by S. T. Bende
And he smiled back at me.
“Hello, Aura.”
“Dad,” I whispered. “How are you here?”
“I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time. Wynter showed up and gave me the chance.”
My hands trembled. “I’m . . . I . . .”
The corners of my father’s lips turned down. “I know it wasn’t easy to grow up without me or your mother. When she passed, we decided that she would ascend to Valhalla and I would remain here, so we could protect you from both sides. We did the best we could, but it wasn’t enough. I’m so sorry for the hardships you’ve endured. I hope you know that I am tremendously proud of what you’ve become.”
I closed my eyes. Tears pricked at the backs of my lids. “You looked out for me?”
“Of course. Since I couldn’t physically be with you, I sent a protector to watch over you in the forest. Some kind of Midgardian feline.” Dad paused. “I’m not familiar with the species’ names on that realm.”
My eyes flew open. “Bob? You sent the bobcat to look out for me?”
Dad nodded. “A few years back, there was an influx of dark energies circling the human’s realm. I sensed they were there to track you, so I convinced the cat to follow you whenever you left Signy’s protection—to make sure you were all right. The cat even followed you to school. He waited in the woods behind the field while you were in class.”
Bob’s mysterious appearances and subsequent adhere-to-Aura life plan suddenly made sense.
“If you could talk to Bob, why didn’t you just talk to me?” I asked softly. I’d have loved to have known my father was out there.
Wynter shook her head. “That’s not how it works. Sprits who remain behind can only contact the living through a Bridger. The Norns have very strict rules about interfering with their prophecies, and if Kegoth had reached out to you they would have sent him into the permanent void. Even now, if they discover our communication there will be severe consequences.”
I frowned. “So why could he talk to Bob without getting into trouble? Didn’t that affect the Norn’s prophecies too?”
Dad chuckled. “I found a loophole. One of the prophecies surrounding your existence is that you are to be like the goddess Freya—protektor of your realm and guarded by felines.”
“Freya? The Goddess of Love?” I snorted. “I’m pretty sure protektor isn’t in that job description.”
Wynter’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding, right? Destruction stems from anger. Anger stems from fear. And fear is the absence of love. Without Freya, the worlds devolve to chaos. She’s one of the most important deities, because her gift ensures peace throughout the realms.”
Fair enough.
“So, Dad sent a bobcat to protect me on Midgard.” I paused. “Why didn’t Bob come here with me? Or is he hiding in the woods somewhere here, too?”
My father shook his head. “I tried to send him, but the cat didn’t reappear after the Bifrost transfer. I don’t know where to look for him.”
“Poor Bob,” I whispered.
“What is this place?” Elin asked. “Why can we talk to Aura’s dad here?”
“Alfheim’s barrier prevents Kegoth from directly entering the realm, so we’re in a type of void called The Cloak. The Bridger faculty created it. It’s completely imperceptible to anyone except the upper level Bridgers; even the Norns can’t see it. You’re only here because I held the portal open long enough for you to follow me through. It wasn’t easy, by the way. Your negativity nearly activated a shutdown.” Wynter frowned at Elin, who just shrugged.
“Wait.” I held up my hand. “The Alfheim barrier blocks off-worlders. How did my dad get through?”
“The void is a neutral zone,” Wynter explained. “The entrance bypasses the barrier, so even though your dad’s from a dark realm, he was still able to pass through.”
My heart stilled. “What did you say?”
Wynter’s eyes widened, before crinkling in sadness. “You didn’t know.”
I drew a shaky breath before shifting my focus to the tree. “Dad?”
“Sweetheart,” he said gently. “I need you to know that no matter what I once was, from the moment I fell in love with Lily, and even more from the day we found out she was pregnant with you, I was filled with nothing but love.”
“Where are you from?” I asked through gritted teeth. Elin came over and squeezed my hand.
“Aura,” Wynter said softly. She met my frustrated gaze, her pale blue eyes brimming over with sadness. “Kegoth is . . . he’s . . .”
“What?” Elin pushed. “What is he?”
Dad met my eyes. “I am from Svartalfheim. I’m a dark elf.”
My jaw popped as the news socked me in the gut. “If you’re a dark elf, then that means I’m . . . I’m . . .”
Dad nodded. “Fifty percent of your genetic makeup is Svartish. You’re not just a light elf, Aura. You’re a dark elf, too.”
Chapter 15
ELIN SQUEEZED MY HAND again. “Aura? Are you okay?”
“No,” I grunted. The nudging at my shoulder blades had intensified to razor like jabs. Pain wracked my back, and I rued whatever laws of Alfheim had altered my anxiety-induced stomach flutters to the full torso variety. “My back hurts like hell!”
“Should we leave and find Signy or . . .” Elin trailed off.
“Give me a minute.” I knelt down, fisting the soft dirt and focusing on the sensation of the grains between my fingertips. I was half dark elf. Half dark elf.
Half dark elf?
“Does this mean my genetic programming is set to evil?” Was I going to turn into a monster queen like my grandmother, no matter what kind of ruler I wanted to be?
“Not at all.” Wynter sounded way calmer than I felt. “Whatever your genetics, you are good. You are light. I’ve seen it. And Kegoth is the same way. Your dad isn’t bad. He was just born into a dark realm. Not all dark elves are evil, just like not all light elves are good.”
“That’s true—look at Britney. She’s here, and obviously the Bifrost should have dropped her in Helheim,” Elin chimed in.
My nails dug harder into the earth. “I’m a dark elf.”
“Half,” Wynter corrected.
“Sweetheart.” Dad’s deep baritone penetrated my anguish. “If it helps, you take after your mom. The only part of you that’s me is your right hook.”
I snorted, then coughed as dust flew up my nose. “You’re funny. I guess that’s a good thing.”
“It’s not bad,” Elin confirmed.
“Do you want to hear about how I met her? Your mother?” Dad offered.
“Yes.” I pushed myself to a seated position and tucked my legs against my chest. “Tell me anything. Everything. Please.”
My father’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “I met your mom when she trekked through the realms after secondary school. We were hiking the same seemingly dormant volcano when it erupted, and we found ourselves fleeing a lava flow. I waved her into an elevated cave to ride out the danger. We ended up trapped in there for the better part of a day, but it only took me an hour to fall in love with the girl with sparkling eyes and an adventurous heart.” Dad smiled, seemingly lost in the memory. “We wanted to be together, but didn’t know where to go. I couldn’t take her home with me—I’d spent the better part of my life looking for a way to break away from my family of origin. And residents of Svartalfheim aren’t welcome on other realms, except for Muspelheim. But I didn’t want to trade the dark elves I knew for the fire giants I didn’t.”
“Fair enough.”
Elin dropped down to sit beside me. The two of us gripped hands as my father continued.
“Since Lily was the crown princess, she thought her mother might make an exception and let me enter Alfheim. This was when immigration was still permitted between light realms. We wrote to Constance asking her to grant me citizenship. She declined, and within a few weeks Alfheim had not only banned immigration from any realm, but also begun construction on
the barrier. Constance wrote to Lily, begging her not to compromise the crown for a dark elf. But Lily saw the good in everyone, regardless of their circumstance—it was one of the most beautiful things about her.”
Tears pricked at my eyes, but I blinked them back. I didn’t want to miss a word.
“Lily asked her mother to admit me as her husband. When Constance refused, we fled to a remote part of Svartalfheim and married in secret. Rather than endure the embarrassment of admitting the crown princess had married a dark elf, Constance told her realm her daughter was away on a diplomatic mission. Lily and I stayed hidden for the short duration of our marriage, while construction on the barrier continued. Then you were born, and your mother and I were absolutely overwhelmed with joy. Our surge of happiness alerted my family to our location.” Darkness clouded my father’s eyes. “We were ambushed in our sleep. I managed to transport you and Lily to the boundary of Alfheim, but my family killed me before I could get off-world. I never got to tell you or your mother goodbye; never said I love you that last time. But I did love her, and you. More than all the stars in all the cosmos.”
I hastily wiped my tears, my dirt-covered palm like sandpaper against my cheek. “I wish I’d known you both.”
“I wish that too. More than anything, I regret not being able to be there for you.”
My heart tugged. “I’m glad you’re here now.”
“So am I,” he offered. “But my time here is limited, and I need to tell you something important. It will affect whether you join me in the afterlife centuries from now, or in the next few weeks.”
“The next few weeks?” My pitch shot up as ice pulsed through my veins. “I’m going to die that soon?”
“We’re all going to die that soon if the Alfheim Tree keeps losing branches, and the portal to Svartalfheim opens,” Wynter pointed out. “But if we get the crystal back to the tree, the branches regenerate and the portal stays locked. And Kegoth knows who’s responsible for the missing crystal.”
“Who?” I asked.
My father’s lips pushed together. “The dark elf who hired the scouts to track you. He’s the reason you grew up without your mother and me—he ordered our deaths, and when you survived, he ordered the assassination of all Alfheim Keys.”
My stomach lurched. “Who is it?”
“His name is Dragen, and he’s my younger brother—your uncle.”
My jaw unhinged. Dad had said his family ambushed him, but I’d figured he’d meant some jerk third cousin or something. “Your brother had you and Mom killed?”
Wynter wrung her fingertips together. “There’s more.”
Of course there was.
“When my family found out I’d married a light elf, they were outraged,” Dad explained. “My father, Rankin, was a powerful member of the Svartalfheim senate, and his seat was to pass to me. Rankin had promised my hand to another senator’s daughter, and the union of two influential families would have assured a takeover of their political party. Rankin intended to run for chancellor, and having the party’s backing would have solidified his victory.”
Elin frowned. “I always assumed it was anarchy on Svartalfheim.”
“Svartalfheim’s political arena has always been corrupt,” Dad explained. “The entire senate, with generations of inbred hatred, is destroying their world.”
“How so?” I asked.
“Svartalfheim senate seats pass through inheritance. My family had one of the longest held, and most respected seats in the House. But my father’s career stalled when I married Lily. A dark elf’s word is his most valuable currency, and my marriage to an off-worlder made his word worthless. The only way he could save his career was to disown me, which he promptly did. Then he declared my younger brother his heir. Dragen was meant to inherit our father’s seat, and all of the power that once came with it. But then you were born.”
“If Rankin disowned you, then my birth shouldn’t have mattered. Right?”
“Not quite.” Dad sighed. “Under Svartish inheritance laws, I ceased to exist—but as a new life, you became first in line to inherit our family’s senate seat.”
“I don’t want the job. Tell Dragen he can have it.” My stomach clenched at my father’s frown. “What?”
“You can’t turn down a Svartalfheim senate seat. Death or disownment are the only ways out. And Rankin’s never going to disown you—not since he learned of your prophecy.”
I tried to ignore the nerves that clawed at my stomach. “The one where I become a cat lady like Freya? Or the one . . .”
The queen’s words flashed across my mind, sending a fresh wave of dread coursing through me. Guide the realms to peace . . . or destroy them in war.
“Oh, gods,” I whispered.
Dad nodded. “Because of your duality, being half Svartish and half Alfheimian, and because of your royal lineage, you have the potential to manifest more power than any individual in either realm. If given the right platform, you will guide the realms to peace . . . or destroy them in war.”
“Shut up.” Elin gawked. She turned to me. “Did you know about this?”
“Kind of,” I muttered. Skit.
“You have the potential to create for the greater good innate in daughters of Alfheim,” Dad explained. “But you also have the physical strength and ability to destroy imbued in children of Svartalfheim.”
“Is that why you’re taking classes in different programs?” Elin said. “Because your Alfheim side is Empati, and your Svartalfheim side is Verge?”
A deep shudder wracked my spine. “So, Rankin wants me to come to the dark side and lead the realms to war?”
Dad nodded. “And Dragen wants you dead, so he can inherit your seat. That’s why he’s after the Sterkvart crystal. With Alfheim isolated, the realm will be that much easier to destroy—and you along with it.”
“We have got to find that crystal before he does. Wait—does he already have it? Is he the one who took it?”
Wynter’s eyes darted nervously to my dad. “We don’t have much time left.”
“I understand.” My father’s image flickered. When he spoke again, his words came out in a torrent. “It’s not in Dragen’s possession yet. Alfheim’s barrier prevents him from entering the realm to collect it from whomever he’s working with. But he’s definitely getting help from someone inside Alfheim, and it’s only a matter of time before they’re able to get him in. Either the traitor will find a way to get Dragen past the barrier, or . . .”
“Or?” Elin whispered.
“Or the remaining branches of the tree will die off, and the portal to Svartalfheim will open. If that happens, nothing will prevent my brother from marching in here and claiming the crystal.” Dad exhaled. “And claiming you.”
Adrenaline coursed through me. “Do you have any idea where the crystal is? Can you see things we can’t from . . . the other side?”
“Kegoth,” Wynter warned. Dad’s image flickered again. “I can’t project you much longer.”
He nodded. “I haven’t seen anything yet, but I’ll continue to search, and let Wynter know the minute I find something. She can pass the message along to you.”
My eyes narrowed. “What about my training partner? Viggo was acting really weird in the forest. He’s definitely got an agenda we don’t know about.”
“I’ve wondered that same thing,” Wynter agreed.
“Well?” Elin chimed in. We waited while my father pursed his lips.
“I don’t know anything about your partner, but I advise you to trust your instincts. They’ve never steered you wrong before.”
“Thanks,” I whispered.
Dad’s image flickered again, and Wynter glanced at her com. Her eyebrows shot up as she leapt to her feet. “We need to go. Our time is about to expire, and if the Norns find out your father communicated with you, they’ll send him into the permanent void.”
My heart tugged as I pushed myself to my feet. I shot an anxious glance at my dad. “Will I get to talk with
you again?”
Dad’s eyes crinkled in the kind smile I’d imagined so many times. “I am always watching out for you. If I see my brother making a move, or if I see anything that can help you find the missing crystal, I promise I will reach out to Wynter. I only wish I knew where the Bifrost took that bobcat—it’s highly unusual for a transport to fail. And the creature was an excellent protector in my proxy. If he were here, I know he’d look after you well.”
“Bob was the best,” I agreed. Gods, I hoped he was okay—wherever he was.
“You and I will stay in touch, Aura,” Wynter promised. “The Bridgers come to The Cloak a few mornings a week to monitor communications from banned spirits, or those who are uneasy communicating on the main plane. We ask about the crystal at every session, so I’ll let you know what I hear.”
“Thank you.” I reached over to grasp Wynter’s hands. “For everything.”
“It’s nothing.” She met my eyes with a soft smile. “Now go. Head straight for the white tree and touch the trunk on your way past. I’ll follow behind so nobody gets suspicious.”
“Goodbye, Dad.” He’d risked banishment to talk to me. I didn’t want to leave him so soon. “I hope we talk again.”
“I love you, sweethea—” Dad’s image flickered mid-word, and before I could tell him I loved him too, he was gone.
“Hurry!” Wynter urged.
Without another word, I turned and ran for the tree. Elin matched my pace, and we raced out of The Cloak. I threw my arm out as we passed the white-trunked tree, tapping it lightly before pushing forward. The now-expected ripple passed up my body, and Elin and I ran another hundred yards before we finally stopped at the base of an ancient, purple-needled sequoia. I glimpsed the outline of the academy in the distance. We were back on the Alfheim plane . . . but I didn’t see Wynter anywhere. Had she made it out before our time expired? I hadn’t thought to ask what the consequences were of overstaying our other worldly welcome, and I hoped my new friend wouldn’t get in trouble for helping me.
“Come on,” I murmured as I stared into the darkest patch of the forest. Night had fallen while we’d been in The Cloak. Through the lightly glowing treetops, a smattering of stars lay visible against the inky backdrop of sky.
