by S. T. Bende
Jason reached up to stroke my cheek. “I’m so sorry you had to experience that loss.”
“It’s taken me a long time to release my guilt, and I’ll probably never stop wishing I’d handled things differently. But I made it through that darkness, and I made it through this one. And I will never, never take for granted the incredible gift that is being in full possession of all of my power. Especially my heart.” I shifted my mug to one hand, and placed the other atop Jason’s chest. “We’re a lot, Jason—me and my team are a lot. We are devastation, and loss, and pain, and sorrow. But we’re also joy, and laughter, and learning, and love. We’re a family. And if you’re really going to be my partner, then we’re your family too. For better, or worse, you’re one of us.”
“Good.” Jason leaned forward to press his lips against mine. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
My heart swelled, the fullness of emotion igniting a warmth I hadn’t known for decades.
I let myself linger in Jason’s kiss until Henrik shouted from downstairs that the wedding cake was set up and everybody had better be getting into place right now. A fresh burst of happiness sparked in my heart.
“We’d better get downst—Jason!” I squealed as Jason set my mug on the nightstand, framed my waist with his hands, and lifted me onto his thighs. My heart quickened as I straddled his lap. Thank gods I’d selected a dress with a billowy skirt.
“Just getting one more kiss,” Jason explained.
My laughter gave way to a blissful sigh as he pressed himself against me. “Okay. One more kiss. Then I have to go officiate a very important wedding.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Jason lazed his tongue along my bottom lip, eliciting a whimper. “That you do.”
The pressure against my hips began to build, and as Jason’s hands slipped lower to palm my butt, I melted into the mortal who, against all odds, the Norns had chosen to be mine.
I had no idea how our story would play out, or how this human was going to fit into our unbelievably crazy Asgardian existence. No doubt he, like his sister, possessed some to-be-discovered gift that would bring ære to both of our realms. But with the darkness of Ragnarok behind and a future of light ahead, there could be no doubt that the worlds were growing—and Asgard right along with them. All realms wishing to thrive would have no choice but to evolve. Despite all the uncertainties, I knew that no matter what the future threw at us, Jason and I would find our way through the challenges along our path. And we’d come out the other side all the stronger. How could it be any other way? After all, this smart, fearless, sexy mortal was my match.
And he was absolutely perfekt for me.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
BRYNN
“OH, ELSA. YOU LOOK…you’re just…” A single tear spilled over the dam of Tyr’s eyelid. It blazed a trail down his freshly shaven cheek as he gazed at his sister’s classic white gown, simple tulle veil, and the delicate silver crown she wore atop her blond curls. In one hand she clutched pale pink peonies wrapped in strips of lace form Forse’s mother’s wedding gown—Nanna had gifted them to Elsa on her engagement. And on her wrist, she wore the strand of pearls her own mother and grandmother had worn on their wedding days.
Elsa was the quintessential blushing Asgardian bride. And she was finally going to marry Forse.
About bloody time.
“You’re not so bad-looking yourself, big brother.” Elsa reached up to wipe away Tyr’s tear. She smiled fondly as he tugged at his bunad—our traditional formal wear that consisted of a multi-buttoned coat, embroidered vest, calf-length pants, and knee-high socks. The outfit had once belonged to the Fredriksens’ dad, Ragnar—the original God of War. And I knew Tyr wore it out of love for his sister, as a means of bringing their father into this day. Tyr hated formal everything ten times more than the rest of us. But for Elsa…for Elsa, Tyr would move mountains.
And also, wear knee-high socks.
“You’re sure you want to do this?” he quipped. “Say the word and I’ll blur you straight out of here.”
“I’m sure.” Elsa patted Tyr’s cheek. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be. Thanks for walking me down the aisle.”
A second tear snuck past the gates. Tyr hastily wiped it away. “Wish it could have been Dad.”
“He’s here, you know. And Mom. And Nanna and Balder, too. They wouldn’t have missed this for the world.” Elsa smiled up at her brother. The two of them shared a silent moment in the living room of their childhood home. Their connection was so palpable, their gratitude at marking this milestone in the place they’d grown up so strong, I quickly found myself blinking back my own waterworks.
To distract myself from the threatening tear-flood, I hastily looked around the room. Mia hovered before the L-shaped sofa, tinkering with the pink and green bouquets that rested atop the coffee table. She’d borrowed one of Elsa’s bunads for the occasion, and the pale blue and silver fabric lent an extra sparkle to her eyes.
The fireplace stood to her right, lit with softly illuminated candles. Its mantle was swathed in equal parts ivory flowers and cream-colored votives, so that entire area appeared to be aglow. In front of her, the all-glass wall looked onto the tree-lined backyard. The Fredriksens’ Asgardian property was situated at the edge of a forest, and Mia, Freya, Lornara, Inga, and I had spent the better part of the past two days layering the towering sequoias and white-barked birches with strings of fairy lights and orchids. Odin only knew how Lornara had managed to infuse the flowers with glitter, but they sparkled over the makeshift aisle we’d lined with sparkling petals, guiding the way to the wedding arch that Tyr, Gunnar, Jason, and Nils had built. Henrik’s contribution to the arch had been limited, as he’d sequestered himself in the kitchen to create the mother of all wedding cakes.
It had been two of the most intense days of my life, but it had been (a) totally worth it, and (b) totally necessary. Elsa and Forse hadn’t given us much notice when they’d announced their decision to eschew tradition and elope. Since letting them sneak away was so not an option for the rest of us, we’d convinced them to let us put together a small, intimate, local wedding. Which, of course, meant we went all out for the entirety of the forty-eight hours we had to prepare. Because that was what Asgardians did.
And also, because Mia made us.
Our self-appointed wedding coordinator looked up as the gentle sounds of the bridal march floated through the open window. The notes were barely a whisper as the small chamber orchestra Mia had somehow commandeered from Odin’s palace began to play. She quickly gathered up the tabletop bouquets, handing one to me, and clutching one herself. “Okay. Everybody into position. I’ll go first, then Brynn. Then Tyr will lead Elsa. Ready?”
I moved over to squeeze Elsa’s hand. Then I angled my head at Mia and raised an eyebrow at Tyr. “You’re going to have your hands full with that one. She’s not going to stand for any of this ‘small wedding’ business when her day comes. You know that.”
“I know.” One corner of Tyr’s mouth tugged up in a half smile.
“I heard that.” Mia scurried behind Elsa, bending down to fluff out our friend’s train. “And I don’t recall being proposed to. Only asked if I wanted to join the ‘immortal ranks of a benevolent fraternal organization.’”
“That’s how you pitched joining Asgard?” Elsa elbowed her brother in the ribs. “Where’s the romance? The virtue? The ære?”
“Do you know how many notebooks she would have filled with pros and cons if I’d said it any other way?”
“He’s not wrong.” Mia ducked her head. “I’ve already filled two.”
Bless her sweet, analytical mind. Also, her notebooking.
“Well?” I waved my friends closer to the open glass doors. “What did you decide? And seriously, Tyr? No proposal?”
“She asked for one change at a time.”
“I would have gone for the other thing first,” I muttered. “Just saying.”
“Me too,” Elsa chimed in.
“Tyr
knows my admirably malleable five-year plan does not currently include getting married before graduation. And as for the other thing, I decided…” Mia made one final adjustment to Elsa’s train before taking her place in front of us.
“Yes?” I tapped my foot.
“I decided…” Mia bit down on her bottom lip. Behind me, Tyr’s torso positively oozed tension.
I sucked in a breath as the realization hit me. Tyr didn’t know. Mia hadn’t given him her decision yet. Oh, gods, she wasn’t going to break his heart the day of his sister’s wedding, was she? This was so my fault—I totally triggered this whole conversation. Stupid, Aksel. Abort. Abort!
I blurted. “We can talk about this la—”
“I decided that there’s no place I’d rather be than right here with all of you. Forever.” Mia’s ruby-glossed lips parted in a positively brilliant smile. The room filled to bursting with the relieved exhales of three breath-bated gods. Whew! My BFF said yes to forever with us!
“Right after I finish college,” Mia tacked on.
Details. I subtly fist-pumped the air.
Tyr sprung to Mia’s side and swept her into his arms in a totally swoon-worthy hug. “Thank gods. I couldn’t imagine a life without you.”
“Neither could I.” Mia stood on her tiptoes to plant a soft kiss on his jaw.
Tyr’s eyes clouded over as he pulled Mia closer. “Now, about that second question. Mia Ahlström, will you—”
Mia silenced him with another kiss. “I believe we have somewhere to be. We can’t have Forse thinking Elsa stood him up.”
Right. Elsa’s wedding. This was happening. So many good things!
“Five-year plan be fördömd,” Tyr murmured. “We’re talking about this later.”
With one lingering kiss, Mia shooed Tyr back toward the bride. He shot his girlfriend a wink, and crooked his arm for Elsa to tuck hers through. “You ready, sis?”
Elsa beamed. “Absolutely.”
It was true. Elsa couldn’t have possibly been more ready to marry Forse. And we couldn’t have been more ready to witness their union. At last.
The swell of violins urged Mia through the glass doors. Her borrowed bunad swished at her ankles as she made her way across the deck and onto the grass. I waited five counts before shooting Elsa a smile and positioning my bouquet in front of my hips. Sunlight kissed my face as I followed Mia’s path along the petal-strewn aisle, and to the semi-circle our friends had formed around the altar. Gunnar and Inga stood on my left, joyful grins lighting their faces. They’d delayed their return to Midgard to celebrate the union we’d all been waiting for since high school. Nils stood beside them, alternating brilliant smiles between the groom and the bride. The pride in his eyes made it clear that he adored his brother and new sister-in-law beyond measure, and I was thrilled to see him genuinely happy for the first time since his parents’ passing. Love truly was the balm to all wounds.
Henrik held the position beside the altar, and I had to force myself not to drool at the way his muscular chest and thick thighs filled out his bunad. We were so having alone time later. Or sooner. Definitely sooner.
Lornara and Jason stood to my right, the latter alternating curious glances at the fairy’s shimmering wings with longing looks aimed at the goddess in front of the altar, resplendent in her rose-hued gown. The Goddess of Love stood ready to bind Justice and Inner Peace in eternal matrimony. And if the glow emanating from her pinked cheeks was any indication, she was nearly the happiest being in the forest.
But Freya’s joy couldn’t hold a candle to Forse’s. Elsa’s groom stood proudly at the end of the aisle, blinking back tears as he watched his best friend—now his bride—glide blissfully toward him. Elsa tugged at Tyr’s arm as she practically skipped to her future, her radiant face matched in jubilance only by her groom’s. When she reached the wedding arch, Tyr unhooked her arm with a sentimental smile.
I could only imagine the silent conversation they now shared.
Freya drew her shoulders back, and opened her mouth to address the gathering. It took everything I had in me to hold my happy tears at bay. We were finally doing this!
“Who gives this goddess,” Freya began, “Elsa Fredriksen, so that she may be joined in holiest of matrimonies with Forse Styrke?”
“Nobody gives her. She is her own spirit, gifted to us by Odin’s blessing and her own volition, so that she may share her light with the realms.” Tyr’s jaw quivered. “But I, Tyr Fredriksen, sanction this union. As do our families, both those we were born into, and those we created of our own free will.”
My eyes spilled over as a blubbering bleat escaped my lips. I was so not getting through this day with a shred of dignity intact.
Henrik stepped across the aisle to hand me a handkerchief. “I re-engineered it so it’s hyper-absorbent. Should get you through the ceremony, at least.”
Gods, I loved that god. “Thanks, babe.”
Henrik stepped back with a wink.
Tyr placed his sister’s hand into his best friend’s palm. He took his place in the circle beside Mia, who slipped a comforting arm around his bicep. She nestled her cheek against his shoulder, and he lowered his chin atop her head. They really were the perfekt fit.
Henrik raised an eyebrow, and mouthed his question at me. “Did she give him an answer?”
As Freya began her blessing I snuck a peek at the bride and groom. They were completely immersed in one another. Good.
“She said yes,” I mouthed at Henrik. “After college.” Odin bless Mia and that ever-evolving five-year plan.
Henrik subtly pumped his fist, and I beamed in agreement. A yes was a yes. Our family was growing. Life was beautiful.
Elsa and Forse pledged to love one another for all eternity, and each of my friends stepped forward to make our own vow to love and support them, in good times and in bad. With each declaration, my heart filled with a level of joy even more overwhelming than the one I’d felt the day Freya gifted me with my own perfekt match. And as the newlyweds marched back down the aisle toward the table where my boyfriend’s masterpiece of a cake awaited, I snuggled into Henrik’s side with a blissed-out sigh.
He wrapped one arm around my waist, bending low so his breath tickled my ear. “What do you say, sötnos? Think we should do this someday?”
My breath stilled in my throat. Was that a hypothetical or a legit question?
“Um…”
Henrik’s eyes gave away nothing. “Oh, look. Elsa’s going to toss the bouquet.”
Gods, he was the worst tease.
I forced my eyes from Henrik’s unreadable face to where Elsa now stood beside the monster of a wedding cake. It was four tiers of buttercream goodness—way too extravagant for our tiny gathering, and definitely Henrik’s most opulent culinary confection to date. The top layer was a work of art, with layers upon layers of meticulously crafted sugar paste. I’d have to get closer to see what it was—Henrik hadn’t let anyone in the kitchen once he began decorating.
“Unmarried ladies, get in here!” Elsa waved us forward, Forse beaming at her side. With a shrug, I followed Mia, Freya, and Lornara up the aisle. Only Inga hung back, holding Gunnar’s hand and shooting me a wink.
“I’m going to throw it now!” Elsa turned around, pumping her bouquet over her shoulder. “One. Two. Three!”
But instead of Elsa’s peonies launching through the air, the top layer of the cake rose to hover in their place. What the Helheim? It lifted from atop the tiered confection, soaring neatly through the air. My head whipped around to where Henrik stood with a tiny remote in his hands.
“You droned Elsa’s wedding cake?” I squeaked.
Gunnar chuckled. “Wait for it.”
The cake continued on its trajectory, stopping directly in front of me so it hovered at chest level. As I took in its spectacular design, my jaw dropped. The cake was decorated with miniature sugar-spun versions of every piece of tech that Henrik and I had ever developed. From the closer to the vacuum to Mia’s
aptly renamed space gun, it was an edible testimony to years of collaborations. And there, written in Henrik’s tidy script, were the words I’d dreamed about from the minute I realized I was head over heels for the boy next door.
Marry me, Brynn?
The world became a tear-filled blur as I whirled around to find Henrik on one knee. He held the drone remote in one hand and a diamond ring in the other. He raised the ring, and spoke from his heart. “I love you, sötnos. You’ve been my partner in every epic adventure I’ve ever had. Will you do me the tremendous honor of collaborating with me on the greatest adventure of our lifetime?”
Henrik had barely handed the remote to his brother before I launched myself into his arms. Air whooshed from his lungs as I wrapped my legs around his waist, clinging to him as I kissed every inch of his face.
“I take it that’s a yes.” Henrik laughed. He lowered me to my feet and slipped the ring onto my finger.
“Yes. Yes! Oh, my gods, it is so a yes.”
“Finally!” Freya tipped her face to the sky. “Thank gods for peace. And patience. And love.”
“And Love.” Jason clasped Freya’s hand. She leaned over to kiss his cheek.
“Congratulations.” Elsa beamed at me. “That was the hardest secret to keep!”
“Tell me about it.” Forse grinned.
“You both knew?” I squeaked.
“We all did,” Mia chimed in. She lifted my left hand so my ring sparkled in the sunlight. “I’m so happy for you guys.”
“Blessings to you both,” Lornara said.
“About bloody time,” Gunnar added.
“Congratulations,” Nils chimed in.
“Remember, I’ve got an engagement present for you.” Inga mimed tying something around her little finger. I barely contained my giggles. “Ull’s going to be so sad he missed out on this.”
“I haven’t seen him in ages.” I knew the God of Winter had been present during Fenrir’s final battle, and that he’d had some bigtime life changes since the last time we’d seen each other, but we hadn’t actually caught up in forever. A visit was long overdue. “Maybe we should come visit you guys after you get settled back on Midgard.”
