At least it\u2019s not as sore as it used to be.<\/i>\u00a0 Neve rubbed at her leg with a slight wince, leaning heavily against her crutches for a long moment before resuming her trek toward the fire.\u00a0 She\u2019d promised Tala she\u2019d help keep the twins entertained so the other woman might actually be able to accomplish something before noon.\u00a0 J.T. and Jacqueline kept telling her that it looked like the break was healing up fine, but Neve couldn\u2019t help but wonder if they\u2019d have told her if it were otherwise.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not like any of us would be able to do anything about it if it wasn\u2019t.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cHellfire and frostspawn, don\u2019t you have some decent brew around here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve froze, her heart slamming into her throat.<\/p>\n
What in blazes is she doing here?<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cJust sit down,\u201d Thom\u2019s voice growled.\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t have any fresh mead or anything like that and even if we did, we wouldn\u2019t be drinking it this close to dawn.\u00a0 Have some coffee like the rest of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve had to swallow twice before she was able to breathe enough to resume her limping journey toward the fire.\u00a0 Marin and Thom were sitting there, the latter glaring up at the cloaked figure that Neve would have known in a meadhall or on a battlefield.<\/p>\n
\u201cSif Freyrsdottir,\u201d she said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s brought you to our fire?\u201d<\/p>\n
The blonde warrior woman turned, eyes widening slightly.\u00a0 \u201cLady Neve.\u00a0 This is unexpected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMany things are.\u201d\u00a0 Neve swallowed her heart back down and into place, moving carefully around the taller woman and toward her usual spot near the fire.\u00a0 Marin stood up to help her sit, for which Neve was silently grateful.<\/p>\n
The last thing I want is to unceremoniously fall on my ass in front of this woman.\u00a0 She\u2019d take it as some bloody sign of weakness and that would be that.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cDo you still bear it?\u201d<\/p>\n
She meant the sword.\u00a0 One corner of Neve\u2019s mouth twitched into a smile.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve found its master.\u00a0 It hangs next our bed at night.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sense of smug satisfaction that came with the flare of jealousy and pain in Sif\u2019s eyes was unbecoming, but for a brief moment Neve decided she didn\u2019t care.\u00a0 There had been too many years of tension and jealousy between she and Sif for her not to take at least momentary satisfaction in having something the warrior woman didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
She had her lover all those years.\u00a0 Now I\u2019ve found the one I\u2019ve always been searching for.\u00a0 It\u2019s not my fault that she forsook Thor Odinson and slept with his brother.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is your brother?\u201d\u00a0 Sif asked, her tone stiff.\u00a0 \u201cI would have words with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTeague is a thousand miles from here,\u201d Neve said, her stomach giving an uncomfortable lurch.\u00a0 Someone spilled.\u00a0 Probably Phelan.\u00a0 Gods and monsters, why can\u2019t he keep his big mouth shut?<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019ll be quite a hike if you want to go skewer him for what he told Thordin.\u00a0 If I were you, I\u2019d be making up for lost time right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sif\u2019s jaw tightened.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s rather cross with me right now, actually,\u201d she said, her voice as tart as an under-ripe melon.\u00a0 \u201cHe doesn\u2019t seem to understand the seriousness of the situation I was in when he was…suddenly gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo explain it to him,\u201d Neve said, chin lifting.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t be blaming Teague for your current predicament.\u00a0 You could have run.\u201d<\/p>\n
The other woman\u2019s laugh was bitter.\u00a0 \u201cTo where?\u00a0 There was no place safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve held her tongue, counting to ten.\u00a0 She jumped at the sound of Marin\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIreland,\u201d she said, as confident as Neve had ever heard her.\u00a0 \u201cIreland was safe.\u00a0 You could have gone there and found her people and they would have sheltered you both.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter all, they sheltered his blood after you abandoned him, too.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At least it\u2019s not as sore as it used to be.\u00a0 Neve rubbed at her leg with a slight wince, leaning heavily against her crutches for a long moment before resuming her trek toward the fire.\u00a0 She\u2019d promised Tala she\u2019d … Continue reading