Dawn of Cobalt Shadows (Burning Empire Book 2) by Emma Hamm (best e ink reader for manga .txt) 📕

She forced herself to remain still as the strange creature snatched at the air over her shoulders. More mutterings revealed the woman was speaking in a tongue Sigrid did not know. Over and over again the woman tugged at a world Sigrid couldn’t see. And strangely enough, she felt herself growing lighter.

Eventually, the woman muttered in the common tongue, “Let go, you old fools. She’s made her way to us at last, we’ll take care of her from here. Off with you.”

“Who are you talking to?” she asked.

“The souls who guided you here. Spirit guides, seekers of truth if you will. They wanted you to come here just as they wanted me to find you. They were the ones who told me you were in this cave, after all. But they’re foolish things who speak too loudly. One can’t think when they’re all muttering over each other.” She dashed away the last one, then lifted the skull to Sigrid’s eyes. “Look into Grim, and see your future.”

“I’d rather not.”

“Some don’t want to see the future, because they’re afraid of it. Others, because they already know the path they walk will be a difficult one. Which one are you, Sigrid of Wildewyn? Daughter of Freydis the White?”

It was the first time in many years she’d heard her mother’s name. Earthen folk didn’t like to say the name of their relatives who no longer walked the earth. They thought it would bring their souls back in times when they should be resting.

“Freydis,” she repeated, the word white and effervescent on her tongue. “You know my mother’s name.”

“And you had nearly forgotten it. Grim gave it back to you, not me.”

Sigrid’s eyes flicked down to the rat’s skull and recoiled when she saw the black smoke deep in the creature’s eye sockets. “What is that?”

“Old magic. Ancient magic that you should not touch. I told him that, but he wanted to meet you more than anything else.”

“Why?” Sigrid stared at the swirling mass inside the skull and wondered if she was still asleep. This wasn’t possible. People could turn into animals, their clothing remaining intact, certainly. But that didn’t mean all magic was possible… did it?

“You’ll have to ask him.”

“I don’t want to talk to your rat.”

“He’s not a rat,” the woman replied, cupping the skull close to her bare chest. “Don’t worry, love. I’ll explain it all to her in due time. But first, we have to get her out of the cave.”

“Why?” Sigrid asked again. “This is as good a place as any for you to answer my questions.”

“It isn’t. Simply won’t do, because we aren’t supposed to remain here and we’re already late. I didn’t want to rush you after your long journey. Sometimes, other people aren’t as patient as I am.” She tucked the skull back into its holder, wrapping the string tightly through the eye sockets. “Are you ready to go?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“Well, hurry then, child. We’ve a long way to go yet.”

Sigrid watched in astonishment as the woman reached out and pulled her clothes off the branch. They were thrust at her with no care toward the fire. Sigrid fumbled with the leather, rushing out of the flames and pulled them onto her body.

“You never told me your name,” Sigrid said as she hurriedly got her things together. “And who is calling for me?”

“The matriarch. And my name is Eivor,” the creature swept into a kind of bow, then tossed another layer at Sigrid. “Are you ready yet?”

“Eivor?” Sigrid repeated, pulling the shirt over her head. “I’ve never heard such a name.”

“That’s because it came from a time before you were born. A time before the Beastkin forgot where they came from, and what their true names were.”

“My name is Sigrid; my mother’s was Freydis. I know these names are true and ours.” It felt important to say that, as nothing else she’d ever said before.

Sigrid finished pulling the shirt over her head, the last layer before her jacket, and froze when she saw the woman had lunged forward. Impossibly close, she could feel Eivor’s breath on her face as she breathed.

The strange creature tilted her head, bones shifting at her sides and scraping down her shoulders. “You say it strangely, but your name is Sigrid. It’s a name for victory. A name for wisdom. You will walk your path with strength, and it is the right one for you to take.”

Apparently, all she needed was a woman who talked to dead animals to tell her that. Sigrid straightened her shoulders, and nodded. “I’m ready then.”

“Good. We have but a short way to go.”

Eivor moved away from her and Sigrid’s jaw gaped open. “You mean, I’ve been near the ancients this whole time?”

“It’s hard to find us when there’s a storm on the horizon. You walked around us three times before you finally found the cave. The storm is over now, and I will take you to the matriarch without getting lost in the white beast. Come.”

Sigrid snagged her pack on the way out, swung it over her shoulder, and plunged into the blinding whiteness of fresh snow.

Not a single thing had touched the blanket which now laid across the earth. Pristine and pure, she lifted a hand to shield her eyes against the blinding whiteness. There was at least a foot of snow which had fallen since last night.

She recognized the tree in the distance. It had appeared much taller in the dim light of the storm. Now, it looked more like a shrub.

Eivor moved across the snow as light as a feather. She barely even left footprints where she walked. “Come alone, dragon. There’s no time to waste!”

If Sigrid could walk on top of the snow like her companion, that would have made things easier. Instead, she had to trudge through the wet, sticky substance. Every step felt as though it were sucking into the ground as the earth tried to hold her in place.

She was strong,