Fire

Chapter Twenty Nine

Emil finally releases my arm when we get to his sister. As soon as we are in the door, he let's go of my arm and runs to his sister. I rub my arm absentmindedly as I walk over to Aurora.

"...Hún verður tekin af öflum næstu . Sveitir munu koma og stela Queen. Priestess Ember af Ahlstrom klan er Queen . The Wolf og Hliðvörður vilja stela Queen. Hún verður tekin af öflum næstu . Baðaður ís og ljós , sveitir munu koma . Sveitir munu koma og stela Queen..." ("...She will be taken by the forces coming. The forces will come and steal the Queen. Priestess Ember of the Ahlstrom clan is the Queen. The Wolf and Gatekeeper will steal the Queen. She will be taken by the forces coming. Bathed in ice and light, the forces will come. The forces will come and steal the Queen...") Aurora chants in Norse as she rocks herself back and forth, tears streaming down her face.

I can barely breathe when she talks about the Wolf and the Gatekeeper. They can't be coming here. I stumble away from her and crash into a serving tray behind me, making everything fall on the ground.

"Nei, nei, nei, nei, nei . Þeir geta ekki verið að koma hér. Þeir geta bara ekki . Þeir munu deyja," ("No, no, no, no, no. They can't be coming here. They just can't. They will die,") I say in Norse without realizing. "Segðu þeim að Aurora . Segðu þeim Little Flame segir nei." ("Tell them not to Aurora. Tell them Little Flame says no.") I say, again in Norse. The King, Emil, and Sebastian, who I didn't know had entered, looked at me funny. It dawned on me that they didn't know what I was saying. I also notice that Aurora finally stopped chanting and rocking herself. She sits up and stares, her entire attention focused on me.

"Þeir munu koma og taka þig." ("They will come and take you.")

"Ég veit. Þú þarft að segja þeim að ég segi að vera í burtu eða þeir vilja deyja . Segðu þeim að ég er fínn."("I know. You need to tell them I say to stay away or they will die. Tell them that I am fine.")

"Will you two just speak normally?! Please!" Emil yells. This makes Aurora jump and me glare at him. "Don't you glare at me, Ember. What was she saying? Tell me!"

"No," I say simply. He exhales angrily and begins to pace. The King and Sebastian step out of his way.

"Aurora only ever talks to the person involved about it, so she would only tell us if we were involved. She spoke your native tongue because it was meant for you. If something is happening I need to know!"

"No, you don't. It has nothing to do with you so there is nothing you need to know."

"Dammit woman!" He yells.

"You can damn me to Hel all you like, but I will not tell you."

Emil continues to pace as his anger continues to grow. I can hear him muttering to himself in the dragon language as he paces. Since I was so focused on watching Emil, I didn't notice that Aurora had gotten up and approached her brother. She places her hand on his arm to stop him and as a gesture of comfort.

"Brother, your bride will be fine. Her family is worried about her. That is all. There is no need to fret. Everything will be fine," she says calmly. He whips around to glare at me, his eyes beginning to glow red. Finally, his father steps in.

"Emil, come now. Aurora is fine and so is your bride. We have some things we need to go over before the night is over," the King says as he goes to lead his son away towards another room. Sebastian looks over at me after watching his father lead Emil out.

"That wasn't everything, was it?" he asks. I don't respond. Aurora walks up to me and stares at me with her intriguing eyes.

"I will tell them. I will help to keep them safe," she says before beginning to walk away.

"Aurora!" I say quickly. She turns around and waits for me to continue. "Try to contact Hliðvörður, she will understand. My family will listen to her, and the tribes will listen to my family," I say in a rush. I want to get it out as quickly as possible to I can get out of here. Aurora nods and walks to her room. I go to leave as well but Sebastian grabs my arm.

"I know what she said to you," he whispers. My head whips around to look at him accompanied by a gasp.

"How?! No one here speaks Norse! Aside from Aurora obviously."

"I don't know much, seeing as how it is mostly a dead language. However, I do speak Icelandic, which is similar to Norse. I picked up a few words. The Wolf and the Gatekeeper, and something about being taken by ice and light. You would care to elaborate about anything would you?" He says as his eyes search mine for a clue to what happened. I shake my head.

"My family is simply worried. There is nothing to fuss about. Why won't you people believe that?" I say exasperated.

"Because I also know what 'nei' and 'Þeir munu deyja' mean. I'm not stupid Ember. I can figure out what she told you. It won't be long before the king and Emil figure it out, so you better enjoy what little freedom you have left." And with that he releases my arm and walk away from me.