Luckily, handsome and kind-hearted local Gunnar Heimirsson stumbles upon her—unluckily, he can’t explain her mysterious journey either. Nor can anyone explain why Vanessa soon discovers “last night” actually happened a year ago, and everyone thinks she’s dead.
Iceland is known for its folklore, but beyond the elves and mountain trolls, there are other creatures: beautiful, powerful, and vengeful, known as the huldufólk. Gunnar has been alive for a century, trapped by their curse after angering them. From the far flung Westfjords to the black sands of Reynisfjara, the answer to Vanessa’s missing year might be connected to Gunnar’s punishment—as well as his long-lost wife, Hera—but the truth lies somewhere in the realm of magic, myth, and love, and Vanessa has only just discovered fairy tales are real.
The path meandered up the hill, and she soon realized both the jacket and sweater were overkill as she began to sweat. She would take the jacket off at the top. Until then, she kept her eyes on the uneven ground and tried not to stumble in her too-large boots. The wind whipped harder as they climbed, adding to the difficulty.
At the summit she stopped to catch her breath, heart pounding and uncomfortably hot beneath her layers. They looked back over the town, the houses now miniature at the bottom of the slope. The water spread out glimmering in all directions. The sun hung red beneath the canopy of clouds.
“What’s it like, living so long?” She peeled the jacket off. “You’ve seen some history, huh?”
The wind ruffled his wild, loose curls. “It’s just been my life, nothing more. You see history too, every day. Do you think of it that way?”
The air rushing up under the sweater and cooling the sweat on her skin was bliss. “I guess not. Does it ever get boring?”
“As boring as it is for anyone, I suppose.” The sunset caressed his face, turning it golden. “I have things to keep me occupied.”
She gazed at him, mesmerized. God, he was handsome. Not pretty, not cute. Handsome. Solid and finely sculpted, like carved ice. His eyes held her spellbound. They were so clear, so pale and blue. They reminded her of the glacier she’d walked on with her friends, smooth and bright and so cleanly cold.
A sensation stirred deep inside her, some old, familiar feeling, much like the notion she’d had on the boat that she knew him. It felt as ancient and enduring as the land they stood on. What the hell did it mean? She couldn’t grasp or define it.
“Yeah.” She pushed her hair back from her face. “You’ve moved all around the country, fallen in love. You drive a boat. Find passed out strangers.” She smiled. “It sounds a lot more exciting than most lives, actually. More exciting than packing pills.”
“I’ve been out of the country, too.” He smiled in return. “But not for a long time.”
“They let you leave?”
“My body is my prison, not Iceland.”
That brought up uneasy questions. Would they follow her home? Would she always be their victim, even when she left here?
“How far does their magic reach?” She tucked her hair behind her ear to keep it from blowing around. “Can you ever escape it?”
“I’ve never managed to.” He turned, toward the flat stretch of land in front of them. Another hill rose in the distance, dark against the deep blue sky.
She draped the jacket over her arm. “I suppose we’re going up that one, too?”
“Yes, the place we’re going is a place where people don’t usually visit.”
At the summit she stopped to catch her breath, heart pounding and uncomfortably hot beneath her layers. They looked back over the town, the houses now miniature at the bottom of the slope. The water spread out glimmering in all directions. The sun hung red beneath the canopy of clouds.
“What’s it like, living so long?” She peeled the jacket off. “You’ve seen some history, huh?”
The wind ruffled his wild, loose curls. “It’s just been my life, nothing more. You see history too, every day. Do you think of it that way?”
The air rushing up under the sweater and cooling the sweat on her skin was bliss. “I guess not. Does it ever get boring?”
“As boring as it is for anyone, I suppose.” The sunset caressed his face, turning it golden. “I have things to keep me occupied.”
She gazed at him, mesmerized. God, he was handsome. Not pretty, not cute. Handsome. Solid and finely sculpted, like carved ice. His eyes held her spellbound. They were so clear, so pale and blue. They reminded her of the glacier she’d walked on with her friends, smooth and bright and so cleanly cold.
A sensation stirred deep inside her, some old, familiar feeling, much like the notion she’d had on the boat that she knew him. It felt as ancient and enduring as the land they stood on. What the hell did it mean? She couldn’t grasp or define it.
“Yeah.” She pushed her hair back from her face. “You’ve moved all around the country, fallen in love. You drive a boat. Find passed out strangers.” She smiled. “It sounds a lot more exciting than most lives, actually. More exciting than packing pills.”
“I’ve been out of the country, too.” He smiled in return. “But not for a long time.”
“They let you leave?”
“My body is my prison, not Iceland.”
That brought up uneasy questions. Would they follow her home? Would she always be their victim, even when she left here?
“How far does their magic reach?” She tucked her hair behind her ear to keep it from blowing around. “Can you ever escape it?”
“I’ve never managed to.” He turned, toward the flat stretch of land in front of them. Another hill rose in the distance, dark against the deep blue sky.
She draped the jacket over her arm. “I suppose we’re going up that one, too?”
“Yes, the place we’re going is a place where people don’t usually visit.”
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ReplyDeleteI like the sound of this mystery and I'm anxious to find out how Vanessa ended up there - a year later! I'm definitely add it to my TBR list.
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ReplyDeleteThis looks like a fun book. The couple on the cover look like they have alot of chemistry. Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDeletelooks like a good one
ReplyDeleteI would like to give thanks for all your really great writings, and wishing the best in keeping up the good work in the future.
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