Chapter 56 - Umiko

A knock on the bedroom door gets my attention while I’m burping Arkyn, and when I look up, it’s straight into Freyja’s green eyes. She hasn’t left her bedroom for over two weeks and refused to see anyone, even Andreas, so the fact that she’s here leaves me surprised.

“Freyja, love,” I murmur and beckon her over to sit next to me on the bed after I’ve put Arkyn back in his crib. She sighs, then walks over and sits in the space I’ve gestured, but when she eventually looks into my eyes, I see a broken woman.

One I can relate to.

“I was born today twenty-six years ago,” she whispers, then looks down again, and tears fall into her open palms. “Frigga and I always said that one day when we escape out of the hole, we would shift and run for every birthday that follows to signify our freedom, but now… now I’m alone and without the person I loved more than myself.”

Her shoulders don’t even shake as she silently cries, but I can tell from her racing heart and melancholic scent that no matter ho