Weaving Fate (The Omega Prophecy Book 2)

by Nora Ash

  I opened my mouth to protest, but just then we rounded the final corner and Valhalla finally rose up in front of me.

  My jaw sagged as I stared up at the structure. It stretched even farther toward the sky than Udgard, its supporting beams seemingly made up of massive spears. At the front, two wolves the size of corn-fed bulls rested on each side of the gates wide enough for twenty men to walk through shoulder-to-shoulder. From what I could make out of the roof, it looked like…

  “Golden shields?”

  Modi followed my gaze. “Yes. And the birds circling—”

  “Talking ravens?”

  “Huginn and Munin,” he said. “The Allfather’s messengers.”

  “Saga and his brothers have some as well. They’re kinda rude.” I squinted at movement far up on the roof where a huge tree stretched its branches toward the sun. “Wait, is that… Is that a goat?”

  A light press against my lower back was all the answer I got this time as Modi ushered me toward the entrance.

  “Shouldn’t we wait for Trud?” I asked, eying the closer wolf when it raised its head at our approach. “And your dad?”

  “They’ll meet us inside,” Modi said. “Let’s go find Magni and see if we can learn something useful while we wait.”

  The inside of Valhalla was as jaw-dropping as the outside, if not more so. I’d thought Udgard’s hall was huge, but this was on an entirely different scale.

  Tables stretched for hundreds of yards, about half of them occupied with boisterous men singing, shouting, and eating. Winged women in fitted armor walked among them, refilling their horns and plates. A massive hearth burned in the center of the hall, a roasted pig the size of a truck slowly rotating over the fire.

  Modi led me along the tables, nodding when someone shouted his name, but never stopping. A few spotted me by his side and offered crude suggestions followed by thunderous laughter.

  “Maybe you should’ve let them bring their wives,” I muttered to my self-appointed guard.

  Modi waved a hand. “Love distracts from battle. Any other urges they have, the Valkyries will tend as they see fit.”

  “Sounds delightful.” I glared at a wild-bearded man making kissy noises at me as we passed. “Christ, you’d think they hadn’t seen a woman in eons.”

  “They’re used to fierce Valkyries who’ll put them in their place if need be, or powerful goddesses. They haven’t seen a soft little human girl in a thousand years.” Modi nodded across two tables where a Valkyrie had smacked a warrior who’d gotten handsy across the face with her tray. “But so long as you stay by my side, you’ll be safe.”

  I stuck extra-close to Modi as we continued through the hall. Only when we passed the hearth was I able to see the other end, and the sight that met me made my heart clench.

  Raised up high was a platform with an empty throne. In front of it several Valkyries stood with their backs turned to the hall, and between them I could just make out four kneeling figures.

  “What are they doing?” I asked, my pace picking up without my conscious thought.

  “Waiting for Odin,” Modi said as he placed a hand on my shoulder, ensuring I didn’t pull too far ahead. “Ah—there he is.”

  From a gilded entryway to the side of the platform, a figure appeared. He looked tall, even from a distance, with a regal posture and long, flowing white hair and beard. On each of his shoulders sat a black bird—Huginn and Munin, I assumed—and he carried a wooden staff in one hand. If there’d ever been a way I’d imagined the wise Allfather of the gods, this would be it.

  He didn’t speak as he made his way across the platform. Modi rushed me forward, and we made it to the stairs leading up to the platform just as Odin sat on the throne.

  “Now, what do we have here?” he said, his voice quiet yet echoing through the grand hall as he looked at the four men kneeling before him. I sensed the noise behind us dying down, the rowdy Vikings turning their attention to the Allfather.

  “We found these fugitives in Trudheim,” the head Valkyrie said, nudging Bjarni with her boot. He growled, but stayed on his knees.

  Shimmering ropes were wrapped around his and the others’ wrists, I noticed when we finally made it to the top of the platform. I moved to rush to them, but Modi kept a grip on my shoulder, restraining.

  “Wait,” he murmured, bending so his lips brushed against my ear. “You won’t help them by causing a scene.”

  “Thor’s halfblooded son gave them passage into Valhalla, breaking our sacred laws,” the Valkyrie continued. “We have brought them to you, Allfather, so that you may judge them for their crimes.”

  “Crimes?” Magni growled. “It is my right as an Asa to grant guests of my home safe passage.”

  Odin looked at the kneeling alphas. He only had one eye, the other socket covered by a leather patch, and I remembered how Magni had said he’d given one to Mimir.

  “Guests, young grandson?” the Allfather asked, fixing his stare on Magni. “Every citizen of Asgard knows Loki’s sons are not welcome here, yet you grant them safe passage? Into my kingdom?”

  Magni grimaced, a fleeting look he quickly wiped from his features in favor of stoicism. “I had to pass through Jotunheim and was gravely injured. The Lokissons came to my aid, and in return, I promised them my protection while they remained in Asgard.”

  “It was foolish of you to make promises that are not yours to keep,” Odin replied as his one-eyed gaze swept from Magni to the three brothers. “Loki betrayed us all, and as a result, Ragnarök is upon us. The traitor hides behind his foul magic while the worlds are coming to an end, and you sneak his Jotunn bastards in behind our walls?

  "I was not pleased when your father insisted we open Asgard for you—the winds advised me that one day your allegiance may return to the Jotunns who bore you. And here you are, on the cusp of Ragnarök itself, showing your true colors at last.”

  “I will never align myself with the Jotunns,” Magni growled. “I passed the test you set for me, earning my spot in Asgard. And I have not betrayed you.”

  “Yet here you are, harboring three of our enemies. You killed your own family for a place among the gods."

  This time, Odin's voice didn’t project through the great hall. It only resonated among the gathered Valkyries and halfgods on the dais.

  “You brought the traitor’s sons into our midst, breaking your sacred vow to always protect Asgard. I sentence the four of you to death for treason.”

  Three

  Magni

  “No!”

  Annabel’s scream cut through my stupor and I jerked my head to the left. She was fighting tooth and nail in Modi’s bulky arms—whether to get to me and Saga or to claw Odin’s face off, I didn’t know, because her expression was caught somewhere between anguish and murderous rage.

  “Don’t you dare put your hands on them, you senile piece of shi—”

  Modi clamped a big hand across her mouth, shock plain on his face that the human omega had dared speak to the Allfather so crassly. He was growling orders to hush into her ear, but she was having exactly none of it.

  I caught Saga’s eye and saw the fierce look of pride and the curve of his lip as our mate tossed her head back, catching Modi in the nose in her desperate attempt to come to our aid. We’d both expected our fated omega to be meek and subservient, but she was wild as a thunderstorm over an open sea.

  “What’s this about?” Odin turned his eye to Modi and his bucking captive, head tilting to one side. “What is the meaning of bringing an untamed pet to Valhalla, grandson? If you can’t keep your servants quiet, they have no place here.”

  “She’s not a fucking pet, she’s my mate!” Saga growled, jerking on the chain looped around his torso, but the Valkyrie holding on to the other end didn’t give.

  “And mine!” I snapped, the instinct to assert my claim rearing up before I could think better of it.

  A murmur rose from the fallen warriors behind us and Odin’s eye widened in shock, but before anyone
could speak, a clap of thunder rolled through the great hall.

  “Where’s my son?”

  Thor had come.

  He didn’t take long to arrive on the dais, hurtling into view like a bad-tempered bolt of lightning. Nostrils flared and cracks of energy practically sparking off his skin, he stared at me and the three alphas by my side for several long seconds before he turned his focus to Odin.

  “Why do you have my son tied up and on his knees like a criminal?”

  Odin’s mouth pinched at the corner—my father’s lack of manners had all days been a thorn in his side. “Your son dragged three of the traitor’s sons into Asgard. He has been found guilty of treason.”

  “Treason?” Thor blustered. “You tried my son for treason? Because he keeps Jotunn company? Do I have to remind you about your own Jotunn associations?”

  He turned to the Valkyrie who had a hold of my chains. “Unchain him immediately, or so help me, I’m going to blast your wings off so thoroughly your asshole will be on fire for the next five months!”

  Odin glared at him. “Yes, your son. You know the rules—and so does he. Any association with Loki carries the penalty of death. This is not a small matter. The betrayer has doomed us all, and Magni claims to share a mate with one of these… worms. Whatever his allegiance to them, clearly it is deep.”

  Thor blinked, and I steeled myself. “A mate? What’s this nonsense? My son’s never claimed an omega, and he’d certainly never share one, least of all with Loki’s bastards!”

  “Actually, Father…” I breathed in deeply, wishing Trud had had the chance to explain everything to him. Clearly she hadn’t, but if Freya’s warning about a possible traitor within the walls of Asgard was right, we needed to keep our cards as close to our chests as possible. It was bad enough I’d announced in front of the entirety of Valhalla that Saga and I shared a mate.

  “Her name is Annabel.” I nodded in the direction of my mate wrapped up in Modi’s arms. She’d stopped fighting him now that Thor had intervened, but he still had a hand clasped over her mouth. Knowing her lip, it was probably a wise choice.

  My father stared at me again for a series of long, long seconds. Then he turned his head toward Annabel. An incredulous snort escaped him.

  “A human?” Both his red eyebrows lifted when he returned his gaze to me. “You mated a human? Are you insane? Did your mother beat the sense out of you when you were a babe? A worthless human cunt ensnared Thor’s son?”

  “Don’t speak about her like that!” Saga snarled.

  Shame filled me that he'd spoken up for our mate when I hadn't. I’d spent most of my life trying to please my father, but Saga’s anger and the scent of his aggression bolstered me. I let out the snarl that’d stuck in my throat, baring my teeth at my father in warning.

  “She is mine. You will address her with respect,” I ground out.

  But whatever reaction I’d expected from standing up to my father, he seemed to not hear me. His eyes widened as he stared at Saga, realization dawning in his blue eyes.

  “It’s true,” he croaked. “You share her? With him?”

  “Yes,” I said. “It’s a long story, and it has nothing to do with why the winged cunts burst into Trudheim and arrested me for upholding one of our most sacred laws.”

  Thor stared at me, his jaw working hard, and I could already tell he wasn’t gonna let it go despite our less-than-ideal surroundings. That was just how he was—bullheaded, single-minded, and completely incapable of accepting anything less than perfection from his sons.

  Sharing a mate with one of Loki’s sons? Yeah, that was about as far from perfect as it got, in his mind.

  “Dad.” My sister’s soft voice broke the tension. Trud, having apparently not managed to keep up with Thor’s pace, appeared from the stairs and crossed the dais swiftly, placing her hand on our father’s arm.

  She didn’t say anything else, but she didn’t have to. She’d always had a way with our father that neither Magni nor I could replicate.

  Father sighed deeply, looking from Trud back to Odin. “My son’s right. Free passage is a founding law in Asgard. You will release him at once.”

  “And his guests,” Trud said, nudging his arm. His only response was a tightening of his jaw, but it didn’t matter—Odin had heard her too.

  The Allfather narrowed his one eye. “This is Ragnarök! I will not allow those who wish to end us waltz freely around in my realm!”

  “You won’t be executing my blood, either,” Thor growled, resting a hand on Mjölner, the hammer on his belt.

  “A compromise!” Trud broke in, stepping in front of us with a swish of her robes and managing a respectful bow without losing the gentle power radiating from her.

  “A compromise?” Odin repeated, his eyebrows raising. The gesture moved his eyepatch, underlining its grim presence on his somber face. “A compromise? This is the end of the world, child, and you want to strike a compromise with Loki’s spawn?”

  “Treason is their father’s crime. Not theirs,” Trud said, gaze darting to Annabel for a moment before she looked back to the Allfather. “Loki is the one who betrayed us. Would Saga have claimed a human mate if he was trying to bring about Ragnarök? She wouldn’t survive it, and so neither would he.”

  “That’s true,” Thor said, looking back at Annabel with a frown. “Why would he claim a human if he was planning on killing her?”

  “We don’t know their plans,” Odin said, glaring at Saga. “They could have found a way to keep her safe with the Jotunns.”

  “Or we’re not fucking traitors,” Saga growled. “You fucking Aesirs—always so high and mighty, always so quick to assume you’re the only ones who could possibly have anything to lose. If we’d wanted an end to the world, we wouldn’t have sought refuge in Asgard from Surtr’s army.

  "We brought our mate here to keep her safe among the gods, among Magni’s supposed kin. Is it a wonder that the humans have abandoned their faith in you when you have so little interest in them that all you can think of to stop the end of the world is to kill the children of the supposed betrayer? Nothing will be gained by our death—Ragnarök is still here. Incompetence will be your only legacy.”

  I’d spent so long hating the Lokissons, despising them for what they were—for the Jotunn heritage they so proudly embraced while I’d done everything I could to distance myself from that part of my lineage. But as I watched Saga now, saw how he carefully chose his words like a warrior chooses his strikes to fell his enemy, pride swelled in my gut.

  We’d both claimed Annabel in a bid to save our families, but through her, we’d become kin. When he took her alongside me, when he helped her save my life, I’d felt him as keenly as I had her. His magic, his desperation, his cock… and the warmth of his spirit.

  We were brothers now, kindred in our need to keep Annabel safe and protected, and right now, my kindred brother was fighting with all he had. On his knees in front of the Allfather, he fought with clever words to save all of us once again.

  I knew then that even if I could find a way to do so, I would never break his bond with Annabel. He was a worthy mate—a worthy brother. Sharing her with him was how it was always meant to be.

  “Let us prove to you that we have no ill intent toward Asgard and its inhabitants,” I broke in. “Set us a challenge, Allfather. We have nothing to hide from the gods.”

  Except we did. I caught Annabel’s gaze, her eyes widening in a meaningful stare, and I remembered Freya’s warning. There was still a betrayer in Asgard, perhaps hiding in the great hall below. The less we revealed about our bond and Mimir’s prophecy, the better.

  “A challenge?” Odin repeated, rubbing his chin as he looked to Thor.

  “That would be a fair compromise,” Thor agreed. “Let them prove their worth.”

  “Very well.” Odin leaned back in his seat, his focus moving to one of the ravens on his shoulder. It cawed and leaned in, whispering in his ear. The other—Munin, so far as I could tell—nippe
d at his beard to get his attention before whispering in his other ear.

  The Allfather hummed and nodded, straightening up before looking at the four of us again.

  “You shall have one chance to prove your innocence, young Jotunns. Bring me the traitor. Bring him to me in chains and on his knees. Trade his life for your own.

  "Bring me Loki. That is your challenge.”

  Four

  Bjarni

  Well, shit.

  I exchanged a look with Grim on my right and knew his tight jaw reflected my own grinding of teeth.

  Give Loki to this pompous ass? If the Allfather thought we’d sell out our own dad, he’d truly gone senile like Annabel had shouted before Modi shut her up. Of course, it didn’t much matter what we agreed to, so long as the old fool let us leave unharmed.

  Coming to Asgard had been a mistake. There were Jotunn healers we could have persuaded with coin to care for Magni’s injuries, and there were more places in the nine realms to hide from Surtr than Asgard. There’d been bad blood between us and these Aesir pricks for eons, but going so far as to have us executed for our father's supposed crimes? That was a new development.

  But I supposed it’s what happened when your dad was accused of bringing around the literal end of the world.

  “If that is what you require as proof of our innocence, then we will bring you Loki,” Saga said, and he sounded so sincere I’d have believed him if I hadn’t known him as well as I did. “Our loyalty lies with my mate and her kin, not our father.”

  “Well, it sounds like that’s all sorted, then,” Thor said, slapping Modi’s shoulder. “Go untie your brother, and then prepare yourself for traveling—even with those three worms, he’s gonna need you help capturing that sly bastard.”

  “Not so fast,” Odin said, rising from his throne. “I am not inclined to simply trust your words, sons of Loki.”

  “You claim my son is dishonorable?” Thor boomed. “You may not trust Loki’s sons, but you will trust mine, or so help me—”