{"id":2959,"date":"2016-08-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=2959"},"modified":"2016-08-21T20:13:05","modified_gmt":"2016-08-22T00:13:05","slug":"thirty-eight-06-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=2959","title":{"rendered":"Thirty-eight – 06"},"content":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Thordin’s point of view.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Thordin stiffened, blinking as he turned. \u201cYou? Sif, you\u2019ve never needed anyone. You\u2019re a one-woman army.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a front,\u201d she said, then smiled crookedly, stepping out of the doorway. One hand tugged the door shut behind her, plunging them into shadows, the forge illuminated by a single lamp and the glow of embers. \u201cA game, in some ways. How many people can I fool\u2014at what point can I fool myself? For a long time, I did. Even I believed I didn\u2019t need anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thordin\u2019s heart gave a painful squeeze. \u201cWhen did it stop working?\u201d he asked quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt stopped twice,\u201d she said, her voice still quiet as her footsteps carried her slowly from the doorway toward him. \u201cOnce when I lost in that forest all those centuries ago and then again when the lindworm…\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Thordin said, and meant it.<\/p>\n

Her fingers found his in the darkness. A current passed between them, sending shivers up Thordin\u2019s arm. His eyes slid shut and he exhaled a sigh. \u201cThis hasn\u2019t been easy,\u201d he said. \u201cIt hasn\u2019t been easy for either one of us, has it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Sif whispered, then wrapped her arms around him, drawing him tightly against her. Then as now, there was little softness to her, but Thordin sensed a warmth now that was almost unfamiliar\u2014and would have been completely unfamiliar if he hadn\u2019t always believed that she was capable of it, that it was buried inside somewhere. She tucked her head against his shoulder and he rested his head against hers. \u201cBut so few things are,\u201d she continued. \u201cThis is worth the effort, though. You and I are worth the effort. These people\u2014they\u2019re worth the effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thordin pressed a kiss to her temple and exhaled, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and the other around her waist. His throat felt tight as he held her.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou chose exile to be with me,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n

Sif looked up, meeting his gaze in the forge\u2019s dim. \u201cAnd I would do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her lips met his and he closed his eyes, holding her tightly, like this might be the very last time.<\/p>\n

Every time could be the last time.<\/p>\n

Make every second count.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Thordin’s point of view.] Thordin stiffened, blinking as he turned. \u201cYou? Sif, you\u2019ve never needed anyone. You\u2019re a one-woman army.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s a front,\u201d she said, then smiled crookedly, stepping out of the doorway. One hand tugged … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,216,14],"tags":[150,171,170,149,148,168,147,167,165,169,146],"class_list":["post-2959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-5","category-chapter-38-book-5","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-original-fiction","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-sif","tag-story","tag-thordin","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-LJ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2959"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2960,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2959\/revisions\/2960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}