Valkyrie Fallen, Chapter 28

Brenna

*

Once again, Leif arrived first thing in the morning.

And this time, he brought another gift.

The crutches I had described to him, that I had requested he make for Signe. For homemade, they were a reasonably good approximation of a ‘modern to the twenty-first century’ crutch. The top was a cross-piece, wrapped in leather stuffed with soft wool. The crutches were each constructed of a single piece of wood, just the right length for Signe’s body. He’d crafted a handle to each, down the correct length of the crutch for her hands to grasp, also wrapped in wool and pieces of soft suede.

Leif’s eyes were positively glowing with excitement when I met him outside. “What do you think?”

“Leif, they’re perfect. I think this will be exactly what she needs. I’ll have to teach her to balance on them, but then she’ll be able to move around and keep her foot off the ground so it can continue to heal.”

“It’s truly miraculous, what you’ve done,” he offered seriously. “She was going to lose that foot; no one would argue that. Now she’s looking at maybe being able to walk on it normally one day soon.”

I swallowed down the emotion that rose in my throat. Damn armor had softened my heart. There were some advantages to being the cold-hearted, soulless bitch I’d become during my millennium without my Valkyrian armor. One being it was nearly impossible to make me cry.

Now, of course, I seemed to tear up every time the wind blew. “Thank you, Leif. I just did what I could to help someone deserving.”

“So… what makes you think you are not also deserving?”

“What?”

“You told me you are no good for anyone, but as far as I can see, you are good, and you are deserving.”

Heat flooded my cheeks. “It’s not the same thing, Leif. You are deserving of more than I can give you.”

“Once again, I disagree. Shouldn’t I be the one who decides what I deserve?”

“Leif…”"

“It’s okay, we can talk about it another time. Just think about it, Brenna. I’m still not giving up that you’ll come to your senses. But for now, why don’t we go show Signe what we’ve made her?”

I knew we were in trouble when I saw how Signe’s eyes glowed as Leif presented her the gift. Even though he clearly stated the crutches were my idea, she had eyes only for Leif. At one point he even flushed with embarrassment under the intensity of her admiration, and abruptly excused himself.

Signe turned to me in confusion, and I moved in to help her navigate the crutches, demonstrating how to support her weight on the handles, not the piece under her arms, and use them in sync to swing her body and move with only one foot.

It took a few tries, but she started to get the hang of it.

“Very good, Signe! It’ll take a bit to get used to it, and your hands will get tired, but this will help you get around much easier. Would you like to go outside and test them out with more space to move?”

“Let’s do it,” she grinned.

I guided her carefully through the doorway, and then she really let loose. Yrsa and Astrid, who’d been outside playing, ran over to join the fun and a game of chase took shape. Signe quickly realized her crutches gave her a powerful advantage compared to the gait she’d had before, and the girls squealed with delight and tore off in a different direction whenever she got close.

I’d never seen Yrsa this carefree, her serious little face replaced with sheer joy, cheeks ruddy with exertion. Signe was laughing, delighted with the freedom of movement, and Astrid was absolutely giddy with having two playmates.

I stood and watched this little scene play out, arms crossed over my chest and heart full.

It was at that moment Bjorn and Soren returned.

At first, the huge man’s countenance was terrifying. I’d forgotten how big he was, and he glared at the three girls playing, then at me, and demanded in a harsh voice, “What is going on here?”

The girls immediately stopped, their laughter dying off as they stared with trepidation at their hulking beast of a brother.

Soren’s clever, predatory eyes traveled from Signe’s flushed face to the crutches under her arms, down to her heavily wrapped foot. His mouth didn’t move, but he stared accusingly in my direction.

I swallowed, then jutted my chin. “I set Signe’s broken ankle, and asked Leif to make her the crutches so she could get around while it heals.”

Storm clouds broke out in Bjorn’s eyes. “What do you mean, you set her ankle?” He asked in a low, dangerous tone, striding up to me menacingly and stopping inches from where I stood.

“I moved the broken piece of bone back into place, and have kept it wrapped and stabilized so it can heal.” No need to add anything about the extra boost from Valkyrian magic.

“Signe!” Bjorn shouted, without his gaze ever leaving mine. I held his glare, and returned it with one of my own.

Signe crutched over, her body swinging smoothly in my peripheral vision.

“What did she do to your foot?”

Signe was not intimidated. “She fixed it, Bjorn. It’s so much better, you wouldn’t believe it. It barely hurts any more, and Brenna said in a few weeks-“ She was cut off when Bjorn scooped her up under her arms, forcing her to drop her crutches as he swung her around.

His face transformed from barely contained fury to absolute joy in a split second. Signe laughed, at ease now that her brother was happy, and allow him to set her gently back on her good foot. Bjorn stabilized her while I grabbed the crutches she’d dropped and returned them to their owner. Signe grinned and crutched off to play with her sisters.

Bjorn’s attention returned to me. “Brenna, I can’t thank you enough. I…” he paused, apparently lost for words, then pulled me roughly to his body and kissed me. This time the whole of his hand cupped the back of my head, and my heart stuttered erratically. My knees went weak, my arms wound their way around his neck, and I kissed him back.

“Brenna?” Leif’s confused voice sent my heart dropping like a stone to my stomach.

I pulled away from Bjorn, the guilt crashing like the coming tide over my chest. “Leif, I-“

“No, I get it,” his hurt expression hardened, and he glared between Bjorn and I. “You’re not good enough for anyone, but Bjorn you’re apparently good enough for. Or did you mean no one else is good enough for you?”

With a look of pure loathing, Leif turned on his heel and tore off down the path back to the village.

Signe’s eyes followed him, forlorn, and even Bjorn looked embarrassed.

Soren’s clever gaze traveled among the remaining party, and sighed. “I think it’s time we had a talk.”

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