Lord of the Runes by Sabrina Jarema Page B

it can mean you need to lie low for a time. Again, the runes speak of patience.
    â€œWith the last rune, in the place of the long view, you have Elhaz reversed, which shows this to be a time of vulnerability and an offer which should be refused. A time to take care.” Also it showed self-deception.
    He sat back. “You need to wait out this time and be patient and careful. A great change is coming for you, but it may seem blocked for a time. Just lie low and understand what is within you before you act, and you will succeed in your dreams.”
    She beamed at him. “And leap into the void.”
    â€œIn a manner of speaking. But it’s more important to use caution and patience first. Remember that.”
    â€œI will.”
    Birgitta waited for her turn, so Estrid had to leave. She ran her hand over his shoulder as she passed him and he suppressed a shudder. As he gathered the runes to put them back in the bag, they were still warm, though they had lain on the table in the cold room for a time.
    Leif rose also, draining the rest of his ale. He sauntered away and sat down next to several giggling young women. But he had listened with even more interest than Estrid had. Why? Did Leif feel the same darkness around her that he did?
    Before he closed his eyes to start the next casting, he glanced up. The shadows filling the room had fled with her, leaving only the glow of the firelight around them.
    * * *
    He’d picked her first.
    First, first, first, first.
    Estrid danced through her room, hugging herself. And he said such beautiful things to her, about inflamed passions, transformations, and a great leap into the unknown. But she needed to be careful. They both needed to be careful and wait, to be patient, as he’d said. The others couldn’t know, of course. He couldn’t speak of how he felt about her in the open, so he spoke in the riddles of the runes. She alone understood. He had seen their love written there. The great leap would be when he took her with him in the spring. And she needed to trust in him. Oh yes. It would be leaping into the unknown, but they would be together then.
    She sat down on her bed. He’d warned her that someone would block the way. She’d have to watch for it. No one could stand between them. The others had left her behind and she would never allow it again. Not when she would have his beauty, his strength, and his power all to herself as they roamed the world.
    Lying back, she ran her hands over her body, and cupped her breasts, as he would. He’d be so strong, so masterful. He would take what he wanted and she would belong to him. He would revel in her curves, in her woman-shape. Softness, sweetness, gentleness. Not like—
    She clenched her fists over her heart. What if Asa was the one who stole him away? Jarl’s daughter. Jarl’s sister. Weapon-bearer. The highborn. But she was too cold, like an ice queen. What man would want her? Still, one man had, and Asa had taken him, then cast him aside just to spite Estrid.
    But now, she would be the one doing the taking. And if Asa stood in her way? The runes had said it would be only for a short time and that she must look within herself to put an end to it.
    She ran her hands over her body again and closed her eyes. His smile shone down on her like the sun, heating her skin.
    Soon. She would start soon.

Chapter Six
    S orrow wrapped around Asa, as heavy as her cloak as she walked through the village. She and their healer woman, Ingeborg, hadn’t been able to save old Alv from the fever raging through the household on the outer edge of Thorsfjell. Only the healer and she had entered there, and they were taking a risk doing so. It fell to Ingeborg to help them, and Asa couldn’t let the elderly woman work alone. So, against Magnus’s wishes, she’d done all she could, though it was in vain. Alv had died, but his younger wife, Hetha, still lived.
    They needed more than herbs to