by Setta Jay
He pulled her into his arms and felt her body shaking against his. “Did you doubt it, thea mou? Will the beasts be happy about this? They are Guardians of Thule.” Weak purrs brought a smile to both of their lips.
He moved to Velspar, who was closest, as Gefn caressed and spoke gently to Spa. With a thought he split his palm before using the same power to cut beneath the fur in Velspar’s shoulder. He sent a wave of ability to mix the blood, issuing ancient words to cement the bond. Instantly, he felt the magic settle inside his mind. Gefn set one hand to P’s shoulder as emotion flowed from her. He moved on to Spa and repeated the process before mentally checking the threads; they were a brilliant gold.
The intense rush of love and gratitude coming through the bond he shared with his female almost brought him to his knees.
Later, P lay in a massive bed full of furry bodies and soft female, listening to the surprisingly relaxing purring of the healed beasts. After he and Gefn spent hours sharing their energy with them, their eyes had finally brightened. The odd part was that he should feel at least a little depleted, but he didn’t. He felt strong. At some point he’d sent power to open the balcony doors to allow the sea breeze inside, enjoying the soothing air currents.
He curiously asked, “How do you normally refuel your strength?”
She glanced up at him with a frown. “What do you mean?”
The look on her face made him curious. “In my world Immortals have caverns where they go to refuel their power while surrounded by the Earth itself. What strengthens your power?”
She nodded in understanding before answering, “Energy is everywhere here. A God of Thule need only breathe in the air to gain strength. Spa and Velspar are the same. The þrír are a little different in that they need the sacred energy of Fólkvangr to replenish their spirits.”
It was interesting to learn of her world, the world of his mother. He wondered if trips to Fólkvangr were in his future. He couldn’t imagine needing anything more than he was getting already.
He was curious. “What of your mortals? Like Laire?”
“They need physical sustenance. Cooked meals. Water… Laire enjoys mjöd.” A word that he translated to mean a kind of beer. Her tone had softened at the mention of her friend. He would need to get a sample of the warrior’s blood to Sirena and see if he was compatible for an Immortal mating.
“How old is Laire?” he asked, wondering how long he had to find the male a mate.
“He just celebrated one hundred fifty-six.”
Pothos’ mouth gaped open; the male looked no more than thirty. Tops. “Years? How long do your mortals live?” Had he heard that the mortals were longer lived here? It seemed familiar, but he might have felt it in her memories and not truly realized what he’d been seeing.
She smiled up at him. “When we imprisoned Tyr and the other terrible Gods, their magic infused Thule and our mortals became stronger and longer lived. Their spans changed from around two hundred years to roughly half a millennium. How long do your mortals live?”
“One hundred is considered a long life for them.”
“Such a short span of time,” she said with a hint of sadness. “I can’t imagine getting close only to lose them in the blink of an eye for those who live as long as we do.” She sighed before adding, “There was a trade-off to our people’s longer lives. We have incredibly few births. It is something we are constantly researching.” This conversation was leading to things he’d secretly been dreading. He needed to learn more about Thule if he were to be a part of saving it. He was a Guardian, and that meant he had loyalty to Earth and his family there, but as a Guardian his life was also dedicated to preventing powerful beings from subjugating the weak. With what he’d seen of Hroarr’s palace, the warriors and even the furnishings, their culture was antiquated. He knew Gefn’s heart, but what of the others? There were villages and warriors in her memories, but little of what she did daily.
She looked up at him, frowning. “Something worries you?”
“Yes. You have my memories, thea mou. You know what I am,” he said softly and then sighed. “I need to know about the world you want me to protect. I need to know that this place doesn’t go against everything I am. Everything I believe is right.”
*****
Gefn actually felt a shiver of desire from his words. Her male was not only a warrior, he was incredibly honorable and just, qualities she loved. Her memories couldn’t have shown him everything about Thule, just as his hadn’t shown her all there was to learn of Earth. “It would be easier to show you than to explain how things are done here, but I assure you that our people live freely. The mortals have ways of governing themselves until major strife happens.”
That seemed to ease him some. Spa stood and moved to Pothos, proceeding to rub her massive face against his cheek, head and then down to his chest before dropping into his lap. Well, part of her landed on him, a paw landed on Gefn. They laughed and scratched the cat’s stretched body as Velspar purred from her spot lower on the bed.
Now that her beasts were safe, she understood why they’d never used the kind of power they had at the lake. Thule had been in too much turmoil when her priestesses were killed. At the time she and her brothers had only just found the answer to finishing the prisons for the evil Gods. And Thule’s elements had gone into wild turmoil when they’d finally caged Tyr and the others. Thule had needed the cats’ power.
It seemed that the great beasts felt leading her to Pothos was worth their sacrifice. She knew he was the answer to Thule’s salvation, to hers.
She smiled as she mused, “Spa definitely feels better. She has never done such a thing with anyone but me. You’ve won her, elskede.” Her beloved.
Pothos had a way of gazing at her as if she were the only being in the world, and it made her breathing hitch a little.
He tunneled his fingers into her hair, and she leaned up for a sweet kiss. It wasn’t meant to be arousing, but gooseflesh rose on her skin. Her reaction to him was a beautiful thing.
Velspar purred a little louder, making Gefn laugh. She was so incredibly relieved that they were well again. She’d thought for sure she was going to lose them.
She turned and laid her head back against Pothos’ hard chest. His warmth slid inside her as she rubbed her fingers over Velspar’s soft neck.
She and Pothos had a lot to figure out, and as much as she didn’t want to do anything but bask in the comfort of his touch, they should start. “All of your Gods are still in Earth, in sleeping chambers?” She’d been shocked at seeing that in his memories. Obviously the sleeping units had been protected from Dagur’s seeking spell.
“Yes.”
She shook her head. “We have been looking for a God for centuries, but Dagur should not have sent Hroarr’s warriors to take yours.” She looked up at him with regret. “There is no true defense for his actions, but he thought you only had Apollo and a world with only one God was doomed to fall. When he detected the God in your world, he sent out summons to Hroarr, Kara and I, only we did not arrive right away. Apparently he kept checking and Apollo disappeared for a time. When he finally detected the Deity again, he acted without thought. Things would have been done much differently had Hroarr or I have been there.” She would love to throttle her brother for all he’d done. For all of the lost warriors, for all the pointless deaths.
Her male trailed his fingers in her hair, and her eyes grew hooded at the pleasure of his simple touch. His voice was set low when he spoke again. “Since Dagur didn’t detect the other Gods through their sleeping units, maybe his ability doesn’t work through protection spells.”
“I don’t know,” she admitted.
“How much do you know about why the Gods are needed in their worlds?”
“Our sires left instructions that all the Gods would be needed when darkness came. They said the power of Thule would be our only hope of surviving it.”
“So this Tyr decided to take all the power he could to be the last God standing
.” She heard and felt his disgust. It matched her own.
“Yes, but the power was perverted and in some ways diluted. He couldn’t consume it all. What was in him wasn’t pure or complete. Nor in the others who tried the same thing, and with the deaths of so many, it left Thule imbalanced. We did what we could, but Hroarr has been certain that we need at least one more God to power our world. Maybe more since we’d be dealing with a foreign God.”
Pothos tensed. “If your brother even thinks about sticking me in one of those fucking boxes, it will not end well for him.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “He would never dare attempt such a thing. You are mine and he will respect that.” At his grunt she continued, “I assure you he cannot do such a thing without my help. It takes the power of four Gods, one for each of the elements, to trap such a powerful being in one of the confinement chambers.”
“If your Gods’ powers are so important to this world, what happened while Kara was on Earth?”
She shook her head. “There are constant disruptions in our world. We may have felt her weakness in parts of Thule, it would have gotten worse in the months to come. We are free to come and go all we want, but prolonged absence or death would definitely have caused massive elemental reactions. She was still linked to Thule at some level.”
*****
Pothos was curious about what she knew of this darkness. “It seems like you know a lot more of what’s coming than we do. That’s if our Creators were warning us of the same things yours did. Ours were very cryptic.”
She nodded. “As were ours. And yes, they were warning you of the same plague to come, because it comes for all worlds at some point. It feeds and then it’s gone. If not for Hroarr’s power, we would not have nearly as much knowledge as we do.”
“How does he know about it?”
“He has the power of sjá.”
Sight? P wondered exactly what that meant. “How does that work?”
“Hroarr has the power of backsight. His ability allows him to see all that has befallen a world, from birth through to destruction. He traveled to hundreds of worlds, seeking knowledge of what the darkness does to a world.” Her tone held a hint of sadness. “And then he used that information to form a plan to prevent us from making the same mistakes they did. He’s given us the ability to fight it.”
He looked down at her, shocked. “Your brother has seen what’s coming?”
“Yes.”
“Does he know when?” He felt his female’s shoulders tense a fraction more.
“Dagur has been able to track it through the ether. For our world it’s a matter of decades before we battle it.”
“Can Dagur teach me how to do this?”
“I’m not sure. It’s not even a skill I possess to any degree, but he will do it for you.” Her tone was that of determination. “It’s the least he can do.”
“You said fight. Has Hroarr ever found a world that has survived it?”
“No.” She breathed out. “But some have gotten closer than others.”
“How?”
She shook her head. “Power. The biggest part of Hroarr’s plan involves using the power of the prisons.” She breathed out.
“How?”
She seemed a little hesitant but spoke. “We’ve set them up to be a sort of weapon.”
“What kind of weapon?”
“It will set off a burst of energy into the skies to allow us to fight it all the way back to the ether. It is a chance though, because if we destroy Tyr and the others in the process, it could permanently disrupt Thule’s balance.”
“You could always leave before it comes.”
She sighed. “Our power is linked to Thule. We have no idea what would happen to us or our people on another world in the long term.”
He was absorbing all of this information. “We can’t destroy it?”
“Hroarr thinks it’s too powerful to destroy. Too immense.”
Too powerful for Thule, but P wondered if Earth could destroy it. They had more Gods to put in those prisons. If they could build them. “Could you teach us to build prisons like yours for Earth?” Could they put their evil Gods away and use them to kill this thing?
“We would need Dagur and Hroarr, and you’d need four of your own Gods to do it. Or we could attempt to move your people to Thule, but it holds the same risks we were concerned about if we left.”
“How did you think a foreign God would power Thule, then?”
“Dagur thinks it’s a matter of bringing and trapping the God’s elements with them in the chamber.” She sounded skeptical. “It was a chance, but one we were willing to take before finding you.”
There was a lot to figure out, but knowledge was indeed power. He agreed with Hroarr about that and planned to talk to the other God about all of it.
She turned her head to look up at him. “I would like to see your world.”
“I’d like to show it to you.” He paused. “But it looks like I need to have that talk with your brothers. And I need to share this information with Drake.” It wasn’t at all how he wanted to spend their day together, but it was what needed to be done. As a Guardian he had a duty to Earth, to his family, that he could never ignore.
She sighed and he knew she felt the same way. Spa and Velspar jumped up, both stretching their legs the second they hit the ground. He guessed that meant they would have an entourage.
Chapter 23
Hroarr’s Palace, Thule
After Gefn quickly changed into her own clothes, they were out the door and into the wide torchlit halls of the palace. Pothos had already relayed the information about the darkness to Drake, and it was incredibly odd to always hear his conversations, but she liked knowing.
Pothos slid his fingers into hers and eased the tension she hadn’t realized she was feeling. Velspar sidled closer to her and she smiled. Spa had taken Pothos’ side. Her beasts were showing their loyalty to them both, and it clenched her heart a little.
The first warrior they came upon bowed to them, but kept his features bland when she asked, “Where is Dagur?”
“He just arrived with Kara’s þrír. He’s gone to her suites.” That explained why her brother hadn’t come to see what was happening with the cats. She would ask Dagur about Kara when she saw him. Gefn wondered if her sister was still unconscious.
“Has everyone been informed that this is Pothos, my maðr?”
“Yes, we have, Goddess. I offer my congratulations.”
“Thank you. Now please find Dagur and have him meet us in Hroarr’s study.” When the warrior left to do her bidding, she noticed Reginleif coming down the opposite hall.
The sheer relief on the dark beauty’s face was intense as she whispered her thanks to the fates. “They are completely recovered?”
Gefn smiled. “Yes.”
The female bowed regally, her pale silk dress flowing over her skin as she vowed, “We owe you a debt, Pothos. And Mist said that we owe your sister as well.” And then she turned to Gefn. “We also need to prepare ágæti.” A celebration. For her joining with Pothos.
Gefn smiled. “Maybe in time. Right now we have more important issues than preparing for a party.”
“Gefn, the people need this. You are the only God to have ever taken a maðr. And they need to understand that Pothos is a powerful being here to help save Thule.” The female went on and on.
She looked up at Pothos as he gazed down at her. There were very serious emotions coming through when he spoke in her mind. Would you like a joining witnessed by your people? We still have a lot to figure out about how I will be a Guardian of Earth and do what you need me to do here, but I want you to have all that you deserve and wish for.
Her heart expanded at his words.
Reginleif kept going, “We also need to do this right away to set the tone that he is to be accepted completely.”
Gefn shook her head; it was all too fast. “We will discuss this later. Right now I need to speak with Dagur.”
/> “Do not worry, Gefn. We will take care of everything.” And then the female was gone.
She pinched the bridge of her nose.
Pothos took her hand in his and squeezed. “She’s excited. And I believe she means well.”
“She does,” she agreed. That didn’t mean she felt like dealing with any of it when they hadn’t had any time together.
She smiled even though she felt the tension from the warriors in the hallway. Maybe Reginleif was right.
She explained, They lost many of their friends in your Earth. It’s not your fault, it is Dagur’s, but I imagine word has spread that you are from that world. She was already wanting to escape back to his home. Back to his bed, where there were no people around, just the two of them—where she could sleep off the emotional exhaustion from the last hours.
I know, thea mou. It’s understandable. They will eventually adjust. Or they won’t. He seemed unfazed by that fact. She’d known that Pothos was very aware of the tension in the palace as he remained alert to their surroundings. He was also curious and taking it all in. She vowed that as soon as they spoke to Dagur, they’d get out of there at least for a short while.
When they made it to the study, she smelled new paint and noticed some of her brother’s artifacts were now missing. Evidence that the portal her beasts had opened in this room damaged Hroarr’s sanctuary, and she had no doubt he was displeased by that fact.
“What are these?” Pothos asked as he studied the shelves.
“Artifacts from Hroarr’s travels to other worlds.”
He was noting some of the ancient daggers. “Only the most special items are stored here. Hroarr has an entire other room lined with swords and different specialty weapons.”
She felt when Dagur came to the door. When it swung wide, the male took one look at Pothos and growled, “He should not be in here, sister.”
“Dagur, this is my maðr, Pothos. And do not order me. He goes where I go.”
Pothos faced the male with his arms crossed over his big chest. Her male was not worried in the slightest; in fact, she felt that he’d expected this.
