Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 125422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 502(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 502(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
“What is it?” I whisper harshly as he slowly walks toward me, his snow-crusted brows drawn together. “What could have made such a sound?”
It was so raw, I still hear it echoing in my mind.
“I’m not sure,” he says with a shake of his head. “It’s just something I recognize, that I feel. I don’t think it’s any foe of ours.”
I look back at the woods. The spaces between the trees seems to have grown darker. Then, the wail sounds again, loud, powerful, and pitiful.
“I recognize the sorrow,” Tapio says. “Someone is mourning. We know our enemies could never feel such emotion.”
“Who are you!?” Tellervo suddenly yells into the trees, causing ice pheasants to fly from the canopy, their wings beating like drums as they head north.
All of us freeze.
“Shhh,” Tapio chides her, his eyes blazing with fear.
“But you just said—” she protests.
“I didn’t say I was certain,” he argues.
“What’s done is done,” the Magician says from the back. “Call again.”
I clear my throat. “Who is in there?” I call out, cupping my hands over my mouth. “My name is Loviatar, Goddess of the Dead. I am passing through, searching for my father. You sound like you’re in distress.”
My words seem to be swallowed by the snow as silence falls around us.
“Maybe we scared her,” Tellervo whispers.
“Maybe you scared her,” Rasmus chides her. “If it is a her, that is.”
I keep a steady eye on the woods, my ears straining for any sound.
“Should we go in or…?” I ask. I know I’m supposed to lead, but a good leader doesn’t do anything without consulting their group. Anyway, I’m not sure what we should do, though I don’t want them to know that.
“There,” Tapio says in a hush. “Look.”
I squint my eyes at the trees and realize he must have better eyesight than I do, because it takes a few seconds for me to spot something moving between the white trunks—something blue, tall, and glistening.
Wearing a coral crown broken in places.
“Vellamo!” I cry out. I nearly drop the sword in surprise and start sprinting toward the Goddess of the Sea.
She pauses at the edge of the thicket, and her gaze contains so much sadness, it stops me in my tracks.
“What happened?” I whisper.
She puts her hand to her chest, licking her lips, trying to find the words. I have a feeling she might just collapse into the snow with grief.
Then, she looks over my shoulder at the rest of them, her gaze growing hard when she spots Rasmus, and some sort of dignity returns to her posture. She stands up straight and swallows hard. I take in the sight of her, pearls missing from her grown, her blue seaweed gown torn in places, perpetually wet. She has been through battle.
The short sword in one hand and the pearl-crusted knife sticking between her cleavage is more than proof of that.
“Ahto is dead,” she says bluntly.
Yesterday, I would have said it was impossible to kill a God, but after seeing what happened to Tapio’s family, I know that’s no longer true.
“I’m so sorry,” I tell her. Ahto was my uncle, and though I didn’t know him well, given his predisposition to the sea, I know my father had deep affection for him. This will certainly hurt.
Vellamo nods and eyes Tapio and Tellervo. “You have lost loved ones too.”
“Mielikki and Nyyrikki,” Tapio says, his voice breaking. “They were killed by the Old Gods.”
“The same for Ahto and so many of my kind,” Vellamo says with a deep sigh. “I am very sorry for your loss. Did you witness it?”
Tellervo shakes her head. “We came across them. Perhaps it was a blessing we didn’t see it happen. If we had, I can promise you, we would have killed them.”
“They aren’t easy to kill,” Vellamo says tiredly. “I had my sea serpents to aid me, and even then, we couldn’t save him. I’ve never felt so powerless before…”
She trails off and looks away, her eyes glistening. It’s hard to see such a stoic, powerful woman feel like this, another fellow God I need to be strong for, and yet I feel like strength is being leached from me by the minute.
Then, she looks at me and holds my gaze for a moment, as if reminding me to be strong. I square my shoulders in response.
“Have you seen Hanna?” she asks.
I blink at her in surprise. “No. We don’t know where she is—or my father, for that matter.”
“Ah,” she says, slowly walking toward us. “Then I at least have some good news for you. Your father is stuck in the Upper World.”
“Still?” I exclaim. “That’s not good news.”
“Perhaps not, but he should be finding a way back with Torben any time now.”
I glance over at Rasmus, who visibly stiffens at the mention of his father.
“And Hanna was here,” Vellamo goes on. “My mermaids pulled her from a portal at the bottom of the sea. She made it through when the others didn’t.”