Raven Girl

Chapter 35

Gylfi couldn't get his shackles off. He pulled and twisted and tried to find something to use to pick the lock – but to no avail. He thought of Sven. He thought of Regina. He thought of his impending doom. On the second day he slammed his shackles into the door so hard he felt his hands stinging.

"Let – me – out," he growled.

"No. We are under orders, sir," a guard replied.

Gylfi sat on the floor and glared at the door. He hated this door. It was taunting him. It mocked him with its spiralling grains of wood. Was it mahogany? Oak? Pine? He wondered how long it'd be before he went completely crazy and started talking to the walls. If I pretend to be a complete madman, one of them might come in to see if I need a doctor. Then I could strangle him with my shackles.

Then he'd get shot. No, it wasn't worth it.

"Hey, you know you should really be treating me better," he said. "I'm the best pirate in Jötunheim. And I'm your president's daughter's boyfriend."

He thought, amazedly, that his statement had actually worked when the doorknob turned and the door opened. Then Regina walked in.

"What was that?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Joking," he said, clearing his throat as his face burned. "I'll say anything to try and get let out of prison, you know that, Regina." He backed away and sat on the bed. He felt like he would contaminate her if he stood too close – she looked whole and pure, like a princess in her expensive outfit. She took a step towards him and began to babble, telling him about the others and their current situation.

He was silent for a while after she'd finished. "Great. A party. I hope there's alcohol." Gods, he needed some alcohol right now.

Regina smiled, but her eyes were filling with tears. "I'm so sorry. My father – he's trapped me as much as you, and I can't –" She broke off, biting her lip.

"None of this is your fault," Gylfi murmured. "This was always going to happen. We set ourselves on this path when we broke the sceptre."

"I'm glad we did." Regina sniffed. "I hope Sven is okay."

"Me, too."

There was a pause. Then Gylfi said, "Come here." Regina slowly walked up to him, so close that he could smell her hair and see the tiny veins of gold running through her brown eyes. She looked confused. "There's a chain around my neck. Unfasten it and take it, please."

"What?" But she did as he said, and he held his breath as her fingers brushed the back of his neck. She withdrew with a necklace in her hands. It was a silver anchor, with a tiny ship and a little blue jewel dripping from it, hanging by miniscule chains. "What is this?"

"A family necklace. My mother gave it to me – actually, she gave it to Sven and I stole it years ago, but that's beside the point –"

Regina smiled weakly. "It's lovely. Reminds me of the sea, and Havenby."

"Yeah. I'm facing certain doom, so... I'd like you to have it."

Her lips parted in protest. "No – I can't, it's yours."

"Please, Regina. It's of no use to me now. If, by some miracle, we get out of this situation..." Gylfi's throat was dry. "Then you can give it back. If not, could you find a way to send it to Sven?"

Regina blinked hard. "I will," she whispered. Gylfi felt a strange feeling bloom in his chest as he watched her put the necklace on, dropping it out of sight beneath her robe. She crossed to the door to leave.

"Regina..."

She glanced back. "I'll see you at dinner."

Gylfi threw himself on his bed when she'd gone. The shock of the past few days had worn off, and he felt exhausted. For the first time since he'd broken down when they had found out Sven was missing, he cried.

He couldn't help himself. His whole body was wracked with great, shuddering sobs, and he curled up, burying his face in his hands. The tears burned, and it felt like someone was twisting a knife into his chest.

He didn't want to die. He was afraid of death – so, so afraid. He wanted to see Sven again. He wanted to laugh and joke with Regina, tease Nadine, follow Elias blindly into danger. He wanted to build a new ship and sail it down fjords. He wanted to be home, with Sven, to endure every argument they'd ever had – he'd even go through all the pain and confusion Ingrid caused him again. He wanted to live.

They had done the right thing by breaking the sceptre. Their legacies had been set in stone – they were the four dragon riders who had emerged from the age of slayers, the four who'd defied their governments.

They were the four who were going to die for their cause.

Gylfi imagined the different ways Kostin could kill him. Beheading? Hanging? It would be Kostin's choice because, in a way, this had always been about Kostin – not Jötunheim's government, not Easfall's, but Ravenna's. Him. The dragon slayer, the enemy of Svetlana. Gylfi had met his travelling companions in Arkanovsk, in the Palace – in Kostin's domain. They had finally been brought back.

The game belonged to Kostin, and they had always been the pawns.