“If it was in anyone’s hands, it would have long since tainted them by now, so I have little cause to worry,” Ophain proclaimed definitively.
Her eyes widened in shock. “It was a crystal weapon,” she breathed. It made gruesome sense. Crystal taint combined with the allure of power could drive a man to genocide.
“You know of the weapons then?” Lord Ophain regarded her cautiously.
Vhalla nodded, suddenly hesitant of the glint in the Western man’s eyes. It wasn’t dangerous, but deeply cautious and heavy with fear.
“Does Aldrik know you are aware?” he asked.
“He wouldn’t believe me if I told him.” A seed of worry for where her pursuits may lead her burrowed under her skin.
Lord Ophain stood and folded his hands at the small of his back—a distinctly Aldrik-like motion. He walked over to the open paper screens and surveyed the garden. She let the silence hang until he spoke again.
“I must agree, there is no benefit to dredging up the shadows of my nephew’s past. After all, there are no crystal weapons left to be concerned about.”
Vhalla thought a long moment about her next words. “Would the Knights seek the weapons if they believed them to exist?”
“Relentlessly.” The lord turned. “Just as they seek you now in the pursuit of crafting a greater power with your sorcery.”
“Major Schnurr—”
“Came to me asking for you.” Lord Ophain frowned. “The world is asking where you are.”
“They don’t need to know.”
“They will find out. The Knights are becoming bolder, as I’m certain you saw.” The lord crossed back to her, looking at her as though she was a child and he was the concerned parent. “The army will be at the Crossroads within the next few days. When this happens, there will be a celebration in my nephew’s honor. All the Western nobles will be there, and Aldrik will have no option but to be in attendance.”
Vhalla’s heart began to race.
“You must be present,” he demanded. “Speak with Aldrik. He will use his title to give you protection no one else can. Return South with him and—”
“No!” She jumped to her feet. Despite being a head shorter, she somehow managed to look down at the lord. “I do not need his protection. I can protect myself.”
“You are speaking folly.”
“No more than you are,” she said sharply. The lord was visibly taken aback, clearly unused to such boldness. “His protection comes with a price I am not willing to pay.” Her heart had nothing left to give him.
“Vhalla, I am only trying to help you.” Ophain’s features were overcome with sorrow. “You and him.”
“There is no help for us.” Vhalla gave a small bow. “Thank you for your time today, and for your answers.”
“Wait.”
She halted stiffly.
Lord Ophain crossed the room to where she stood before the door. Slowly, he pulled at the scarf around her neck, carefully folding it once more around her head. The nearly familial touch smoothed some of the roughness in her heart.
“Keep yourself hidden, at least. Be careful and, by the Mother, consider what you are doing.”
Vhalla nodded.
“And if you are ever in need, come to Norin. My protection has no price. Though I can only do so much against the Knights; they are quite the nuisance, even for me.”
Her face cracked, and she folded her bitterness into a smile. His protection had the same price as Aldrik’s. To accept it would mean to accept his family. It would invite Aldrik into her world. It would inevitably gravitate her into his orbit again, and they would both collapse in on each other like dying stars. She wasn’t ready for it.
“Thank you,” she said, and left.
Vhalla kept her head down on the way back to the bookstore, her satchel heavy. She fingered Aldrik’s watch around her neck, feeling its warmth against her palm. On the way, she stopped to buy new clothes. She’d need to get rid of the ones she was wearing. Major Schnurr had seen her in them, and Vhalla had no doubt he had imprinted them on his memory.
For the hundredth time in a few short weeks, Vhalla thought about returning home. Her feet dragged up the stairs of the shop, Gianna making no motion to switch places on shop duty with the distracted woman. But if she returned East, they would only hunt here there, too.
As long as she was a Windwalker, as long as people knew she could be used for their gains, she’d never be free. Vhalla knelt at her bedside, shifting through a pile of clothing packed underneath. Her fingers fell on a solid bundle of rough cotton.