Once the song ended, Sigyn excused herself to the bathroom while Kark cleaned the stage and the audience filed out. She was standing at the sink when the door opened, which she ignored.

Until the lock clicked.

Stilling her body, Sigyn raised her eyes to the mirror. A girl blocked the only exit. Her petite body trembled like those tiny, hairless dog people carried in purses. Sigyn smirked and continued washing her hands.

"I saw what you did," the girl said quietly.

"I'm sorry?"

"I saw you shoot that wolf."

Sigyn commended her courage, but this poor girl had no real power. "What wolf?"

Jess' stone-cold confidence melted under Sigyn's gaze. She balled her fists, desperate to hold on to it. "I know it was you! And I know you saw me!"

Sigyn ripped a paper towel from the dispenser and dried her hands. "Our senses often deceive us, don't they?"

"My father is the chief of police. I wanted to give you a chance to confess before I handed my evidence over."

Sigyn tossed the paper into the bin and faced Jess. "So you lock yourself in a room with a person you're convinced is dangerous with no idea what they could do and having no real plan yourself?" Sigyn studied her, head to toe, with less emotion than reading a menu.

Jess lifted her chin, unwavering from the stare down building. Then Sigyn's face changed.

It wasn't physical. It was as if something happened under the surface. Her face lovely face now struck a bolt of fear deep through Jess' body. It had become a mask, covering something pretending to be human.

Nausea swayed through her. She wanted to bolt but didn't dare turn her back on the thing in the bathroom with her. The slightest move would set it off. A predator, eager for its prey to flee.

Sigyn's long legs moved forward, backing Jess into the wall until their faces were centimeters apart. Cold breath tickled the pores of her cheeks. Sigyn's left hand brushed past her hair, then braced against the wall, caging her in. In the blink of an eye, she was small.

Up close, Sigyn's eyes were almost completely white, with a dark ring around the iris. Terrifying and intriguing. So lost in those eyes, when a hand slid into her jeans, she didn't flinch.

Sigyn's lips twisting into a smirk when she held up Jess' phone. She tapped the red button, ending the recording. "I wasn't born yesterday, sweetheart."

Heat built up in Jess' cheeks as she snatched her phone back.

"Don't be discouraged, it was a good try. But you're out of your depth." Sigyn backed away, her face normal again.

"I will prove it was you."

"What a way to spend your vacation." Sigyn leaned towards the mirror to check her hair and makeup. "Either way, what is it to you?"

"I don't tolerate poaching. That poor animal did nothing to hurt you!"

Sigyn let out a puff of air in a short laugh. In response, Jess wanted to rip the tile off the walls for her to take her seriously.

"There are forces at play you could never imagine."

What the heck was that suppose to mean? Jess didn't think it was that deep. She had heard plenty of people passionately ranting about how wolves were a menace. It always came down to fear, or complaints about killing livestock or wild game that the hunters didn't have the marksmanship to bring down anyway, so they blamed the wolves for chasing them away.

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"I understand everything fine!" Jess argued.

Sigyn threw her one last, aggravating smile as she walked past her towards the door, knowing full well that Jess could do nothing to stop her. "Enjoy the rest of your stay."

image [https://img.wattpad.com/6c46634b7f1c7848eaf0b63779fd88d51afd1eab/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f63444b463259532d55326b6473773d3d2d313435353636323435342e313766613838663961306566343236313732303137313931313336302e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

The encounter hardly left Sigyn shaken, unlike the dream she had later that night.

She was alone, sprinting through a dark forest. Nothing but blackness ahead of her, but she could feel the eyes of someone behind her burning a hole in the back of her neck.

Crystals on the crust of the snow caught the moon so the ground sparkled. It was beautiful enough for forget it was a battleground. The splatter of blood against the white snow was an image Sigyn would never forget.

The night wind whistled in her ear as something flew past her head. An arrow had pierced through her hair and implanted into a tree infront of her.

Footsteps were gaining on her. She couldn't run faster as hard as she tried to move. Her feet sunk deeper into the snow. Her beating heart threatened to burst out of her chest. Time itself slowed to a crawl.

A spot on her shoulder burned with a familiar pain, starting as a needle poke, and spreading scorching flames across her whole body. The heat grew until her body convulsed, and she collapsed.

Just before her head struck the ground, she woke up.

She sat up fast enough to shake the bed. Her breathing was rapid, and the spot on her shoulder still burned. A slimer of morning like leaked through the window curtains, but she hardly felt rested.

Someone's arm was draped across her lap. She pushed it away and climbed out of bed, careful to avoid the passed-out bodies on the floor as she walked to her bathroom. Pointing her shoulder to the mirror, she pulled aside the strap of her nightgown to observe the scar in the center of her shoulder blade. It was a jagged, round mess of tender red skin, intersected with marks from removed stitches. Days like these, she could still feel the arrowhead tearing through her flesh and scratching her shoulder blade.

The floorboards creaked behind her. Adrenaline from the nightmare still flowing in her veins, she spun around to face her attacker. Ice formed in her closed fist, elongating into a spear.

Kark raised his empty hands and patiently waited for Sigyn to relax.

"Sorry." She tightened her grip on the spear, and it exploded into a puff of tiny crystals, falling to the floor. "Rough night."

Kark glanced at the people sprawled across the room - many of them fully naked. "It couldn't have been all that bad."

The humans certainly had a blast, but Sigyn was less than impressed by last night's afterparty. So many hours with so many people wasn't enough to keep the nightmares away. "Let's go talk in my office."

They descended the spiral staircase, partly to host a more private conversation, and partly so Sigyn could avoid awkward early-morning goodbyes with her guests.

Once seated at her desk, Kark offered a tray of fresh breakfast. "I take it you miss Lo-"

Sigyn's eyes snapped towards him in a silent order to stop talking, to which he obliged. "No I do not. Here we are, running for our lives, and he can't be bothered to show up. Probably too busy galivanting through Asgard's halls."

To put his boss in a better mood, Kark changed the subject. "I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I neglected my duties and put us both in jeopardy."

Sigyn rubbed her face that was still stiff from sleep. "Don't punish yourself. You did what you could. You're not the one who was caught in the act," she added, remembering the shocked expression of Jess watching her from the ski trail.

"I could have done better!" Kark insisted. "I was tired and overwhelmed by the work here, but I think I know a solution. We could benefit from more hands."

He had always been scrawny, but lately he looked more sickly than ever. For the past few weeks, both of them had suffered ailments, and Kark seemed to be taking the brunt of them. He had lost a scary amount of weight in a short time, and his normally expressive eyes were dull and sunken into his face. Sigyn made sure not to show her worry, in case it spurred him to work harder.

"You know why we can't do that, Kark."

"In theory. However, I'd like to argue that in the time we've spent here, we've aroused next to no suspicion. The guests have free range on the grounds day and night, and none have asked questions."

Sigyn shook her head. "All but one."

"It is a risk, but between the wolves getting closer and us constantly getting sick, we may be over our heads."

Sigyn rubbed a spot on her temple, where a recurring headache liked to appear. "Alright. Hire whoever you need."

A bright smile appeared on Kark's face. It was the happiest he looked in too long. "Thank you, M'lady."

"But you are responsible for them!" Sigyn warned. "If they get out of line, if they start asking questions, I want them gone."

"Yes ma'am!" Kark replied with a renewed spring in his step.