“You have a minute?” Thor asked as he stood in the doorway of the room Fen and I were sharing.
I nodded. “Yeah, come in.” I waved him inside, motioning for him to close the door. “What’s up?”
He sat on the reading chair by the window. “Well, I didn’t disappear for nothing.” His hazel eyes sparkled against the night. “When we were hiding, I heard a noise and went to search it out. Off the beaten trail, I think I found their campsite. There were more of them there, but not a lot. You had a lot more surrounding you up at Trolls Tongue.”
“You said we’d thank you. No offense, Thor, but over a campsite?” I laughed.
He laughed with me. “I met their leader.”
That made me perk up. “I thought Mia was their leader.”
Thor shook his head. “It’s this woman named Lilja. She’s the oldest one amongst them. I think she’s five hundred years old. I spoke to her about what Midgard’s about to face, and she said she’s willing to help.”
“Just like that?” I asked skeptically. I mean, the others needed some arm twisting, quite literally.
Thor sighed. “It wasn’t like I rolled in there and was like hey Lilja, want to do me a favor? We had a conversation, promises were made, and then—”
“Excuse me? Back track there, smooth operator. What do you mean, promises were made?”
Thor ran a hand through his long brown hair, and he looked a little nervous. “I couldn’t promise her Valhalla for obvious reasons, but she wants to go to Asgard.”
“Say what now?” My jaw practically fell to the ground. “You can’t take her or them to Asgard. Are you nuts?”
“Do you want them on our side or not? And what’s wrong with them wanting to know where they come from?”
“Because they’re from Midgard!” I shouted, nearly jumping out of my skin. I didn’t understand why this upset me so much.
His brows furrowed. “I didn’t mean to upset you, Hrefna. I just wanted to give you the army you desired. The army we need. They are fight-ready, no training necessary. They’re not as helpless as we thought they would be.”
I figured that when they pushed Fen off a cliff.
“They just want to see a home that should have been theirs,” Thor whispered as he stood to exit my room.
He left, and I didn’t get the opportunity to tell him he was right. I was being a spoiled brat was what it was. I didn’t want to share the little bit of home I still had left. I no longer had Valhalla, but there was still Asgard, and I didn’t want to lose that.
I was about to throw myself onto the bed when a gust of wind blew in and a portal appeared in the middle of the room out of nowhere, right in front of me. The contents of the room started to blow everywhere, making a mess of the place. Before I could blink, an arm reached out of the portal and latched onto me, pulling me inside.
“Fen!” I screamed before getting sucked in and disappearing.
I groaned as I stretched my body and blinked groggily. I was lying on a bed, but the room was pitch black and a bit chilly. I shivered as a breeze blew in, and I searched around for a blanket.
“Here.” Verdandi offered as she tossed me a quilt. I shot up from the bed.
“What the hell?” I yelled.
“Shh!” She pressed a finger over her lips. “Why don’t you scream from the rooftops you’re here?”
“Where the hell am I?” I scanned the room, and I realized I was in the bedroom at the top of the tower on Náströnd.
“Corpse Shore,” Verdandi said as she sat on the edge of the bed. “I portaled you here.”
I scoffed. “If you can portal at will, why the hell haven’t you escaped? I don’t understand, Verdandi. What the hell is going on?”
“I’ve seen the future, Hrefna. My role is to stay here. It’s how best I can help you.”
I scrambled closer to her. “What did you see?”
“I cannot tell you.”
I growled. “Damn it, Verdandi, why are you such a pain in my ass?”
She shrugged and leaned back on her hands. “It’s the little pleasures in life.”
“So what the hell am I doing here if you can’t tell me what’s to come?”
“I see you got my message about Asgard.” She smirked. “Hel has been on a rampage ever since her plans were foiled.”
“Yeah, that was quite the smooch,” I grunted.
“It was the only way I could pass along the information without getting caught. Because of this, she’s decided to move on from Asgard, for now. Get reinforcements.”
“How so?” I asked, my stomach doing flips at the thought of Hel getting stronger. What could be worse than an army of hellhounds and the dead?
“Follow me,” Verdandi said as she jerked her head toward the door and stood to leave. I quickly got up and tagged along.
We went down the one-way staircase all the way down the tower until we reached the bottom floor. She looked both ways before cutting across the corridor to an archway and running through it. I followed behind silently and tiptoed as soon as we heard voices. Torches lined the walls as darkness consumed us, and my fingers grazed the grimy brick walls.
“Tie him tightly and inject him again. I don’t want him waking up earlier than projected,” Hel said from beyond the wall. I recognized her voice easily.
“Yes, mistress,” a male voice said in response, and there was some scuffling and then a groan—a really loud groan that made the tower vibrate. I held on to the wall to hold myself steady. When it quieted, I turned to Verdandi with wide eyes and a questioning stare. What the hell was that?
She tapped me on the shoulder and pointed forward, motioning me to look around the corner. I inched forward and peered around the wall. I clapped a hand over my mouth and pressed myself against the wall with eyes as wide as golf balls.
Verdandi’s almond-shaped eyes softened uncharacteristically so, and she took my arm and pulled me back toward the entrance. Numbly, I followed her out, ignoring the conversation going on behind me.
Not worrying about getting caught, I didn’t bother scanning my surroundings as we made our way back to the top of the tower. When the Norn closed the door to her room, she didn’t speak right away.
“Tell me I didn’t see what I just saw,” I choked out.
Verdandi leaned against her bedroom door. “She’s enslaved Jötunheimr after her plans for Asgard fell apart.”
“What?” I shrieked. “She enslaved the whole world of the giants? How?” I said unbelievingly.
“The giant you saw captive is their leader. That’s how. With him in her grasps, she has all the giants at her disposal.”
The giant I saw was tied down with metal chains; he was humongous. His head was bigger than me, with a beard just as long and horns sticking out of his forehead. And Hel had him sedated. His groan alone nearly knocked us off our feet.
“With the giants, Midgard doesn’t stand a chance,” I breathed, my eyes wild as I tried to gather my scattered thoughts.
“Listen to me, Hrefna.” Verdandi came toward me as I fell to the edge of her bed. “You are the human’s champion for a reason. Only you have the power to end this.”
“You give me too much credit, Norn,” I scoffed.
She shook her head. “You haven’t given yourself enough credit. You’re sober for the first time since I’ve met you, and you’re gathering an army to save a realm you despised not too long ago. Dare I say, your humanity is showing, Hrefna.”
I grimaced. “Gross, Verdandi. Don’t remind me.”
“I will remind you because all of this—your love for William and Charlotte—it’s what makes you the human’s champion. It’s what will help you in the end.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, the great mysterious future you can’t tell me about.”
“Correct.” She smiled. “Now let’s get you back so your friends don’t start to worry.”
I nodded and stood from the bed. “Thank you, Verdandi.” She looked at me like I’d grown an extra he
ad. “In case I don’t say it enough, thanks for being our person on the inside.”
“You’re welcome, Hrefna.” She grinned and opened a portal back to Norway.
I was tossed out of the portal and back into my hotel room, and the room was spinning. If Fen hadn’t been there, I would have hit the ground—hard. The portal swirled closed, and everything being thrown around the room fell to the ground.
“Hrefna!” Thor exclaimed as he came to my other side. “Where have you been?”
Fen walked me to the bed, and I sat down. I didn’t mind being coddled a little because everything was still spinning.
“Verdandi,” I said by way of explanation.
“What did she want?” Fen asked.
“Who’s that?” Thor interrupted.
I shook my head to clear it. “Verdandi is our friend, the Norn, who stayed behind with Hel. She stayed so we could continue getting intel on Hel’s movements. And what she had to show me is seriously scary.”
“What is my sister doing?”
“She’s enslaved Jötunheimr. She has an army of giants now. I saw their leader with my own eyes.”
Thor’s eyes nearly popped out, and Fen cursed. This was one twist we weren’t expecting. And one that was going to be difficult to defeat. Even if these Midgard valkyries had some fighting experience, they didn’t have experience fighting giants.
“We might have the upper hand,” Fen said as he ran a hand through his hair.
“You can’t be thinking what I think you’re implying.” Thor narrowed his eyes.
Fen shrugged. “I was her favorite after all.” He grinned.
“What am I missing here?” I asked as my eyes played ping-pong between them.
Fen sighed and looked at me. “My mother is a giantess who lives in Jötunheimr.”
“It’s Angrboda, Hrefna,” Thor said her name by way of explanation.
The one who brings grief, or the one who offers sorrow, was how she was known. How could I forget about Fenrir’s mom? Her children were taken away from her once they were considered to be monsters. She’d lived in the world of giants ever since.
“She’s Hel’s mother too, right?” I asked. A lot of gods didn’t have two of the same parents.
“Yes, we’re full-blooded siblings,” Fen said.
“Why would she do this to your mother?”
“Unless she’s in on it too?” Thor mentioned, and Fen’s face darkened. He’d struck a nerve. “For all we know, this could be a family affair.”
Fen jumped up and went to tackle Thor, but I was between them in a blink of an eye. “Stop! The two of you need to cut it out.”
“I don’t trust him or his family, Hrefna,” Thor shouted, his bulky frame hovering over me. I pressed a hand to his chest to keep him in place and peered over my shoulder at Fen. His eyes were locked on mine as if he were waiting for me. Pleading with me. It nearly broke me because I could see the need in his obsidian eyes. He was like a little kid all over again. He wanted to be trusted, not by anyone else but by me.
I didn’t look away from Fen. “I trust him, Thor.”
“You’re going to get hurt. He’ll choose them in the end.”
I furrowed my brows as I continued to stare at Fen. Would he? Those eyes told me otherwise. At this point, I was in too deep. Either I backed out or I dove in headfirst. I chose the latter.
I turned to Thor and patted him on the chest. “Let’s seal this deal with the valkyries and then figure out what to do with the giants.”
Without another word, he left the room, slamming the door on his way out. I flinched as I stood in the middle of the room just staring at where Thor had retreated. Either way, I hurt one of them with whatever decision I made. There was just too much history.
“I won’t let you down, Raven,” Fen whispered from behind me.
“I know you won’t,” I said and turned to face him. I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around his neck. “If you hurt me again, Fen, I will cut your balls off,” I whispered against his lips.
He grinned. “You’re so romantic. It’s quite the turn-on.”
“What can I say, I have a way with words.” I kissed him. Hard.
Fen picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He tore at my shirt with a desperation that made his actions almost sloppy. We fell onto the bed in a heap, and I moaned as I rubbed myself against his hardness.
His kisses were hungry, and I could barely breathe. When he bit on my lower lip and trailed his lips down my neck, I gasped for air.
“Raven,” he moaned as he kissed the sensitive spot behind my ear. “I lo—”
“Fen,” I cut him off. I flipped us over so I was on top. I ripped his shirt off and unbuckled his pants. “No talking,” I said, and I kissed him hard enough so he’d forget his own name.
13
We were back at Trolltunga after a full night’s and day’s rest. We couldn’t meet them during the day because of the tourists, so we had to wait for nightfall again. It was past midnight, and we were huddled as far away from the cliff as possible. We didn’t need a repeat of last night.
“They should be here soon,” Thor said as he kept peering over at the trail. “Lilja said—”
“And you trust her?” Fen snorted.
Things were still a little icy between them.
Thor didn’t have an opportunity to respond because we suddenly heard the sound of beating wings overhead. It wasn’t just one; it was dozens. They flew out of the tree lines and the darkness of the sky and hovered over us, circling us like vultures. I guess they weren’t going to use the trail.
“What were you saying about trust?” Fen said to Thor who only glared at him.
“Nice production,” I called out to them. “If you’re trying to intimidate us, it’s really not working.” My honey-brown wings burst out of my back, and they were just as imposing as theirs. “Do you really want to see who’s is bigger?” I quirked a brow.
“Funny,” a woman said from behind us. “She’s funny. You didn’t tell me that.”
I spun around and looked at the woman coming out of the trail. She was tall with long blonde hair, arresting blue-gray eyes, high cheekbones, and a Roman nose. Her shoulders were pulled back, chest out, and head held high. You didn’t have to tell me who this was. This must be Lilja.
“I typically keep my comedic chops for special occasions. Lilja, I presume?” I asked.
“You presume correctly. I’d apologize for the show of force, but you are coming onto our land.”
I hummed. “Seems to me like you’re compensating. You see, when I first came onto your land, as you say, it was I who was the one with the show of force. Don’t mistake your numbers as an advantage.”
Lilja’s jaw locked, and her shoulders tensed.
“But no hard feelings of course.” I smiled brightly. “At the end of the day, we’re sisters.”
Their leader stared at me intently as if she didn’t know what to do with me precisely, whether I was an enemy or not. It was my job to assure her I wasn’t.
“Thor tells me you want to see our home,” I said a little more softly. “I’m sorry I could not take you to Valhalla, but one day maybe I could tell you about it. In the meantime, Asgard is a wonderful substitute.”
She relaxed. “I would one day like to hear about Valhalla.” Lilja raised a hand in the air, and suddenly the sky cleared. The valkyries flew away, and only about a dozen landed on Trolltunga. I recognized Mia in the crowd.
“That day may not come if we do not defeat the threat headed our way,” I said, directing the conversation to more dire situations.
“Hel now has the giants at her disposal,” Thor said to Lilja, but the valkyries all gasped.
“How do you know this?” she asked.
“We have someone on the inside,” Fen said.
I stepped closer to Lilja. “We’re running out of time. Hel can attack whenever she’d like now. Without your help, Midgard is doomed.”
“We’ll p
rotect our world,” Mia shouted.
I spun around to face her. “Why are you so bitter? We should be working together because apart we are bound to fail.”
“She is right,” Lilja said. “We must put our pride aside—”
“It’s not our pride!” Mia exclaimed. “Her people have killed us!” The others mumbled their agreement.
“And for that I’m sorry,” I said. “I can’t take it back. If I’d known—”
“You would have what?” Mia cut me off.
I shrugged. “I don’t know what I would have done. But I wouldn’t have stood idly by and let it happen. Not to one of us.” I walked toward Mia and stood really close to her, our toes practically touching. “What do you want from me? Do you want to fight me? Let all that hatred out? I don’t mind, but once it’s over, it’s done.”
Her nostrils flared as she glared at me. She was angry, and that anger was eating her up inside. If taking it out on me would make her feel better, I didn’t mind being the punching bag. But once she got it all out, it had to be over. She couldn’t keep carrying that chip on her shoulder.
Mia’s eyes glanced over my shoulder then back to me. “I’m not going to fight you,” she gritted between her teeth.
“Then can we agree to work together?” I asked, taking a step back and extending a hand for her to shake.
She looked over my shoulder again. “Fine.” She sighed and shook my hand. Her grip was firm, and her gaze drilled into me.
“Good.” I smiled. “I look forward to us fighting side by side.”
“Let’s talk numbers,” Thor said, his hand on his hammer that was belted on his hip. “How many of you can we count on?”
“We’re two hundred strong,” Lilja said. “We can fly out tomorrow night.”
I didn’t like having to wait another day, but it was too short notice for them to leave now, and they couldn’t fly during the day.
“Will you be able to fly such a long distance?” Fen asked, and we all chuckled besides him and Thor.
“It won’t be a problem.” Lilja grinned. “We’ve done long-distance travel before, just not in such a large group. We’ll need to coordinate.”
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