Page 21 of Tree of Ash (The Runic Saga #2)

Within the void, there was only Larissa and the Speaker, surrounded by rushing winds that sought to tear her from Skaei’s grasp.

The giantess shouted in an old language that raised the goosebumps on Larissa’s arms. Galdr and power encompassed them, pressing down on Larissa, squashing the air from her lungs.

If not for the giantess’ grip, Larissa would’ve been pressed into the ground itself.

A high soprano voice answered back, scolding, but the words were jumbled by the wind.

Skaei’s grasp on Larissa tightened as she shouted once more, and light tore through the darkness.

There came the sound of crashing waves and a scream so terrible it cut through Larissa’s soul.

But just as suddenly, the ground from beneath them disappeared and Larissa screamed into the wind, falling with the giantess plummeting right beside her.

Larissa gasped, satisfying her begging lungs, only to find herself back in the study once again.

Skaei’s grip on her arm weakened. The giantess fell back into her chair, though with a soft grace.

At her side, Eluf stood with glowing hands raised.

Looking behind her, Larissa saw Anara and Darien both struggling to move against Eluf’s galdr .

She recognized it immediately; he was manipulating the energy in the air around them, condensing it to hold them captive.

“Stop!” she cried, throwing up her own hands to combat it, but there was no need.

Eluf lowered his arms. Darien slid between Larissa and the desk while Anara’s hands transformed to claws that she dug into the wood, letting it splinter beneath her.

Larissa lowered her shaking hands. “What just happened?”

“Explain yourself!” Darien demanded, his sword pointed at Skaei’s throat.

“The Norn are not the only ones with prophetic abilities.” Skaei opened her eyes, and Larissa gasped. The red rims around her irises had devoured the amber color. “I attempted to see what the Norn had seen, but they blocked me. They want to speak with you directly, Larissa.”

“Great, thanks so much for all your help,” Anara bit out, sarcasm heavy in her voice. “We’ll be leaving now.”

Larissa ignored Anara’s hand on her arm, held captive by Skaei’s guarded expression. “You saw something else though, didn’t you?”

The speaker pressed her palms together, touching her dark fingers against her chin. “There is loss in your future, and if you are not careful, it will destroy you.”

Halla . Crippling fear rose in Larissa’s chest. She stumbled forward, clinging to Darien’s arm for support. “Who?”

Skaei shook her head. “I do not know. I was not allowed to see.”

Eluf placed his hand on Skaei’s shoulder.

The intimacy of the gesture shocked Larissa enough that she listened to his words.

“Loss can change not only a person’s path, but their soul as well.

You need look no further than the False Empress to know this.

You must be careful to not allow your loss to corrupt you, Larissa.

Your galdr is powerful and must be controlled, or you will succumb to the same chaos and madness that took the Empress. ”

“What?” she whispered in horror. “I’m not Shiko. I can barely access my galdr at all.”

“I can help you with that.” Eluf moved around the desk, but Darien blocked his way. The Jotunn raised his hands to show a faint glow around his pale fingers. “If you will allow me to uphold our end of the bargain.”

Larissa nodded at Darien, who let Eluf pass, his long white hair flowing behind him. Ignoring Anara’s growls, Eluf lifted Larissa’s hands, unbothered by the sparks that flew between her fingertips.

“Energy manipulation is about control,” he said.

“Safírians rely on constructing and deconstructing defenses around a mind for their persuasion. Rubinians are naturally fluid in galdr , allowing it to shape their form. Diamantians use their imagination to summon a false reality. But Perlians, and Smaragdians to some degree, need utter control to maintain and grow their galdr . For those of us who manipulate energy, our possibilities are nearly endless. We can move it, harden it, wield it to some degree—”

“I know all this,” Larissa snapped. “My Móeir taught me well. My mind remembers”—her eyes flicked to Darien—“but my body doesn’t.”

“Who is in control of your body, then?” Eluf asked.

“I am, but—”

“Then be in control.” Sparks flew between Eluf’s fingers, stinging where they fell on Larissa’s hands.

“Let her go,” Anara snarled.

“No, I’m fine.” Larissa winced, but didn’t move. She could feel Eluf’s galdr . It pulsated through his hands, almost as if he were trying to impart it to her. “What are you doing?”

“Our galdr is not only about control; it is about cycles. Like the way blood flows through your veins, pumping through your heart and back out again, you must allow your galdr to do the same. I can show you how by cycling my galdr through you.”

“Are you crazy? You want to transfer your galdr to me?”

“Like everything else, galdr is energy.” Eluf spoke calmly, but the red around his eyes increased, eating away at the amber color. “I will give enough so that you understand what I mean, but I will reclaim what is mine.”

Before she could resist, Larissa felt the shift in her hands.

They’d stung under Eluf’s touch moments ago, but now they burned.

The sensation started in her fingertips; then, the fire sank deep into her palms. Past her wrists, the fire gained in speed, spreading up her arms and shooting straight for her heart.

Larissa couldn’t speak if she’d wanted to.

Though unpleasant, the experience wasn’t painful.

It was more like tiny sparks running concurrently in the vessels under her skin as Eluf’s galdr spread from her heart, reaching down to her toes and cycling back again.

Beneath it, Larissa sensed something different, a candle to Eluf’s inferno.

It was her galdr , rousing from where it slept in the pit of her stomach.

As if called, it uncoiled itself, following Eluf’s galdr as it cycled once more through Larissa’s body.

She was no longer burning, but rather, her whole self thrummed with warmth.

Only then did she realize Eluf had let go of her hands. She could no longer feel his galdr at all, but she sensed her own more potently than she ever had before. The pearl ring on her finger nearly hummed in delight. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes. “How did you do that?”

“I told you, I cycled—”

“No.” Larissa’s voice broke. “How did you do that and live ?”

Eluf shared a confused glance with Skaei that was echoed on Darien and Anara’s faces as well. The image of her mother pouring out her galdr into Vereandi played over and over again in her mind. “My mother did that, and it killed her.”

Speaker Skaei fixed Larissa with an inquisitive stare. “What did Queen Stjarna do?”

Larissa wrapped her arms around her chest; the warmth of her galdr faded.

“Shiko had killed my father. Darien had been injured. Shiko’s soldiers were breaking down the door to kill us when my mother summoned Vereandi and asked her to hide us.

The goddess demanded payment. My mother did what Eluf just did.

She poured her galdr into Vereandi, but it killed her. ”

Shock was Skaei’s only response.

Even Eluf looked shaken. “I only sent a fraction of my galdr, and I called it back. Galdr feeds on our lives; it’s as vital to us as blood. Queen Stjarna must have given every ounce of her power for it to kill her.”

“But why would a goddess need galdr ?” Darien asked, his hand on Larissa’s shoulder. “Don’t they have enough?”

“A question for the goddess,” Skaei murmured. Then, louder, “After you reclaim Perle and find your sister, you must answer the Norn’s call. They will have answers. They will offer guidance and insight. Only, be careful. The Norn, like the gods, are not to be trusted.”

“But the giants are?” Larissa hadn’t meant for the question to come out like a challenge.

“Trust only yourself, Lovisa.” She inclined her head to Anara and Darien. “And those you love.”