The General, leader of the trolls, must be the one who’s holding Emilia captive, and he's a nasty piece of work.
Moments later, we discuss our options, while Lenin keeps swinging his tiny stick that he calls a sword, shouting that he's going to castrate Ruscal. No one in the city knows Edvard and Aria are also from the Wyvern Clan of dragons, which means that they can move around without any suspicion. The streets are filled with Ruscal's people and wild shifters. From what Aria has heard, humans are afraid of what the future might bring, so they’re all keeping their heads down. On the other hand, shifters and mages have accepted the new order, but most of them must realise that Ruscal’s never going to be true ruler of Rivenna. He's a coward.
After our intense discussion, I grab some leftover turkey and force myself to eat. We weren't planning to stay in the old mill for long, but after my failed rescue mission, we didn't have a chance to find another safe location. I wanted to believe that it was the last place where Ruscal would look for me, so we settled in here. The whole square is being controlled by wild shifters and the mages who support the new order.
In the beginning, I wanted to free Jorgen, so I took a risk. Using my invisibility spell, I went inside the castle, then down to the underground. I finally located him, but when he looked at me in the darkness with pain and despair my heart shattered into a million pieces. He had every right to be furious, but this was worse than I expected. Jorgen didn't even want to listen to what I had to say. He kept telling me to leave him alone. I regret that I didn't react when Bratlav took away his beast, but that didn't change the fact that he promised to be with me for better or worse.
