Bride of the Sea (The Prophecy of Sisters #2) - Hayley Faiman Page 0,104

the queen of Bunafi. He claimed that they would like to meet in a neutral place, he was insistent. She fell ill as soon as he arrived. I have not been able to find him, not anywhere.”

My teeth gnash together. My nostrils flare as I attempt to breathe. Turning away from my wife, I march out of the room, ignoring the cries of the women in my life behind me. The cries of all the women except the one I wish to hear crying out my name—Liv.

Kjeld and Sten are standing in the middle of the dining hall, their arms crossed over their chest as they watch me approach.

“We have heard,” Kjeld murmurs.

“Do you know who Gunnar sent to find her sister?” They both shake their heads. “He said that he found the sister, she is the queen of Bunafi,” I murmur. “Liv grew ill the moment he arrived. They have not been able to locate him since.”

“Bunafi?” Sten asks.

Nodding my head, I cannot think straight. I have heard of this land, naturally. Heard of the traitorous king who once ruled there, but I cannot even picture it in my head or where it is located.

“Do you have an atlas in your af-hús?” Sten asks.

“Yes.”

Without a word, the three of us walk toward my af-hús. I make my way toward my atlas as Sten places the lock block in place as I open the sheaf of papers to the correct map. Kjeld leans over my desk, one of his finger’s points toward Attleview, the other is on Bunafi.

“He could not have traveled there and back here in the length of time that he has been on his mission,” he explains.

“What are you saying?”

“I am saying that either he is some sort of völva or another draugr.”

Pausing for a moment, I turn around and make my way toward the small window and stare outside. “Why are the gods testing me this way?” I ask.

“It is what they do, Aaric,” Sten rasps.

“How do we find him?”

They are both silent and I find that it angers me, but at the same time, I have no suggestions either. Looking back over my shoulder at them, I slowly turn around completely. “Runa will find them, if she cannot, I will commission more völvas until they are strong enough to find him.”

“What about Quest? Can he do something?”

Nodding my head once, I grin. “He can tell me if my child has indeed been lost. He can also travel to Bunafi and between him and the seeress they can find out if this man was actually there or not.”

With a renewed energy, I close my eyes and reach out to Quest. It takes a few times, and he sounds extremely irritated with me, but he does answer my demands.

LIV

My eyes flutter open. It’s dark in this room. I inhale a deep breath and the scent of sea salt and lavender surround me. It smells a little like my apartment.

My eyes fly open completely and my heart starts to race as I wildly look around. When my gaze lands on the fireplace, a low fire burning, I let out a sigh.

I’m not back in New York, I’m still home. Something makes a noise in the corner of the room. Sitting up, I gasp, shifting my gaze over to see Aaric slumped down in a chair. He’s here. I want to go to him, jump in his lap and kiss him a million times, but I don’t.

As if he can sense me watching him, his eyes slowly open and his blue gaze locks in on mine. He doesn’t hesitate to stand to his feet or walk toward me. Sinking down on the edge of the bed, he takes my hands in his.

“Liv,” he rasps.

“I don’t know what happened,” I whimper through trembling lips.

Everything feels like a blur. The last thing that I remember, I was in Aaric’s office talking to the man who claimed to have found Sybilla. Then, nothing. There are hazy bits and pieces, moments where Runa and Sylvi both beg me to eat, to drink, but I don’t remember if I ever followed through with the actions.

“The man who came to see you? To talk to you about your sister?” he asks.

Nodding my head, I look into his eyes. “I remember him coming, talking to me, but nothing else. Runa got a bad feeling from him, but that’s all I can recall.”

He clears his throat, his gaze finding mine. I watch as his eyes darken right