Goddess: A Runes Book

by Ednah Walters

  Muffled laughter came from Litr. When I looked at him, he wore a straight face. I liked the Dwarf, but this was not a laughing matter.

  “You need to take this seriously, Echo. I’m going to talk to Eirik about it.” I got up, but he caught my wrist. “What?”

  He tugged me closer. “This is my fight, not your brother’s.”

  He was acting like it was fun and games while I kept seeing the vision of his bloodied face. If he thought I was going to let this go, he was out of his mind. No one was messing with him while I was around.

  “Okay, Echo.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Why are you agreeing with me?”

  I leaned down and kissed him. “Because you are right. This is your battle. Later, warrior. I’ll be at Eirik’s.”

  “Don’t try and solicit his help,” he warned.

  “I won’t.”

  “And don’t leave his quarters until I get there.”

  “Okay.”

  He continued to scowl. “Now I know you are up to something. You’re downright scary when you agree with me.”

  “Apologize to the guards.”

  Litr opened a portal to Eirik’s living room. Echo was still staring at me when the portal closed. I headed to the bedroom, but Eirik wasn’t there. Instead, I found Celestia’s father reading to her. He stopped reading and started to get up when he saw me.

  “Don’t get up, Chief Deveraux,” I said, walking to the other side of the bed. “How is she doing?”

  “The same. I’ve never understood magic, but what if magic can’t help her this time?”

  “It will. We just need to find what works.”

  “One of the kitchen maids gave me this,” Celestia’s aunt Genevieve said, entering the room with a tray containing a basket covered with a cloth, a pitcher of mead, and two glasses. The smell of fresh loaf filled the air. Since she used her shoulder to open the door, she didn’t see me until the door swung open, and she turned. “Your, uh, Your Highness. I didn’t know—”

  “Don’t, please. My name is Cora. Einmyria actually. I have to get used to the name while here. I’m just a simple girl raised by two farmers.”

  Genevieve chuckled. “Simple? I don’t think so, but I’m happy you are down-to-earth because I have no idea how to address you or your parents.” She placed the pitcher and the glasses on top of the coffee table by the sofa, poured the drink into a tumbler, and gave it to Celestia’s father. “It’s a mad house out there. I think Eirik is ready to go full dragon on them. He’s too worried about Celestia to care that they are here for her. I do love that boy. So protective.”

  “He is a nice young man, your brother,” Chief Deveraux said. “At first I didn’t approve of her getting involved with him, but he’s proven himself. Even here, he understands her need to help people and encourages it. She’s only been here a few months, and she’s already touched so many people.”

  I didn’t want to burst their bubble; so instead, I sat on the edge of the bed and took Celestia’s hand. The guilt still ate at me. I kept hoping to find her alone, so I could apologize for the part I’d played in her coma.

  “Talk to her,” her aunt encouraged.

  I glanced at her. Had she read my mind?

  “I’m a nurse and know how therapeutic it is to hear the voices of loved ones while in a coma. Richard has been reading to her.”

  “I used to volunteer at an assisted living facility. My charges loved to have me read to them even though they’d act like my presence bothered them.”

  “How sweet. We need more young people helping the elderly at such facilities and nursing homes. Why did you stop?”

  “My work with souls made that impossible.” I stroked Celestia’s hand and focused on her. “Listen, Celestia. I know we just met, but I’ve come to see you as my sister. You are strong, funny, and unstoppable, so I know you can beat this. Please, fight and come back to us. Not just for my brother, but for our family. The goddess and Baldur miss you. She’s told me so many stories about you and how you’ve helped her people. You should see the hall and the grounds. It’s packed with people who want you to get better. My brother is miserable without you. I haven’t seen him smile since I got here, and he’s walking around like a piece of him is missing. And I want a chance to really get to know you, so please come back.” I leaned down and kissed her.

  Everything went black, but this time, I knew what was coming. Black gave way to the snowy landscape and the crowd of onlookers yelling for blood. Two fighters in the arena were beating the crap out of each other while we watched from the hallway behind the glass wall. Once again, I recognized a bloodied Echo. Wincing, I averted my eyes and found Raine standing beside me, her hazel eyes glowing. What was she doing in my vision? Beside her was Trudy, her eyes glowing, too. On my other side was Hayden and… Celestia?

  The scene faded, and I stepped away from the bed, grinning. Celestia was going to be okay.

  “She’s going to be okay,” I told her father. He and Genevieve studied me with doubtful expressions. “Sooner than you know it. You’ll see.”

  “We’ll be leaving later today, but we’ll be back,” Genevieve said. “My shift starts tomorrow morning, and Zack’s father doesn’t know about realms and the gods. He thinks we are in Europe somewhere, visiting Celestia and her fiancé. And Richard”—she indicated Celestia’s father with a wave of her hand—“has a department to run. We’ll return later in the week. Celestia’s vitals are normal, and they are keeping her hydrated with that concoction Maera feeds her. I don’t know what’s in it, but she’s in good hands.” She stroked Celestia’s hair. “She’s loved here.”

  “She is, and she’ll be okay,” I added again, wishing I could tell them about my vision. I bade them goodbye and left the room. The guards saw me coming and bowed. I recognized Creed.

  “Morning, Creed,” I said.

  “Morning, young goddess. How is Celestia doing?”

  “The same, but she’s going to be okay. She’ll wake up soon.”

  He nodded. “Thank you. Can I open a portal for you somewhere?”

  “Yes, to Eirik. I need to talk to him.” A portal opened before I finished talking. “Thank you.”

  “I didn’t do it,” Creed said.

  Had I just opened my first portal? Grinning, I went through it and entered a room that looked like a den, except it was done in ivory and gold. Gilded reliefs bordered its marble walls and picture frames. Eirik and Baldur sat by the fireplace, talking, and both got to their feet when they saw me.

  “She’s going to be okay, Eirik. I saw a vision of her at the fight, and she was fine.”

  “Vision?” he asked. “Since when do you get visions?”

  “Since Kayville. I saw Mother take my blanket. I didn’t know she was the one, but I guessed from Celestia’s reaction.”

  “Your mother did what?” Baldur roared.

  “It’s okay. She returned it, and I kind of understood why she needed to confirm I was the real Einmyria. We even discussed it when I got here.”

  Baldur was still scowling.

  “She apologized,” I added.

  He frowned. “Your mother apologized?”

  “Yes. It’s in the past.”

  “About your visions,” Eirik said impatiently.

  “Yes, I, uh, had some of the scenes from the wedding before you guys told us what happened. They could have been just memories, but they were so vivid I’m convinced they were visions. And I’ve had two since I came here.”

  I was surprised when Eirik believed me without question. “How did she look?”

  “Worried.”

  His eyebrows slammed down.

  “No, I mean she looked okay, but she was worried about Echo, who was being crushed by a giant.” I gave Baldur a pointed look. “Has our father told you what he’s planned for Echo?”

  Unease flittered across Baldur’s face while Eirik’s mouth twitched.

  “It’s not funny,” I snapped.

  “We’re talking about Ec
ho, Sis,” Eirik said. “He’s like a cat with nine lives. He’ll be fine.”

  “Not according to my vision. It is a barbaric practice, Father.” I glared at Baldur.

  “I can call it off if it makes you happy, Daughter,” he said.

  “No,” a familiar voice said from behind me, and I whipped around. Echo stood in the doorway. “May I come in, Golden One?”

  Baldur nodded, but he threw me a worried glance.

  “What do you mean by no?” I asked. “You haven’t seen my visions, Echo. I will not have you reduced to ground beef while I watch.”

  He closed the gap between us and cupped my face, not caring that my father and Eirik were in the room. He peered at me. “I’ll be fine, sweetheart. I promise you. The parts you didn’t see are when I’ll be winning.” He smirked, and I punched his chest. He didn’t even have the decency to wince. “I need to do this.”

  “No, you don’t. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I know you. I know you’re worthy of my love and I’m worthy of yours.”

  “The rest of the realm doesn’t know that. I’m doing this for them, so they can leave us alone for the rest of our lives. Don’t you want that? Just you and me in our happy bubble, everyone else looking in and wishing they could be us.”

  “You are silly.”

  “But right because I’m going to make you the happiest woman in all the realms.”

  “I know.”

  He kissed me right in front of my father. “You don’t have to watch me fight if you don’t want to.”

  “Of course, I have to watch you. What kind of a fiancée would I be if I’m not out there cheering for you?” Shaking my head, I turned and focused on the Throne Hall. “I’m going to check out the competition.”

  The portal opened to the Throne Hall, but it was empty, except for the guards. Creed appeared and led the way once I explained where I wanted to go. A wide doorway led to the Waiting Hall, where a crowd was gathered, some seated on benches and others on the floor. Most of them were Dwarves from Eastern Gjöll Pass, Creed explained. The regular-sized ones were Jötnar. Unlike the Throne Hall, this room had more benches and mirrors on the inner walls, which made the crowd seem even larger. The first ones to see me nudged the ones next to them.

  “Einmyria,” whispers spread across the room. One by one, they dropped to one knee and bowed.

  “Tell them not to do that, please,” I said.

  Creed yelled something in a language I didn’t understand, and the people rose. They still stared and whispered. Some inched closer, cutting us off. Creed and his team tried to stop them, but they were determined. I told him to stop.

  “You are Einmyria,” one Dwarf said.

  “Yes, I am. Thank you for coming to see Celestia. She will be okay because she can feel how much you love and need her.”

  A woman of regular size with a baby in her arms walked around the crowd. The guards moved as though to intercept her, but once again, I stopped them.

  “My baby would not be alive if it weren’t for Celestia. She healed her when she was still in my belly,” she said.

  “Are you also from Eastern Gjöll Pass?”

  “No. I’m from Ironwood Forest, Jötunheim.” She nodded at a group of about ten adults and children. “That’s my family. Chief Skavnir will be coming, too. We couldn’t wait. The second the traders came with the news, we left.” Her chin trembled, and tears filled her eyes. “Celestia must get better. She’s a gifted healer. We only have one like her in the south, and he is old.”

  “She will be fine.” I touched the baby’s soft hair. “Your daughter is beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” An older girl came from their group and showed me where Celestia had healed her. She was her older daughter, Laufey. She was almost as tall as Celestia but sounded like a child.

  As though a floodgate had opened, more came forward. Pregnant mothers, old men, children. The more I commented on their babies, the more they wanted to talk. Some of the visitors were asking about Celestia, while others wanted to know where I’d been all these years. I avoided answering questions about me and focused on Celestia. In minutes, I was surrounded. Creed and his guards wore helpless expressions as they were pushed out of the way.

  “Back up, please,” Echo called out, and the questions stopped. He hadn’t come alone. Syn, Nara, and Rhys were beside him. The four towered over the Dwarves, who stepped back.

  “You didn’t have to scare them away,” I told Echo and received a scowl.

  “Creed, I got her.”

  The guard nodded and walked away with his partners.

  “We should be heading that way, Goddess. Your mother is expecting you.”

  I glanced toward the Sorting Hall. The windows facing the east, where the visitors had erected their tents, were in the opposite direction.

  “Just a second. Like I said, I’m checking out the competition.” I took off. The goddess had brought me to this side of the building to show me the Banquet Hall and the Ballroom. It led to the eastern Resting Halls. The room curved and disappeared around the bend. Ahead were the unstained east windows. Several staff members were pretending to clean them while studying the people outside. They moved away when they saw me.

  Beautiful, colorful tents were erected everywhere, their colors stark against the white snow on the ground and the outer wall. Some of them were huge and gaudy with gold frills and embroidery. Surrounding them were smaller ones of similar colors. All had flags at the highest point.

  Echo slid beside me, while the other three spread out as though creating a no-walking zone around me. I didn’t know how the goddess did things here, but I didn’t think it was necessary for me to have guards, suitors or not. What could they possibly do? Kidnap me? The guests in the Waiting Hall hadn’t seemed dangerous, just eager to meet me and ask about Celestia.

  Ignoring Echo, I focused my attention on the craziness outside. “So the colors of the flag represent a realm?”

  “A clan,” Echo said. “The ones with single colors are for various Light Elves families from Álfheimr. That belongs to a minor god from Vanaheim, and so do those two. The black with snarling saber tooth tiger belongs to a Dokkalfr.”

  “A what?

  “Dokkalfr means Dark Elf. They are a warrior race, like Asgardians. They left Álfheimr after a civil war and couldn’t find a home anywhere else. The Dwarves allowed them to settle in Svartalfheim. They live on the surface while the Dwarves build their homes underground.”

  Back at home, I had shown zero interest in other realms, except Helheim. Now I wish I’d read more or asked Lavania.

  “Do you know any Dokkalfr?” I asked.

  “No, but Eirik is friends with one,” Echo continued. “Niorun. She has silver eyes, lots of tattoos, and an attitude. You can’t miss her. I saw her around earlier. Like Lavion, she has an open invitation to Ejudnir and shouldn’t be camping out there, but I saw her out there. She and her maiden warriors must be guarding a prince from their land. The tents to our left belong to shifters from southern Jötunheim,” Echo continued, adding anecdotes whenever he mentioned different clans. He pointed out the different flags and banners of the Cat, Bear, and Raven Clans, ice giants, and the water giants.

  “The fire Jötnar rarely bother with other realms, but you never know.” He inched closer and took my hand, threading our fingers together. “You might be the one to make them leave their homes.”

  He was trying to be funny, but I wasn’t amused. I didn’t understand the customs of these people and hated that he was being forced to participate in them. More carriages were still arriving at the gates.

  One had a huge red and yellow flag with an animal in the center, but that was not what had me gawking. Two dragons—one gray and the other white—circled above them. They flew over the castle, bellowing and causing a ruckus. They disappeared out of sight.

  “Is that the Dragon Clan?”

  Echo chuckled. “The dragons are Karle and his sister, Olea. They are from Ironwood Forest Wo
lf Clan. Your clan.”

  I blinked. “Mine?”

  “Yes. They are your mother’s people, so that means they are yours, too.”

  I’d been an only child with Mom and Dad as my only living relatives for so long it was strange imagining an extended family. When Raine had come into my life, I had considered her an honorary sister. Now, I had two sets of parents, a brother, an almost sister-in-law, an adopted sister who couldn’t look me in the eye, and a clan. A clan. My people. It was surreal.

  “One of the mothers in the Waiting Hall said she was from the Wolf Clan. Celestia saved her baby.”

  “Eirik and Celestia often visit them. I’ll take you if you’d like.”

  It was the first time he’d included himself in what I might do in other realms. “They are giants?”

  “Jötnar, yes,” Echo said. “But they can shift to regular sizes. Some, like your mother and you, don’t have the ability to shift back and forth.”

  “Isn’t that why Angr… uh, my grandmother didn’t keep me and left me in Ironwood Forest?” Home of my clan. It was going to be a while before that sank in, but I liked it. I belonged to a freaking clan. “Because I couldn’t shift?”

  “Yes. I know you are discovering your roots, and I’m happy for you, but we would never have met had she not left you in that forest.”

  I glanced at him and grinned. “I don’t know, Echo. I’d like to think you and I would have found each other somehow. We were meant to be together. All this crap my father started is not going to change the fact that my destiny is linked to yours.”

  “When you say things like that, I want to open a portal, take you to my quarters, and make love to you,” he said while staring straight ahead.

  “Why don’t you?”

  Chuckling, he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. As though he remembered we were not alone, he glanced over his shoulder. For whatever reason, he returned to his old, spontaneous self. He cupped the back of my head and kissed me hard and possessively in full view of the hall and anyone staring at our window.

  “I hope the prancing peacocks out there saw that,” he whispered when he lifted his head. It took a few seconds for my world to right itself and for my senses to come close to resembling normal. Then, what he’d said registered, and I glanced outside.