Ensnared (Knights of Brethren #3)(39)

Kirstin studied my face a second longer, as though sensing more was going on inside me than I’d shared. I released her and stepped away, needing her to believe me. “Have no fear for me.”

“I would never want to step in the way of your happiness. You know that, do you not?”

“And I would never want to step in the way of yours.”

She glanced to the door at the end of the passageway leading outside before swallowing hard. “Then I hope you’ll understand why I must go into the forest after Frans.”

“What?” I clasped her arm. “No. Absolutely not.” It didn’t matter if I’d considered the same thing. I wouldn’t allow Kirstin to go in. She was too na?ve, inexperienced, and untested. I, on the other hand, had developed a sense of wariness, alertness, and caution after living in the earl’s house for so many years.

Kirstin clutched my arm in return. “When Enok spoke of going in after the jotunn, he said the fables speak of women defeating the trolls, never a man.”

“They’re called fables for a reason. Because no one knows for certain their merit.”

“When Enok was making plans to accept the earl’s challenge, he asked me to secretly go with him because he thought I might be able to help.”

I oft found my ire rising at my foolish younger brother. And this was one of those times. “How could he? That’s entirely selfish of him.”

“Trolls are distracted by beautiful women, especially those wearing red.”

“Perhaps. But what if that doesn’t work? And anyway, everyone says the real peril isn’t from the jotunn but from the deadly traps throughout the forest.”

“No one knows for certain if there are traps.” Kirstin finished drying her cheeks and pulled herself up to her full height. “But either way, I want to offer my help to the men.”

Had I been hasty in letting Gunnar go by himself? Should I have insisted on accompanying him? Maybe Kirstin was right, that a woman ought to go along. But she wasn’t that woman. “No. You can’t.”

“You don’t understand, Mikaela.” Her eyes welled again with tears. “The man you love isn’t in the forest facing death.”

If only she knew how wrong she was.

Her lips quivered. “If you were in my position, you’d want to go in too.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“But Enok says the jotunn won’t harm a woman—”

“No!” The word echoed in the empty hallway. I glanced around and then lowered my voice. “You’re not going.”

She stiffened, and her eyes flashed. “I’m leaving whether you want me to or not. If I can do something to help, then I have to try.” She spun and began to walk away, determination in each firm step.

I had to stop her. She wouldn’t last a dozen paces into the forest. Not that I would either. But I had a better chance than she did. “You’re not going,” I said again, “because I am.”

My statement brought her to a halt. This time when she turned to look at me, her eyes were wide and distressed. I could see the protest formulating, and I spoke before she could, offering the same reasoning that I had to Gunnar. “I’m the one who brought this trouble to Frans, and I should be the one to rectify it.”

“I’m brave enough, Mikaela.”

“Of course you’re brave enough. But of the two of us, I’ll be able to navigate through the dangers of the forest and pay better attention to the details around me.”

“But—”

“And I have a knife.” I patted my pocket, feeling the long length of the blade in its sheath.

She took a rapid step back, her gaze darting to the closed doors as though to make sure no one heard my mention of the illegal weapon. “You could give it to me.”

I shook my head, pressed my lips together, and said no more. I was willing to take the risk of punishment for having the knife, but I wouldn’t let Kirstin.

After several heartbeats, Kirstin released a sigh laced with defeat. “Very well.”

“I’ll need your cloak so that I might leave the castle as you. Then no one will be the wiser as to my going into the forest.”

She began to shed the garment. “What would you have me do?”

“You will stay here with Nanna until I return.”

The plan was risky. If Riki or Rena spoke of my absence, if one of the other servants noticed, or if anyone saw Kirstin, we would heap trouble upon ourselves. But I had no choice, not if I wanted to keep Kirstin away from this immediate danger.

Besides, if there was even a slim chance that as a woman I had an advantage against the jotunn, how could I not use it to help Gunnar and Frans?





Chapter

16





Gunnar


A skeleton dangled upside down from a gnarled birch tree, the chains of a rusted snare wrapped securely around the ankle. Another victim who’d fallen prey to the vicious traps hidden all throughout the forest.

I stared through the fading daylight at the gruesome sight, only one of the many horrors I’d witnessed over the past hours of searching for Frans.

I’d made slow progress, carefully cutting back the foliage with each step, not only to make sure I wasn’t ensnared in a trap, but also so that I could use my cleared footpath to find my way safely back out of the forest.