She called me foolish. Stubborn.
She has no idea how far I will go to sacrifice for her.
The witch plucks up the pouch with delicate fingers, testing the weight. She hums.
“This is a great sum of money, troll”
I meet her gaze, my voice steady. “The service I require is not cheap.”
Another low hum vibrates from her throat, thoughtful.
She looks at me, and a light shines from her eyes through the mask. Then, as quickly as it had sparked, it dims and reveals dark, hazel eyes.
“You are not the first to come to me seeking to change what Endu or Grutabela have written.” She bounces the pouch filled with gold once more. “Most who stand before me wish to find their mate. Some, after too many failed journeys, come begging for their fates to be forced. Others seek to undo a bond that has already begun.”
She tilts her head, considering. “But you… you are different.”
I clench my fists at my sides. “I am.”
“You wish for no bond at all.”
I nod once. “I have found a woman. She will always be my choice.”
The witch sighs, almost as if she pities me. “And what if she finds her other half? Better yet, you look quite young—What if you do? What if one day, you wake and realize fate had planned otherwise?”
I scoff. She knew nothing of me, and less of Adra.
“This is the right choice. And I will have no reason to fear the fates,” I growl. “Not if you do what I ask.”
“What I ask,” she mocks.“If you wish such a brutal procedure, you must say the words.”
I take a breath and say, “I require the removal of my heart.”
She exhales slowly, then extends her hand toward me, fingers curling. The air in the cavern presses against my skin.
“You do understand this is a wound that will not heal with time, yes?” she murmurs. “A loss you will suffer in every emotion that trickles through your veins for as long as you remain heartless.”
I do not waver. “Will you do it?”
My heart hammers, as if it knows what is about to occur.
“You trolls have been given many gifts. Your home. Your magic. Those gems in your chest. You have it all, and still you want more.”
I grit my teeth. “I don’t need a lecture. I’ve brought good money. If you will not, I will find?—”
Something cuts off my ability to speak.
She tilts her head, and for a long moment, there is silence.
“You are sure?”
The hold on my head loosens just enough for me to nod.
“Then I will take your gold.” She whispers something—a word that slithers like ink into the air and curls around me.
And then the pain crashes into me. I am filled with agony unlike anything I have ever known.
A gasp tears from my lips as my chest seizes, a terrible wrenching that makes my bones feel as though they are being shattered from the inside. I stagger, my knees nearly giving way as something inside me rips.