2026-10-04 19:57:42
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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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“Becoming the Guardian was not the end of your growth,” the Valkyrie said. “It was the beginning of a different kind.”She raised one hand.The air before her opened into five circles of golden writing. They stood inside one another, each larger and brighter than the one before it. Strange beasts moved between some of the lines, appearing for a moment before disappearing again.Kaedric studied them.The Valkyrie touched the smallest circle at the centre.“This is where you are now. The First Awakening of the Realm-Heart. It is called the Realm’s Pulse.”The circle opened, showing a figure standing upon a web of roots. Hundreds of small lights burned around him.“This is what answered you inside the Rootway,” she continued. “At this awakening, Midgard allows you to feel the lives standing upon its land. Fear, pain and death can reach you through the ground if the realm believes you must hear them.”“The roots opened because Midgard chose to help you,” she added. “You did not command th
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In five more hours, Halvard and his hired men would have spent an entire day inside the private room above the tavern.At first, Halvard had enjoyed the wait.He had ordered wine, roasted meat and enough sweet cakes for a celebration. The man he sent to watch Kaedric’s estate was supposed to return with news the moment the Guardian came home.Then Halvard would begin the next part of his plan.He was going to become the father-in-law of the Lord of Ashkim. That position alone would place him above almost every noble who had ever refused to respect him.He had already imagined the stories he would tell.He would tell everyone that he had protected Liv when she became pregnant. He would say he refused to disown her even when the other families demanded it. He would describe the sacrifices he made for Astrid and how he always knew Kaedric would return.Every word would be a lie.But once he stood beside the Guardian, who would dare call him a liar?No one.He would walk through Ashkim wh
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“Mother, where have you been?”Astrid stood in the middle of her room with her arms folded. Her small face carried far more anger than a six-year-old should have been able to gather.Liv stopped in the doorway.“You and Father both went out without me,” Astrid continued. “Where is he? I want to see him.”“It is not like that, my love. Your father had somewhere important to go, and I—”“Where is he?” Astrid looked behind Liv, as though Kaedric might be hiding in the hallway.“He will return soon.”Liv glanced at the maids. “Has she been giving all of you trouble?”“No, my lady,” one answered quickly. “She has been showing us how she can use a sword. And she even…”The maid began laughing and pointed towards another young woman near the window.Liv looked at Astrid. “What did you do?”“Only this.”Astrid raised two fingers and snapped them.A tiny flame appeared above her fingertips.It was not red or orange.It was gold.Before Liv could move, Astrid touched the flame to the edge of he
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