by Linsey Hall
Her skin tingled and a chill rushed over her as his soul passed back to him. Instinctively, she reached inside of him and recovered the part of her soul that she’d given him so many years ago. When balance was finally restored, she opened her eyes to see Logan’s gaze clearing. Her own mind finally felt at peace, as if the gaps had been filled in.
“Sylvi.” Logan’s voice was rough as he pulled her to him.
Tears of joy spilled down her cheeks. “You’re back. You remember.”
“It was you. It was my love for you that couldn’t be extinguished by the labyrinth or Yggdrasil or any amount of memory loss. That’s what brought me back to you. I couldn’t leave.”
She flung herself into his arms again. He pulled her closer and kissed her, pouring all his fear and joy and hope into the kiss. She was everything he’d been missing for so long, and she’d brought him back from nothingness.
He didn’t want to let her go when she pulled away, but she was insistent.
“You remember everything?” she asked. “No blank spots?”
“Everything.”
“What about your will? Your hope? When you gave it all to Yggdrasil in the labyrinth, it was clear that you ran dry. You just stood there. It took everything I had to drag you out of the labyrinth.”
He rubbed his chest, realizing that the feeling of loss that had so briefly struck him before the last of his memory and active consciousness had slipped away was gone. “I don’t think that hope or will are finite resources. They were gone, but eventually they come back. Some of it was stored in the piece of my soul that you possessed.”
“Thank fates.” The relief that emanated from her was palpable.
“But without you, without you having part of my soul and keeping it safe, I never would have returned to normal. I needed my memory to put it all together. I think that the pieces of our souls were protected in one another, because I remember everything.”
She kissed him, then drew away. “You saved part of my memory, too. I lost less than you, but I hated every second of it.”
“You have them back. And me. And I’ll never let you go.” He caught himself. He was making decisions for her. She hated that. “If that’s okay.”
The brilliant smile that swept across her face sent a wash of love through him so great that it nearly swept him away.
“It’s more than okay.” And she kissed him, banishing every dark thing that had happened in the past and making way for a far brighter future.
EPILOGUE
Immortal University
Edinburgh, Scotland
Four Weeks Later
Logan ran across the cobblestone courtyard and parking lot that sat in the middle of the main buildings on the university campus. His wolf, Fenrir, loped at his heels.
Since they were on earth and no longer in Asgard, Fenrir was the size of a normal wolf. The size change was one of the conditions of his release from hell. Logan reached down and scrubbed a hand over the wolf’s regal head, his chest unbearably light with joy to be reunited with his wolf.
He still didn’t like any of the Norse gods, but at least the bastards had freed Fenrir as a thank you to him for destroying the labyrinth. Freeing Fenrir from hell after he’d been killed had been beyond Logan’s power. But all the gods had agreed to bring him back, on the condition that he was no longer the size of a house, and had used their collective power to see it done.
Logan wasn’t yet late meeting Sylvi, but he’d developed an embarrassing—but completely understandable—dislike of being away from her. It’d been a month since they’d gotten their memories back and they’d barely been apart, except when he was off assisting freedom fighters in war-torn regions.
That seemed like a good way to spend his time now that he was no longer obsessed with avoiding Ragnarok.
It took only moments to make his way up the wide stone steps of the Praesidium. As soon as he walked through the great wooden doors, he saw her standing in the middle of the huge atrium.
She met him halfway and kissed him. When she pulled out of his arms, she grinned up at him and asked, “How was Ian?”
“Good.” He’d just returned from having a pint with Ian. Fortunately, the other gods had given him back his power of aetherwalking, so he’d been able to meet Ian over in Perth with no problem. “He and Fiona are setting off on a university archaeological project in a few days, but he seems to be enjoying his freedom.”
Sylvi had managed to convince the university to terminate Ian’s prison sentence, which he’d been on the run from ever since Logan had gotten him out over four months ago.
Ian’s service to the university in helping Logan and Sylvi shut down the labyrinth and end the now notorious corruption of the prison system had led to his pardon. The more dangerous criminals hadn’t been pardoned, but Logan only cared about Ian anyhow.
“I’m glad,” Sylvi said. She ran a hand over his cheek. “I like your face.”
“Yeah?” He smiled. Since he’d decided to stay with Sylvi at the university permanently—he’d had no choice since she loved it so much here and he wouldn’t take her away—he’d had to decide what to do about his identity.
He’d decided to keep the name Logan, though Sylvi would occasionally call him Loki, but he’d permanently discarded the false face he’d been using in public for centuries. He’d always adopted his original looks with Sylvi, but it had been complicated remembering to take on his false face in public. The Norse gods were no longer after him, so there’d no longer been any reason to hide.
Sylvi looked at her phone. “They should be here any minute.”
“Excellent.” He leaned down to kiss her. She tasted so sweet and his life was so wonderful that he couldn’t make himself break the kiss.
Someone cleared their throat. Damn. He pulled himself away from Sylvi and looked up. A goddess with wild red hair stood before them. She wore a green cloak and looked a hell of a lot like that cartoon princess from the movie Sylvi had made him watch last night.
“Sinann, thank you for coming,” Sylvi said.
“Happy to.” Sinann’s voice held the musical cadence of Ireland. She was the goddess of the river Shannon. As with Logan, she’d been granted permission to visit the university campus even though she would normally have been banned from the place because of her godhood. She smiled. “Are you ready to see Mnemosynia?”
“Totally,” Sylvi said.
Logan turned to Fenrir and said, “Go take a nap, pal.”
The wolf padded off down the hall to Warren’s office, where he’d taken to sleeping in front of the fire on Logan’s visits to see Sylvi at work.
Sylvi took Logan’s hand and they walked over to Sinann.
The goddess touched each of their shoulders, then aetherwalked them to Moloch. She was one of the new overseers of the modified labyrinth. As Yggdrasil had promised, the labyrinth had become a place of memory for the lost souls who waited to be reincarnated.
Sinann, Celtic river goddess, was in charge of providing water to the new construction. Moloch was a desert afterworld, after all, and without the river Lethe, it needed some sort of imported water. Souls didn’t need water, but the place was vastly better with plants. Fortunately, Sinann’s water was just normal water and the plants were normal plants.
Sinann lead them across the sand to Mnemosynia’s entrance. The place had been renamed for the main Greek goddess of memory. Mytheans were not usually allowed here as they shouldn’t have contact with the souls waiting to be reborn. Because of their involvement in the conversion of the place, Logan and Sylvi were permitted a tour.
Though the main entry building looked far different than the one Logan had slaved over when he’d been a temporary prisoner, the dry sands of Moloch and the burning wind were too familiar. It felt different, as well. Welcoming instead of horrifying.
Glimmering gray stone shone under the sun’s bright light, arches and turrets soaring high. It was a beautiful, fantastical place and he was awed that his and Sylvi’
s intent had created it. She’d explained to him everything that Yggdrasil had said. Though Logan had mostly forgiven Yggdrasil because Yggdrasil had pardoned him from Ragnarok, Sylvi was still blisteringly angry at the Ancient One. He had a feeling she would always be.
“This place is beautiful.” Awe was rich in Sylvi’s voice.
“Wait until you see the inside,” Sinann said. She led them through the great wooden doors into a courtyard that burst with a profusion of flowers. Beautiful buildings with second story balconies surrounded the courtyard and fountains burbled in the middle. Every color of the rainbow spilled from flower boxes and beds.
It looked nothing like the labyrinth. It smelled nothing like that horrible place. Best of all, it felt nothing like it. His memory felt better rather than worse, as if he could flip through every memory of his past and select those he wanted to review in great detail.
“It feels amazing here,” Sylvi said.
“That’s your memory,” an unfamiliar voice said. “It’s more accessible within these walls.”
Logan turned to see a dark-haired woman coming from a large building to the left of the courtyard. She wore white robes like the ones worn by Greek statues.
“I’m Elpis,” she said. “One of the Greek gods of memory. You can call me Ellie.”
“Logan,” he said, reaching out to shake her hand. She was the other overseer of the labyrinth. Where Sinann provided water, Elpis had come to help provide memory. Yggdrasil had recruited her, and angry at the way the river Lethe had been used, Elpis had agreed to come change the labyrinth to a place of good.
“This is no longer a labyrinth at all, is it?” Sylvi asked after she’d introduced herself.
“No. When you gave the gifts that rebuilt it, it became more like a village. Or a university. Buildings and courtyards and some fields.” She looked fondly at Sinann. “All of which are fed by Sinann, of course.”
Sinann smiled.
“That’s great,” Sylvi said. “Because this place sucked. But it looks amazing now. Even better than when I saw it as it was changing.”
“You won’t see the souls while you’re here, most of them have not yet found this place, but they will,” Sinann said.
“It’s far better than the aether,” Ellie added. “Come, we’ll show you around.”
Logan and Sylvi set off to follow them. They walked through beautiful courtyards and buildings with astounding architecture that had been filled with books and art. It awed him to see such a terrible place turned into such magic.
He’d given hope and will, but it had been Sylvi whose quick thinking had contributed the heart and the knowledge to build this place. The story she’d told him of escaping the labyrinth had chilled him, but the trial had been worth it.
All of his past had been worth it. Every terrible day and year spent fighting his fate had culminated in this glorious future.
He reached for Sylvi’s hand as they walked along a flowerbed. With her, he had no doubt that every day of the future would be better than the one they’d left behind.
THANK YOU FOR READING!
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AUTHOR’S NOTE
I have always loved mythology, particularly Norse mythology. It wasn’t hard to decide that I wanted to write a version of Loki’s story—but it was difficult to decide exactly how to do it. He’s an epic character in mythology—and now popular culture with the Avenger’s franchise—and I wanted to do that figure justice. First, I should say that the Loki in this book has nothing to do with the Avenger’s character. Tom Hiddleston plays him to perfection, but that’s not the Loki who lives within the world of the Mythean Arcana. It’s one of the reasons that Loki decided to go by Logan—he’s a different guy now.
In Fate Undone, the characters were born in Norse mythology. Unlike Celtic mythology, which plays a heavy role in my other books, a good bit of Norse mythology was actually written down. Initially, Norse myths were part of an oral tradition that was passed down through the generations. Eventually, the stories were recorded, primarily in Iceland in the 13th century. The stories and myths were written down as eddas (poetry) and sagas (non-poetic stories). One that I used particularly was the Poetic Edda, which is a collection of Old Norse poems that was compiled in the 13th century (the poems were older). Information about myths and Norse culture was also recorded on objects and monuments in the runic alphabet and in the archaeological record. Even place names can provide information about certain gods—such as where they were worshipped or how popular they were.
Because of these sources of information, I had more details to work with than I normally do when I am writing about the Celtic gods (the Celts did not have written history, and as a result, we know less about their religion and myths, though we do know quite a bit from the archaeological record and place names). Of course, I had to change some things to suit the story, and the academic in me feels a bit guilty about this. If you’re interested in reading about which details are from myth and which are made up, read on.
First, Sigyn. When it came time for Loki to find his heroine, it was obvious to me that it had to be Sigyn. In Norse Mythology, Sigyn is Loki’s wife. In Old Norse, her name means something like “victorious girlfriend”. Sigyn and Loki are married at the time that he is chained beneath the snake, which did happen according to the Prose Edda, a collection of Old Norse poems recorded by Snorri Sturluson in 13th century Iceland. In the Edda, Loki never escapes the bonds—at least, not until Ragnarok. Sigyn stays by his side and captures the snake’s venom in a bowl. Every time that she needs to empty the bowl, the venom drips onto Loki. His spasms of pain are so great that he causes earthquakes that mortals can feel.
Well, I didn’t want my heroine to be defined by her relationship to the hero. She’s a hero in her own right, with her own story and accomplishments. I changed her from a goddess to a Vala and gave her a whole new backstory—one that didn’t involve marrying Loki (at least, not in Asgard).
Vala were shamanic seeresses and were well respected by Norse people. Vala is actually the Anglicized version of their true name—vǫlva in Old Norse or völva in Icelandic. You can see why I changed it. The original is just a bit too close to the word ‘vulva’. Imagine the audiobook! Vala were mortals who practiced seiðr magic (spelled seidr in Fate Undone), a type of magic that involves sorcery, prophesy, and shamanism. In Fate Undone, Sylvi is the first Vala, created by a union between magic and the goddess Freya (who has the most magical ability of all the gods). This didn’t happen in any myth, but Sylvi going to Midgard (earth) and training mortals in seidr is how I envisioned the Vala coming to life.
As for Loki, according to myth, he is bound beneath the snake until the great battle Ragnarok, in which he dies. I thought Loki deserved a happier ending, so in Fate Undone, Sigyn frees Loki. In the Poetic Edda, Loki is bound because he threatens the other gods one time too many. Loki does kill the god Baldr (or he creates the weapon that kills Baldr and tricks Baldr’s brother into using it, depending upon the source), but Baldr is actually not a jerk in in the real myths.
One of my favorite parts of the story was Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil is called the World Tree in Norse mythology and connects the nine worlds, Agard (one of the realms of the gods) and Midgard (earth) among them. Loki was never hung from Yggdrasil’s branches, nor was Yggdrasil able to take the form of a human and hatch great plots.
In myth, the wolf Fenrir is Loki’s son (the myths were pretty crazy sometimes). In Fate Undone, Fenrir was killed by the other gods. According to myth, he was bo
und by the gods, then killed during Ragnarok (after wreaking some havoc himself). I chose to change this because if Fenrir was only bound, then Loki would have been able to try to save him. Loki is loyal and loved Fenrir, so of course he would have gone after him right away, but that didn’t work for the story. Fenrir had to be out of the picture (temporarily), and so he had to die and be put in hell, where Loki could not go. But I couldn’t bear to leave him there—Fenrir deserved a happy ending too. Death is a very fluid thing in the world of the Mythean Arcana and I just had to bring Fenrir back. The happy ending required it—and above all else, I believe in happy endings.
Thank you again for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the story!
ABOUT LINSEY
Before becoming a romance novelist, Linsey Hall was a nautical archaeologist who studied shipwrecks from Hawaii and the Yukon to the UK and the Mediterranean. She credits the historical romances of the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s with her love of history and her career as an archaeologist. After a decade of tromping around the globe in search of old bits of stuff that people left lying about, she settled down and started penning her own romance novels. Her debut series, the Mythean Arcana, draws upon her love of history and the paranormal elements that she can’t help but include. Several books may or may not feature her cats.
