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He put his hand on the small of my back, unable to help himself.
“What happened?” I asked, shaking my head. “The last thing I saw before being taken by the Gods was an arrow heading for you.
“Ah yes. Well, the arrow struck true.” He pointed to a scar on his shoulder, just above the collarbone. “But that was something else though, seeing you just disappear into thin air.”
“You’re telling me,” Ryker mumbled under his breath.
“And you,” I nudged Ryker with my elbow. “How did you find Njall? The Sage told me he never came out of the Trial.”
“I didn’t trust her word.” Ryker shrugged. “And it took some digging with the help of Arra to find him, seeing as Njall isn’t his name.”
My head whipped to Njall, who raised his hands in defense at my gaping mouth.
“He’s right. It’s not. Njall is what everyone calls me, though. A nickname given to me by my parents. But you do know my actual name now, it’s on the sign outside.”
“Brathir?” I asked.
Njall nodded. “Would you like to come up for some tea?” Njall’s eyes lit up. “I have so many things I want to tell you, and I bet you have a story or two to tell of your own!” He wiggled his eyebrows in Ryker’s direction.
I looked to Ryker to make sure we had time, and he nodded once with an approving smile. I nodded my head eagerly. Grabbing Ryker’s hand, I led him behind me as we followed Njall up the stairs to his living quarters on the level above the forge.
“So how did you get out of the Woltawa Forest?” I asked, as Ryker and I sat at the small metal table near the front window.
Njall went to the kitchen and lit a fire with his fingertips before placing the kettle atop it. He turned to face us, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed and a grin on his face.
“After the Gods took you, and the arrow struck me in the shoulder, the male came for me and we brawled. I took the arrow out and stabbed it through his eye before stepping through the arch. The next thing I know it’s dark, pitch black, and it felt like nothing existed, like when we went into the Rip.
“I appeared inside the temple after that. The Sages were outside waiting for the contestants to return. They told me that I had passed the Trial but that I was not deemed Worthy, and then they removed our Trial marks. I searched for you, but they said only one female had returned and it wasn’t you. I knew then that you had been chosen.
“I rested for a while. I have no idea how long I slept but when I woke up, you still hadn’t returned, but everyone else who had completed the Trial had. I left in the morning and came here.” His smile was one of pride.
“Where you opened your own forge,” I said.
He nodded. “I did! And isn’t it wonderful! It’s small, I know, but the previous owner moved so I was able to buy it up cheap and it’s all mine. Now that the Trial is behind me, I can have a real future.” The tea kettle whistled and Njall stood to remove it from the fire, then poured tea for each of us.
“And he’s a talented blacksmith. I saw his work when I was here last, and the townspeople have been raving about his work. They’re pleased to have him here,” Ryker said, taking two steaming cups from Njall and handing one to me.
“Now,” Njall started, sitting across from us, “I would really like to hear about this.” He gestured between Ryker and I.
I spent the better part of an hour summarizing everything that had happened since the Trial. From the Sages and the panel, to the book, meeting Ryker, coming to Oryn, and how Ryker and I were mates but hadn’t sealed the bond yet. Njall had asked a few questions as I recalled everything over the past months, but outside of that, he sat quietly and listened.
“Wow,” Njall sighed, leaning back in his chair. “And to think, it was stressful when Ipretendedto be your mate. I can’t imagine the stress that comes with being your actual mate.” He huffed a nervous laugh.
Uh oh.
Ryker stiffened, sucking in a sharp breath through his nose. “What?”
“No, no. It’s okay.” I placed my hand on his. “It was only pretending during the Trial, it got our attackers distracted enough to not kill us. Don’t worry, I yelled at him for it.”
“That she did.” Njall nodded enthusiastically.
“Did you…”he asked in my mind.
“No. Nothing like that happened.”
Ryker relaxed, but not by much.
Njall and I shared our story from our time during the Trial. Njall particularly lingered on the time he was dragged by the lurvinea. Ryker listened with a smile, but I could still tell that the bond was tense, irrationally telling him that this other male was a threat.
