Astrid Stormborn's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Astrid crouched beside the fallen log, studying the moss pattern she'd been tracking since dawn. The traveler who gave her the tattoo three moons back had left no trail, no sign, nothing but the burning ink on her forearm and questions that kept her moving north. She talked to herself more now, full conversations that would make most people nervous, but out here alone it was either that or go quiet inside. But the river ahead changed everything. She heard it first, a roar too deep for ordinary water, then saw the crimson veil through the trees. The cascade fell thirty feet between purple cliffs, the water running red as blood from some mineral upstream. No way around it for miles in either direction. She'd have to cross at the base where the spray turned the rocks slick. That's when she saw the carved stone. Sitting on a flat boulder at the crossing point, right where she'd have to step. The serpent coiled in polished blue-green stone, scales etched in the exact pattern that wrapped her forearm. Amber eyes caught the light. Crystal fangs jutted from its open mouth. Her tattoo burned hot, the first time in five days. A smaller stone rested beside it, smooth and faintly glowing in the mist. Someone had placed both here recently. The serpent carving was too clean, the arrangement too deliberate. Astrid pressed her burning forearm against the carved snake and laughed out loud, the sound sharp against the water's thunder. "Found me, did you?" She looked north into the forest beyond the crossing. "Or are you making sure I find you?" The footprints she'd been chasing had just become something more.