Darkness carved in bone

Epilouge

Helen

Helen gazed at the dark sea beyond Njordsaltvy. The salty air clung in her nose, and the frigid air turned her body into ice. Light, it was good to feel again. The sound of the waves constantly crashing against the sharp cliff she was standing on, became a lullaby to her. She pulled her heavy fur coat closer to her body, trying to shield herself from the cold.

She looked over the edge of the cliff, the drop so terrifyingly long that her stomach wrenched in terror as she looked at it. She would die immediately if she fell off this cliff, the crash would obliterate her body. She took a steadying step back, keeping a safe distance from the edge, smiling as she remembered the last time she had thought of such dreary things.

Helen heard the bells from the churches across the dark city behind her, beckoning the people to gather.

She thought of that day when she had contemplated killing herself to escape from the life of being Sam's wife. How she had stood before the wild river in her village and watched down upon it and wondered how her body would be destroyed if she had jumped into the cold water. How all that fear of living a life she would hate had propelled her into action. Into seeking out that Volve in the night, and how her path had crossed with Ten then.

How everything had changed that day.

Ten looked up at her with his blue-green eyes, they were shining intensely with happiness as he smiled at her. He wore a similar fur coat to hers over his clothes, shielding him from the same coldness that bit into her skin.

His hands were ungloved, and intertwined with hers, the warmth from him seeping into her, better than the warmth of any glove.

The bells still hummed in the distance, and Shiny, standing a couple of meters away from them whinnied, as if he complained about the cold.

The sun was hanging low on the sky, an hour away from setting.

"Are you ready?" Ten asked in his dark voice. His corn-blonde hair was combed neatly back, and his crown sat atop his head, glittering in the light from the sun.

Helen closed her eyes as she stretched her neck towards the sun and inhaled as she let the sun's rays spread across her face filling her with light and energy.

She had needed a daily dose of sun every day since the ritual, to build her strength back up. She had been drained and weakened when she had awoken in Ten's arms and needed to be carried away from the courtyard.

She was still in shock of what she had seen when Ten had carried her across the courtyard. Everywhere Sòlangr had stood among the people of the dark. The mystery behind the disappearance of the Sòlung men finally revealing itself to her. That they had formed a small army that would fight against a dark world with the Mååningr who wanted the same as them. They had aided them in their rebellion, Ten leading them all.

She had cried tears of happiness as she saw that both of their people were united, had been united in this rebellion against the queen and her darkness.

She had cried even more when she had realized that she had managed to do what she had set out to do. She had saved the world and abolished the darkness, forever. She had destroyed that darkness. It could never threaten them again.

After she had been allowed to sleep and regain her strength, she had told Ten what she had experienced and done in that dark world. Explained to him exactly what kind of force she had used to burn that darkness with, her love for him.

He had cried and cried when he told her how he had felt her heart stop beating, how he had felt that she had died. For the longest moment she had been dead to him, gone and lifeless. But then she had started glowing, and she had come to life again, as if their love had brought her back to him.