2026-08-18 18:27:26
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Kaedric stopped several steps away from Solveig.“What happened?”“Vargr’s father is alive.”Kaedric stared at her.Solveig hurried on before he could interrupt. “He has been coming here dressed as a beggar because Vargr refuses to see him. Vargr attacked him inside the chambers today and had him thrown out. They have not spoken properly in twenty years, and we need to bring them together before the man dies.”Kaedric waited.Solveig looked at him expectantly.“That is the emergency?” he asked.“Yes.”“The emergency is that Vargr does not wish to speak with someone who claims to be his father.”“He does not only claim it. He showed me his Law-Seal. They share the same mark, and he showed me memory glass from when Vargr was a child. He even knows how Vargr behaves when—”Kaedric raised one hand. “Pause.”Solveig closed her mouth.“How did you enter this man’s house?”“He took me there.”“You allowed a stranger who entered my home disguised as a beggar to take you to an unknown place?”
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Solveig had been waiting in the garden for more than ten minutes when she heard a man curse somewhere behind the hedge.She pretended not to notice.The last time she involved herself in another person’s trouble, Liv had been dragged away by her parents. Before that, she had almost killed both of them during a foolish race. Ashkim had taught her that minding her own business was not cowardice. It was survival.“Damn that ungrateful bastard,” the voice muttered.Solveig looked over despite herself.An old man was struggling along the stone path. His robe was dusty, his back was bent, and one hand shook as he searched the ground for a walking stick that was no longer with him.She looked away again.The man stumbled.Solveig sighed. Apparently, the gods were determined not to let her learn anything.“My lord,” she called as she hurried towards him. “Wait.”The old man turned with fear on his face. His eyes moved behind Solveig, searching for the lord she had addressed.“I was speaking t
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Kaedric slowed as he approached the old man.He looked around for a guard who might explain who the stranger was, but none stood nearby. The man’s robe was worn at the edges, and one sleeve had been repaired with thread that did not match. Yet he held himself like someone who had once given orders and expected them to be obeyed.Kaedric did not like it.People had been walking into the Ashkim chambers too freely since his return. With Liv and Astrid living here, that needed to end.“Lord Kaedric,” the old man greeted. His voice was sharper and stronger than his bent body suggested.Kaedric stopped several steps away. “Who are you?”“A man who served this house for more than thirty years. There are matters I believe you and I should discuss.”“Then speak with one of my men. If the matter truly needs me, they will bring it to me.”Kaedric walked past him.“Did you know what the Lawspeaker did to your woman today?”Kaedric’s steps did not stop, but his attention sharpened.The old man tu
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The meal was waiting when Kaedric carried Astrid into the dining room.There were no maids near the table. Liv had prepared everything herself, from the warm bread to the small bowl of sweet fruit placed beside Astrid’s chair.Kaedric set his daughter down and looked around. “You cooked all of this?”“For now, I will make our meals myself,” Liv said as she helped Astrid onto her chair. “Until I know who can be trusted in this house, nobody comes near our food.”Kaedric did not argue. After meeting the men who had warned him to forget his parents, he understood her caution better than she knew.He was about to sit when he remembered the two gifts in the pocket of his old cloak.“Wait. I brought something for both of you.”He hurried back to the bedchamber and returned with two small pieces of carved wood. Each had been painted with tiny golden flowers.“This one is for Astrid,” he said, holding out the smaller piece. “And this one is for you.”Liv looked at the objects.Astrid looked a
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“Liv. Liv, wake up.”The familiar voice reached Liv from somewhere deep inside her sleep. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Kaedric bending over the bed.For a moment, she only stared at him. The room was still dark, and Astrid was sleeping beside her with one hand tucked beneath her cheek. Kaedric looked tired. Dust covered the lower part of his cloak, and his hair had been disturbed by wind.“Sorry I woke you,” he whispered. “I am back.”Liv sat up so quickly that the blanket fell from her shoulders.“Where did you go?” she demanded. “You disappeared without telling me a damned thing!”Kaedric glanced at Astrid. “Keep your voice down.”“Do not tell me to keep my voice down. I woke up and you were gone. Nobody could tell me where you went.” Liv climbed out of the bed and stood in front of him. “I know now. Your dragon told me you went to Valhalla, but you did not tell me. The beast had more respect for me than you did.”Kaedric opened his mouth, but Liv did not give him a chance to
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Kaedric did not answer immediately.An immortal Ashbane.For generations, members of his family had gathered wealth, raised children and rebuilt whatever their enemies destroyed. Then someone came with a blade, and another part of the bloodline disappeared.His grandparents had died that way. His parents had died that way too.If he reached the Eternal Heart, the pattern would end with him.No man hiding in the rain would ever again believe that one sword was enough to erase House Ashbane.“What happens to Astrid if I ascend?” he asked.The Valkyrie smiled as though she had been waiting for that question.“The blood of an ascended Guardian does not remain ordinary. What awakens fully in you will sleep inside your direct line. Your daughter already carries more of your dragon-blood than you understand. When her own power calls to it, it will answer.”Kaedric thought of the image he had shown her earlier. Astrid’s face. Liv’s eyes. His own stubbornness sitting inside a six-year-old body
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