Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“I would take you with me,” I tell her, “but I lose things easily.”
She lets out a tiny, melodic laugh. “That’s okay. I have a job to do now.”
“Stay safe,” I tell her, about to lower her back into the water.
“Wait,” she says, and I pause as she turns around in my grasp to look up at me with hopeful eyes. “Can you yeet me? Been a long time since you did that.”
Now, it’s my time to laugh. “Okay, but I have to let you know that no one says yeet anymore. You sound dated.”
“Maybe in the Upper World,” she says with a raise of her chin. “Here, I’m a trendsetter.”
I can’t argue with that. I take Bell to the side and throw my arms forward like I’m tossing a bale of hay. Bell goes flying through the air, landing in the water in a perfect swan dive.
Madra gives me a hopeful look afterward, and I shake my head. As if I could pick her up.
“Don’t get any ideas,” I tell her.
She pouts and then dives under the water, swimming after Bell.
I turn and walk back to Vellamo, who is staring at me completely unamused.
“The mermaids like you,” she says.
“Well, I did set Bell free from Shadow’s End, so that helps. Now, which way do we go?”
She nods straight ahead, and we walk into the sparse forest. Every now and then, I’ll come across a dead Bone Straggler with armor and weapons. I gather up a short sword, a dagger I slip in my boot, and a shield that isn’t too heavy to carry. Who knows when this thing will come in handy?
Vellamo isn’t much for talking, so we walk in silence through the mostly-empty forest. I know she’s going through a range of emotions, that she’ll talk when she feels like talking. As for me, I’m trying not to think about what might have happened to my father and Tuoni. Instead, I’m trying to think about what they would have me do in this situation. I know they’d want me to ally myself with one of the gods or Tuoni’s relatives. I think Tuoni would want me to find out where his children are, and then he’d want me to figure out the best way to take out Louhi and Salainen.
But where does my mother come in?
“Vellamo,” I say quietly.
She’s walking a few feet ahead and only vaguely glances at me over her shoulder. “Mmmm?”
“I told you my mother is Päivätär, and you didn’t seem all that surprised.”
“No, well, I knew you had goddess blood in you. Everyone at that meeting did; that’s why we were trying to figure out who she was.”
“Päivätär and Kuutar were the only ones not there.”
“You have more fire in you than you have coolness,” she says. “I figured you were a daughter of the Sun Goddess, not the moon. Have you since discovered any abilities that aren’t normal for a mortal?"
"I was able to grow wings and set my body on fire,” I tell her. “But I haven’t been able to do it since.”
“Being able to fly is a nice asset. Are you sure you couldn’t give it a go?”
“I don’t know if I’d be able to fly even if I could sprout wings on command,” I say, ducking under a tree branch with red berries hanging from it.
“What a pity,” she says under her breath. “You could fly ahead and tell us if we’re going the right way.”
“What?” I say, coming to a stop. “You’re saying we’re lost? How?”
“My dear, my mind is not working like it usually does,” she says in a measured voice, and I immediately feel guilty. She stops and turns to face me. “Perhaps it is best we stay here for the night. It will be dark very soon.”
I look around. We’re in a small clearing surrounded by trees with red berries. There’s no snow here like there was by the sea, which means we’re getting closer to the Hiisi Forest, but the ground looks cold and uncomfortable.
“Do you have anything to light a fire?” I ask her. “I’m rather wet.”
She looks me up and down. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what it’s like to be dry.”
I decide to leave her be and set up a little bed for myself, laying down the shield as protection from the ground and adding some fallen leaves and moss on top. Then, I curl up into a very wet, uncomfortable ball. I’m reminded of when I first came into the world, when Rasmus snuck me in. Where is he now? Carrying out murders for his mother? Did she bend and break him until he was hers?
While I think, I absently watch as Vellamo gathers sticks and logs and starts placing them near me, building a fire. Considering she’s the antithesis of fire, it’s rather nice of her to be doing this for me. Still, I don’t have any matches. All of that was left behind in the duffel bag.