Within the Bone

VIII. A Return to Sjaligr

The closer they drew to Sjaligr, the tighter the ball of nerves in Mara's stomach wound itself. Dawn was just barely rising, more a blush on the horizon than a real sunrise still, when the city itself came into view. The buildings packed against the cliffs were no different than she remembered them, but they seemed grand enough to Aallotar to prompt a sudden inhale.

Mara turned to face her companion, noting the tension in the wildling's body that ran as tightly as a drawn bowstring. "Are you alright?"

"I feel nerves," Aallotar admitted. "There will be many mennskr. More than I thought."

"You can always stay out in the woods," Mara offered. "We can backtrack a day or two."

"I could cover such ground easily as the beast," the wildling said with a shake of her head. "I would be drawn to hunting so close and leave terrible evil in my wake."

Mara flashed Aallotar a quick smile to reassure her. "Then stay with me. As long as you don't stray, the beast won't come out."

"Strong emotions may push the boundaries, but it is so," Aallotar said. She reached out, catching Mara's hand with her own. "Are you well, nāthæ?"

"Not looking forward to my reception," Mara admitted. "Gareth won't have forgiven me for bringing news of a curse. Everyone will know by now, too. I might be dodging rocks if we leave in the daytime, or worse."

Aallotar gave her hand a squeeze. "Then we should hasten," she said softly. Mara could tell that the wildling still couldn't understand why such violence might await, but Aallotar wasn't going to ask again. Not after Mara had given the same answer several times and been incomprehensible to the wildling.

Her curse was a blessing to Aallotar, after all. It brought peace as nothing else ever had.

The wildling tensed again. "Mennskr are coming," she said. "I smell sweat and steel."

Mara cursed and looked around. Their section of the path winding through the low hills had only a few hiding places, mostly surrounded by bare rock and stunted trees. "How many?" She knew from traveling alongside her for a while now that Aallotar's senses were keener than her own.

"One."

It was hard not to think of the sword on her hip. Mara didn't want to be a kinslayer. It was almost the worst crime one could commit, sitting beside oath-breaking in contempt. "Let's see who it is," she said grimly. "Maybe they have something important to say."

"Let us hope it is peace," Aallotar muttered. She glanced down at herself. Wearing clothes and boots bartered from traders using her sable furs and a jar of the green rinse, she looked the part of a local, but her jagged tattoos, long loose hair, and feral golden eyes still left her with a wildling's edge. It had taken her most of a week to get used to having boots.

She relaxed when a familiar figure rounded the corner. Gaius was always a pleasant sight, looking his gruff usual self with only a few thin lines of worry in his brow and at the corners of his mouth. "I guess I'm worse at sneaking than I thought," Mara said, relaxing.

"Your mother's dreams were disrupted. That only happens when you near," Gaius said by way of explanation, his eyes falling warily on Aallotar. "Who's this?"

"This is Aallotar, my friend from the north," Mara said. She looked over at Aallotar and offered her companion a comforting smile. "This is my teacher, Gaius. He's a good sort."

Gaius grunted at that. "Your mother sent me to fetch you. Less chance of trouble with Gareth. He may not respect me, but he appreciates that I can beat him into the paving stones even with all his precious magic at his fingertips."