Lumi's Heart: Epic Fantasy Sword and Sorcery by Ulana Dabbs

Author:Ulana Dabbs [Dabbs, Ulana]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2022-04-21T16:00:00+00:00

XV

Fjola placed her hand on Mirable’s shoulder. ‘Stay strong,’ she said in a firm voice.

He bobbed his head up and down, but the trembling in his hands and knees didn’t ease. After the events in the pagoda, the guards seized them both and dragged them down the many steps and through the wretched rooms, the Goddess of Destruction following their progress from the paintings and murals hanging on the walls. The mages were obsessed with Skaldir, and every floor of the pagoda reflected it. Fjola didn’t understand how something so destructive could be treated with such reverence.

The guards led them down into the village, where the green smog shimmered like a veil spread above the ground. At first, breathing it in didn’t bother her so much, but after a while, the heavy scent made her dizzy. Each breath caught in her chest, inducing a small coughing fit. She glanced at Mirable, but he seemed unaffected. During that disgraceful walk, the residents spat at them, screamed curses in Skaldir’s name, and wished her judgement upon them. Fjola didn’t care for the insults, searching the crowds for the familiar face of her brother.

But Njall was nowhere to be seen.

Maybe he’d managed to steal the ship and sail for home, she told herself, because the alternative meant he was long dead, be it from the exposure to the magical residue or at the hands of the mages. She forced the idea out of her head, for even a thought that she’d lost her only brother was unbearable. Hot tears stung her eyelids, but she blinked them away, refusing to give these wretches the satisfaction of seeing her humiliated. Fjola lifted her chin and strode tall, using her pride as a shield.

Mirable walked next to her, his body hunched forward and arms dangling on both sides of his body like thick branches. His eyes fixed on the road ahead as he muttered something that sounded to her like two men haggling over a reel of silk. Her heart went out to him. The moment his path crossed with Jarin’s, his simple life was put to the axe.

Come to think of it, all their lives changed when Jarin passed through Hvitur on his way to Vester. Torgal ordered Njall to go with Jarin, and her brother obeyed without question. Fjola’s own discontent with life made her follow them. Skari chased after her and paid with his life, leaving her to wrestle with the guilt.

Jarin was the catalyst. He endured the destruction of his home, placed his soul under contract, and found Shinpi, only to see Lumi shatter in his arms. Could it be that her death finally broke him? They all believed his strength was boundless, but it seemed even those favoured by the gods had their limits.

When the guards hurled them into the prison cell, Mirable slumped against the wall and wrapped his hands around his knees. Everything about his shape looked wrong to Fjola. She knew that with no one to stop the change, the Varl growing inside him would take over.

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