Iron Seas 03 - Riveted

seek to bury your mother’s beads. If you give them to me, I will see that it is done.”
    She would? He could hardly comprehend how she even knew . “Annika told you?”
    “Yes.”
    Annika had told them. Yet they weren’t hostile. Whatever she’d said must have put him in a better light than his threat deserved.
    “What say you, Ingasson? The blood of her sister will do as well as yours, and will guide Inga to her own mother’s side.”
    Surprise struck him again. “Her sister? ”
    “Yes.”
    He had another aunt? “What is her name?”
    “Hildegard.” The woman smiled slightly, as if amused by his astonishment. “Will you give them over?”
    Torn, David considered it. The task would be completed…but his mother hadn’t only asked for her beads to be buried. She’d asked him to do it. “I promised that I would bury them myself.”
    She nodded. “So I will tell the others. Where do you travel to next, Ingasson?”
    “Vik, for the next month.” With forays north to the glaciers. “Then we head to Höfn. What is your name?”
    “I am Camille. She is Lisbet, my daughter.” The girl hadn’t taken her eyes off David during the conversation, but he hadn’t seen any wariness there. Instead she wore a smile with her lips pressed tight together, as if suppressing laughter. “Can I trust you not to follow us?”
    He wouldn’t have, anyway. But David sensed that if he broke that trust, she’d see that he never fulfilled his promise. “Yes.”
    “Safe journey, Ingasson.”
    They started off again. David watched them go, still disbelieving that they’d ever been there—and soon, he realized, there wouldn’t be evidence that they had been. The snow fell steadily. Their tracks would be filled in by morning.
    In a daze, David returned to the airship. He had another aunt. The cargo lift carried him up to the main deck, where he paused. Annika stood at the starboard rail, immediately recognizable by the brightness of her scarf. She wore the blue wool mantle that covered her from shoulder to thigh—the balloon warmers radiated heat the length of the deck, making a coat unnecessary.
    She didn’t look up at his approach, but leaned against the side with her elbows resting on the gunwale and her chin propped on mittened hands, her gaze fixed north. David stopped, taking her in, feeling the painful twist in his chest as he studied her face. Her farawayexpression held longing, sadness—as if whatever she wanted wasn’t here.
    Almost everything that he wanted was. He cleared his throat. Annika glanced up. Her smile of greeting eased the pain near his heart.
    And he was beginning to realize just how much he owed her. Despite her insistence that she couldn’t help him, she had . He didn’t know what would come of the discussion Camille had with the others, and he didn’t know whether she’d done it for his sake or for his mother’s, but he’d always be grateful for it.
    “Thank you,” he said.
    Her brows came together and she straightened, turning to lean back against the rail. “For what?”
    “I met Camille and Lisbet.”
    “Oh.” Her eyes widened, lit by surprise. “What did they say?”
    “Camille said she would see my mother’s runes buried for me.”
    “And?”
    “I refused. I promised my mother I would do it, and so I will.” The heat from the warmers was painful against his back now. When they’d been under way, the constant wind had kept them from becoming too hot, but the wind from the bay wasn’t doing the same job. He turned, feeling like a piece of a meat on a spit. “Now I wonder if I was mistaken. If she only wanted to have them buried, does it matter who buries them? But if she meant for me to do exactly as she asked, then I’m the only one who can. What if I fail, however? What if I refused my only opportunity to see the task done? I’m not sure what serves her best.”
    Annika pursed her lips as if considering the dilemma. Her mouth plumped, and for an endless moment, David wasn’t torn with indecision at all. He wanted to taste her mouth beneath his, to feel the heat inside, to know the sweetness of her kiss.
    Desire stirred up an ache that had become all too familiar sincehe’d met her. David turned against the rail again and let the cold breeze hit his face. It didn’t help.
    Finally, she shook her head. “Who can know what she intended? But everyone will think well of you for adhering to your promise.”
    He wanted them to. He wanted her to. After years of