31

Aina

“Aina?”

“Oh gods, what’s happening?”

I stand on the banks of the black river encircling Tuonela. Behind me, far in the distance, Tuoni’s palace looms, casting light in all directions like a beacon in the darkness. Before me, a boat waits at the dock, its high prow bobbing on still waters. A haggard old woman stands in the back of the boat, clutching a long wooden pole. She is Tuonen tytti, the ferrywoman. She’s short and bent, with white hair sticking out stiffly, like straw, from under her cap. She watches me with dark eyes set in a skull-like face.

To either side of me, the other girls huddle close, trembling. Satu and Helmi clutch at my hands, while Riina stands tall, her gaze darting to where my new husband waits. Kalma and a troop of dead soldiers flank him.

“Aina, what have you done?” Riina whispers.

“Come,” I say, leading the girls down the dock. “We haven’t much time. You must cross.”

“Cross where?” says Helmi. “What’s happening?”

“Did you marry him?” Riina presses.

I nod, glancing over my shoulder. “It was the only way to break the curse and set you all free.”

“Set us free,” says Satu. “You’re coming with us. Aina, we’re leaving together. All of us.”

I smile and kiss her forehead. “I made a bargain with Tuoni to spare your lives—”

Riina flinches away as Helmi stifles a cry.

“This isn’t a trick,” I say, cupping her cheek. “He has promised to protect me from the witches. I will be safe here.”

“You will be hunted and despised, and you will die a fool’s death,” Riina replies.

“Then I die at peace knowing others I love will live.”

“Could you not ask him now to free you too?” Satu whispers.

As she speaks, I feel his fingers pluck at the threads of our blood bond, reminding me of how completely I am bound. “My place is here now. Oh, do not weep for me,” I add, wiping Satu’s cheek. “I’ll be happy in the knowledge that you’re safe. But there is something you must do for me.”

“What?” asks Satu.

“I want my family to know I’m alive. I need you to find them for me. They live on the southwest shore of Lake P?ij?nne. My mother is the wisewoman of our village. Her name is Milja. My father is Taavi; he’s a woodworker. And my best friend, Siiri. You must find them and tell them what happened to us here. Tell them—tell Siiri—” I wipe away my tears with a sniff, my heart breaking as I picture her anguished face. “Tell her I love her. Tell her this wasn’t her fault. Tell her I am at peace. You tell her that.”

Satu and Helmi nod.

“I’ll find them or die trying,” Riina says, her hand on my shoulder.

“It is time,” Tuoni calls from behind us.

The other girls jump, their gazes darting over my shoulders to the death god striding towards us. His thick boots thunk on the boards of the dock. He sweeps to my side, his black cloak trailing on the ground. The girls shrink back as he places an arm around my shoulders.

“I am bound by sacred oath to my wife to return you to the land of the living,” he declares.

Satu and Helmi flinch again at hearing his voice, spoken directly to them. I feel so small, tucked in at his side, my shoulders fitting under the spread of his arm, a great black raven guarding over his little dove.

“W-we thank you, my lord,” Satu murmurs.

Trembling like a leaf, Helmi dares to step forward. “Could you not find it in your heart to release Aina as well?”

Tuoni’s arm stiffens around me. “The Queen of Tuonela belongs in Tuonela,” he replies tonelessly.

Helmi and Satu cry anew. Riina simply shakes her head. But I don’t let myself feel despair at his response. I never expected he would set me free. Our bargain is struck, my fate sealed.

“You should know that no oath was required,” Tuoni goes on, surprising us all. “You have suffered enough under Tuonetar’s schemes. You go now under my protection, and with my blessing. The hand of Tuoni shall be a guide upon your heart. Where it is in my power, I shall bless you with long lives and peaceful, painless deaths.”

I breathe a sigh of relief.

“As a token of my goodwill, you shall take these with you.” With a wave of his hand, three horses appear in the boat. Their saddles are strapped with large packs. The contents rattle and clank as the horses toss their heads and paw their hooves. “Each horse carries gold and silver that equals you in weight,” Tuoni explains. “You also have a sack of barley grain blessed by P?iv?t?r herself. So long as you pray to her daily, it will never empty.”

The girls exchange surprised glances, and my heart races. P?iv?t?r, goddess of the sun. He is giving them each a dowry fit for a queen.

Tuoni gives my shoulder a squeeze. “Say your last farewells, wife. They must go.”

Stepping out of his embrace, I cross the few short steps to their sides and wrap my arms around Satu again. Helmi steps in too. “You saved us,” she whispers.

“You would have done the same,” I reply.

“Come with us,” Satu pleads again.

I pull away, cupping first her cheek, then Helmi’s. “Find my family. Find my mother and Siiri. You tell them where I am,” I say, looking to Riina. “You tell them not to worry. Tell them I love them, and I would be with them if I could.”

Riina nods, a look of determination set on her face.

Four dead guards step forward, flanking us on the dock.

“It is time,” Tuoni calls.

“No,” Helmi whimpers, holding to me.

My heart drops, even as I try to keep smiling. This is what I wanted. This is what I fought for. This is the bargain I made. The dead step closer, ready to force the girls into the waiting boat.

Satu peers around me, her hands gripping me more tightly. “Please, my lord,” she cries. “Make a bargain with me. My gold for Aina’s life. Take it all, only give me Aina.”

“And mine too,” says Helmi. “Please, my lord. We offer you everything—”

“Enough.” Tuoni reaches out, his hands like iron banding over my shoulders. He pulls me back, breaking Satu and Helmi’s hold on me. “Do not insult me with such an offer again.”

The girls cower and back away.

“You cannot so carelessly return a gift once given,” he intones, his words laced with shadow and fire. “And my wife cannot be bought or traded for mere sacks of gold. She is priceless to me. You dishonor her sacrifice by daring to change the terms of her bargain. Take the blessing of life I offer you and leave my realm in peace.”

Riina steps behind the girls. “Come away,” she says softly. “Girls, come.”

Helmi and Satu let Riina walk them backwards, the dead pressing in as they’re forced to step into the boat. The horses snort as the boat rocks. “Don’t forget us,” Satu cries out at me.

“Never,” I call back. “Do not forget me. And do not break your word.”

“We will not fail you!”

Tuoni holds me fast as we watch the ferrywoman push off with her pole, guiding the boat away from the dock.

“Aina,” Helmi cries, reaching out a helpless hand.

The ferry moves away across the dark water, separating me from the last three living mortal souls left in this realm. I pull away from the death god, running to the end of the dock. The dead to either side cross their pikes, creating a barrier I cannot cross. I lift a hand, waving to the girls in parting, until I lose sight of them to the darkness.

Tuoni steps in behind me, his hand returning to my shoulder. “Come, wife.”

“Tell me this is no trick,” I whisper. “Tell me they’re safe. Tell me they will feel the sun on their faces again.”

With gentle hands, he lifts my cowl, covering my hair against the winter chill. “I gave you my word,” he replies solemnly. “They will step through the veil and ride a dangerous road. They must cross over marsh and mead, through fen and forest, before they pass through the gates of the North, returning to the land of the living.”

“A dangerous road? But you gave them no weapons.”

“They do not go alone,” he replies. “Kalma shall be their guide.”

I glance over his shoulder to where Kalma had been standing moments before. Now, there is nothing but shadow. “All this time she was fighting to free you?”

He nods, tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear.

I bite my lip, holding back the question I know I must ask, fearful of his response. Finally, I say, “Did you ask her to bring the girls into death? Was she acting on your orders?”

His brows lower and his jaw clenches. I’ve seen the same look on the raven. He’s affronted I even asked. “No,” he replies. “In fact, I ordered her to leave me to my fate. Many times, I ordered her to stop.” His tone is shadowed by anger and resentment.

I peer up at him, studying his mismatched eyes. “She was willing to kill as many women as it took to set you free... because she loves you.”

He nods.

“I understand your relief. You would still be bound to that tree if not for her... but if not for her, so many girls would still be alive,” I add, trying to stop my voice from breaking.

“I know you fear Kalma, my love. I saw it as the raven. Now I can feel it.” He presses a hand to his chest, giving me a somber look. “She has been the source of so many of your nightmares. In your heart, you hate her.”

“It’s complicated,” I admit.

“Her loyalty to me can only be a comfort to you now. Kalma is mine .” He cups my cheek. “As she protects me, she will protect my wife.”

I fight a shiver, whether from the cold or this feeling of dread I cannot shake.

“Come,” Tuoni says, offering me his hand. “The hour is late, and you are tired. Let us return home and get you warm by the fire.”

Home .

I glance over his shoulder once to the beacon that is his palace on the hill. Tuonela. My home. There can be no going back now. I made this bargain. All that remains is for me to survive it. Taking my husband’s hand, I let him lead me away from the dock, away from the land of the living, deeper into the Kingdom of Death.