The Beast of Salt (Saga of the Gods #1)

29. Avina

29

AVINA

November 8th, Year 100, 9th Era

Fjell Mountain, Salt Province

“ W e must maneuver our way over the rock slide.” Sigvid motions at the mound of rocks and mud littering the path. Circling their feet is a small path of slick, frosted grass.

His quick action saved both their lives.

Avina flushes with guilt, highly suspecting her meltdown had at least something to do with their near-death experience.

He scratches the back of his head. “Jump on my back.”

“What?” She sputters.

No man in Treland can match Sigvid for strength, but the thought of him lugging me up the rest of the mountain is humiliating.

“You heard me.” He heaves a small boulder onto the debris path. “Jump on my back, and I will carry you.”

Hauling her would slow them even further. She rolls her shoulders and stomps over the fallen boulders.

“I can handle myself. Ahhh!” One of the jagged rocks catches the tip of her boot, and her body continues without her footing straight into a mud puddle.

“Why must you always fight me?” He laughs with his hands on his waist.

“You ordered me to wear a dress to climb a mountain.” She grinds her teeth and swats at the muck.

Before rejoining him, she manages to bind her mess of curls atop her head with a ribbon discovered in a pocket.

“You tripped over at least a hundred pebbles up here. Are you sure you can walk on your own?”

His sarcastic reply earns him a scowl while she bunches her dress to her waist to scale the boulder.

“And your ass is adorable.”

She flushes, still ignoring him. Since he pillaged her from the Arena, he tossed her around like a rag doll. She is ready to complete any task independently.

“I did not take you to be this prideful.” His voice draws closer.

“No, I said- ah!” Before she has much time to protest, he clutches her backside and lifts her onto his shoulder like a sack of flour.

“Hold tight, my little Queen.”

“You are a presumptuous ass!” She beats her fists against his back. “Let me down. I can walk fine on my own!”

When he doesn’t relent or respond, she relaxes her limbs.

I might as well make myself comfortable.

Apologizing to him removed a heavy burden she did not realize sat upon her shoulders. He has not said much, making her stomach churn to feel in the dark with his thoughts.

How much of the last several months has he blamed her actions for his misfortune? Why is the need for him to forgive her so severe?

Avina curses their strange twists of fate more and more.

I should have told him who I was three winters ago and begged him to save me from Rendel. We could have bypassed these nasty resentments.

He clears the stretch of the landslide and gently places her feet back on the dirt ground. “Alright, clumsy, let us see what awaits us next.” He smiles as he scouts the trail ahead.

“I have never been clumsy a moment in my life. You do not understand that a dress does not equal stability while climbing up a mountain.” She huffs.

“Stop walking.” He commands.

Avina pauses to see him approaching her with a knife he removes from his boot.

I am deadweight, but is that worth killing me over?

She flinches at his sudden approach until he crouches down. By her ankles, she can feel him tearing at her dress. The sound of his blade slicing through the lovely fabric has her shaking.

“There, how is that?”

She glances down to see the bottom of her dress coiled around her boots. “You wasted a gorgeous gown.”

But yes, this will make hiking much easier.

“When we return, I will have another crafted for you.”

Having known him so long as the beastly warrior, she often forgets he is the Prince of the Salt Province and likely has resources at his disposal similar to her own.

“That is unnecessary.” She mutters under her breath.

They continue along the trail, listening to the distant ripples of the river at their side and the wind howling over the peaks. Without the extra fabric on her lower legs, they progress significantly better than before.

And she doesn’t trip once.

Finally, the crystal clear river runs level with their path.

They are close.

Avina steals a glimpse of him and finds his eyes focused and jaw set.

“Do you ever relax, Sigvid?”

“What do you mean? I relax. I care for my farm, fight people, and drink after battles.”

Avina’s crooked smile has him scoffing. “After the Drengr rescued you from the Arena, you did not sleep for two days. Even now, you are stiff and intent.” She lays a hand on his bicep. His muscle feels like a coil ready to spring.

“I will relax when we return to Blackwood. I will drink while I take care of my farm. We must remain vigilant if we intend to find the source of this problem. ”

“Drinking and drawing blood are hardly solutions. No wonder you are so reactive all of the time.”

“I know one thing I will do to relax when we get home.” He eyes her as if he wants to consume her body whole.

She shivers, wondering how much of her dark fantasies he will uncover before the Solstice.

“Hold on.” He stalks off into the woods, leaving her alone on the path.

When he stops in the underbrush, facing the trees, Avina quickly looks away as he withdraws his member. Her cheeks burn as the sound of him relieving himself is like an unexpected assault on her ears, leaving her mortified.

She crouches by the river, watching fish swim for any distraction from him. Her fingertips dip into the icy water, hoping to lure in a minnow. She feels a tug almost as soon as her skin touches the freezing water, like an invisible cord gripping her waist.

They are on the right track.

She can’t explain the sensation, but she knows without a shadow of a doubt that they are closer to solving the mysteries in Toftlund.

He returns, adjusting his trousers and continuously glancing over his shoulder. “Do you feel something or someone watching us?”

She shakes her head. “If anything, I feel confident about our direction.”

He withdraws one of his axes and checks the bushes as they walk. “I just want to be sure nothing is following us.”

When they reach a level section of the path, he halts her steps by tossing her a savory biscuit from his pack. “Eat.”

As they nibble on the rather stale bread Thora had lying around, a rustle comes from behind them.

“Show yourself, you coward!” He whips out his other blackwood axe and yells. “I will rip your head from your weak little shoulders!”

He stands before Avina, who settles onto the ground. She looks around his legs, still munching on the snack.

“Stay behind me,” His growl is low.

But Avina doesn’t see a thing. His sheer size is enough to dissuade a bandit or a vagabond.

By now, a hungry predator would have attacked us without being provoked, not to mention the landslide scattered off most of the wildlife.

The bush moves gently, and he leans in and watches it closely. “I said come out!”

Avina shoves the remaining biscuit in her mouth, chewing loudly. Anything hiding in that bush is small enough that even she could defeat it.

Why is he so uptight all of a sudden? He was fine until after the rockslide.

At his command, a furry snow-white hare hops from the bush, chewing on a leaf.

“Rabbits are often misunderstood creatures,” Avina says, stretching at his side. “Legend states that their teeth can rip a whole carrot in half.”

Sigvid is unmoving.

She clutches her stomach as tears of joy trickle down her cheeks. The rabbit hops closer when she finally composes herself, allowing her to scratch behind its ears.

Avina glances at him with a broad smile, expecting him to glower or scoff at her amusement. Instead, there is a slight twinkle in his eyes. He does not quite have a smile, but he lacks his usual fury.

She wipes away her happy tears. “Even you must admit that is hilarious.”

He grumps. “That rabbit has been stalking us for a few bushes, and I have heard legends of those hares killing hunters. I wanted to make sure we would not become his next meal.”

“Was that a jest, my lord?” Warmth fills her belly at this rare side of such a violent man.

He sighs, giving Avina a genuine smile. “If we are being honest, the bunny looks a little like Thrain.”

She tilts her head to take in its wiggly nose and pointed ears. “Yeah, I can see it.”

“Oh yeah, that rodent carries itself with an air of snobbery.”

Avina feels her shoulders relax as he pokes fun at the situation. She cannot help but smile at his dedication as a warrior, no matter how hard he tries to hide his softer side. After engaging in these high-strung situations, she has begun to rely on his intensity for quick decisions.

She places her palms on his chest. “Have we been properly rescued from the fuzzy creatures of the Fjell Mountain?” Her full smile shows even her white teeth.

“Why yes, you are safe.” He whispers against her ear, “Your smile is brighter than the sun.” He cups her cheeks, thankfully concealing the crimson blush filling her cheeks. “I could drink in the happiness filled in your upturned lips and never need anything else in my life.”

Usually, a compliment results in Avina looking away quickly with a ‘thank you’ that does not reach her heart. Then again, most compliments to her were fed by people who did not mean the words they spoke. But, like everything else with Sigvid, his words strike her with honesty and intention.

Fleeting moments like this make her feel like she’s the only woman alive on the continent. A reminder of the life they could have lived.

“T-thank you.” she internally berates herself for the sad response she gives.

His hold on my emotions is growing dangerous .

He caresses her cheek as if her skin is fragile. “We are close.”

He takes several giant strides away from Avina, placing distance between them as they trudge upward. They are near where the streams merge.

The distance between the trees widens, revealing a grassy clearing with a massive black boulder near the river opposite them.

Is that fur? Oh, my Goddess, it’s breathing!

“Sigvid,” she whispers, her hand tugging on the sleeve of his tunic. “The mass,” she mouths.

He huffs but follows her gaze. His eyes widen for a second before he composes himself. “An Ulv.”

Her heart stops. It cannot be!

She has read about them in ancient books in the Sapphire Palace, assuming they are nothing more than a myth.

According to lore, those needing to protect ‘great treasure’ would summon the Ulv. They are giant wolves the size of a house originating from the Abyss–a minimal existence for those unable to ascend to a better afterlife.

Someone with intimate knowledge of the Abyss would need tremendous seidr to conjure the Ulv. And there is no treasure here but a lonely mountainside.

“Stand back.” Sigvid shoves her away toward the treeline.

“No!” She snatches his wrist. “Ulv are thick, strong creatures with impeccable eyesight. If we work together, we can find out what he is guarding and destroy him without killing ourselves in the process.”

She already has a plan in the back of her mind. She needs him to trust her.

His gaze locks on the sleeping midnight mass of hair. Unlike his usual aggressive manner, his tone is oddly empty of emotion. He is overly controlled, as if he does not want to convey his true feelings.

“Some monstrous person has bound the creature, forcing it to protect whatever it is guarding. We will not kill it.” His voice lowers to a whisper, his shaking fists betraying him. “Damn, whoever forced the Ulv to our plane against its will.”

Her gaze falls on the creature, and she realizes the parallels Sigvid must draw between himself and the Ulv. An ache wrenches in her heart as it dawns on her the powerlessness he must have experienced in the Arena. A beast displayed for the amusement of faceless men.

And it is all her fault.

“Of course. The Ulv will survive.” She lay a hand on his back, wishing she could convey how deeply she regrets his time in the Arena. Had she been stronger against her father and the Council, she could have saved him.

Could that have changed how he perceived me? Would that change how I see him?

It doesn’t matter now, and she will never have an answer. Until the Solstice, she and Sigvid’s fate remain intertwined. Rough sex, an emotional hurricane of confusion, and every moment, he will remind her of how much of a failure she is, of realizing what could have been between them.

Here, on Fjell Mountain, the Timber Queen will earn his forgiveness.