by S. T. Bende
“The hack?” I asked.
“Someone hacked the Norns’ security and stole the files disclosing the fates of the Aesir.”
“The Aesir?”
“The gods of Asgard are the Aesir. The gods of another friendly realm, Vanaheim, are the Vanir,” Tyr explained.
“Right. Hold on, someone hacked your files?” I raised a hand. “What kinds of security do gods have? Like, cauldrons and spells around your computers? Or your file cabinets?” What technological level of data storage were they dealing with in Asgard?
“Not at all.” Tyr moved his thumb along my shoulder in a circle, but my muscles were unyielding. Was a massage supposed to make all of this okay? “Asgard’s technology is rather progressive. The Norns keep their prophecies listed in a digital tablet coded in a system. They only allow a handful of titled gods to access it. The tablet’s locked in a safe that requires a retinal scan to access, and the whole thing’s domed by lasers. Then we use magic to protect the entire system—if anyone without access gets within twenty feet of the dome, the atmosphere surrounding the safe shifts, and the prophecies implode.”
It all sounded like some futuristic action film. “Jeez. Y’all are thorough.” Also creepy. Who made things implode?
“That’s the plan. Anyway, one day when I was still training, I went in to confirm a portal to Svartalfheim couldn’t be opened again. Some of the files were missing—my parents’ and Elsa’s prophecies, among them.” Tyr’s head fell. “Fenrir, or whoever he’s working with, must have had something to do with it.”
“Are you okay?” I asked gently.
“This just makes me sick. It’s my fault he’s causing all this destruction.” Tyr made a fist. “But I’m going to make it right. If it’s me he’s ultimately after, he’ll be back. Henrik and I are getting ready.”
“How?”
Tyr cleared his throat. “As much as I want kill Fenrir, the Norns’ prophesy rendered that option moot. Strategically, I know he’ll be more than just a bargaining chip for us. He’ll also be able to provide intel—let us know who he’s working with, and who they’re targeting.”
“You can communicate with the wolf?” That sounded insane.
“I can.”
“Jeez…”
Tyr watched me carefully, concern in his eyes. I probably looked like I was going crazy. Maybe I am…
“Fenrir’s grown into a monster I can’t control, and if he’s going to live, then he needs to be restrained. We convinced the dwarves to make a fetter for us—a magical rope that can hold the realms’ most powerful animal.”
“Seriously, dwarves? Like in Snow White?”
Tyr grimaced. “I wish. These dwarves don’t sing, and they don’t mine diamonds. They’re vicious and conniving—the most deceitful kind of manipulative. You have to be careful dealing with them. But they’re extremely hard workers—they’ve made some of the most powerful weapons in Asgard. And they’ve promised that if I bring them the right ingredients, they’ll make me a chain that can hold Fenrir. We can lock him away somewhere he won’t be able to hurt anyone ever again.”
“So you’re gathering the ingredients? That’s what you’re doing when you disappear?” Tyr’s story began to fall into place.
“Correct.”
“How many more do you have to find? Ingredients, I mean?”
“Just two left. Bear’s nerves and fish breath.” Tyr shrugged. “Piece of cake.”
I shifted my weight so I could face him. “You hear how insane this sounds, don’t you? How are you so calm about all of this? Why aren’t you freaking out?”
“Baby, I’m God of War. What do you think I see at work?”
I wrung my hands together.
“Hey.” He lifted my chin with a finger. “Don’t be scared. I’ve got this.”
“Bear’s nerves and fish breath? And the killer wolf will be out of commission. Oh, and you’re an immortal war god with about nine hundred and eighty-three years on me. But ‘don’t be scared’?” My stomach churned. This entire situation was so overwhelming, I felt nauseated.
“The ratio wasn’t exact. It’s more like nine hundred years on you, tops. But otherwise, yeah. Don’t be scared. You want to help me collect the rest of the ingredients? It’d be nice to have the company.”
My brow furrowed. As much as I wanted to be okay with all of this, the truth was, I wasn’t. At least, I wasn’t yet. My analytical mind needed time to decompress.
“I think I’m going to need a little bit of time to think about all of this before I jump in with both feet. You’re asking me to take on a life I know nothing about. And as much as I like you, I’m honestly not sure if I can do that.”
My heart pounded as Tyr took in my words. When he released my chin, his eyes were downcast. “I understand. You need some space from me.”
“A little,” I admitted. “You’ve given me a lot to process in a really short time. Yesterday you were my boyfriend, from some sleepy little fishing town in Sweden. Different, maybe, but still human. And today you’re the Norse God of War, using some rainbow bridge to travel across nine realms and battle evil monsters. It’s kind of… kind of…”
“Unbelievable?” Tyr nodded. “Your brain can’t compartmentalize me, can it?”
“No.” I shook my head.
“And it’s driving you crazy, isn’t it?”
“Pretty much.”
“Mmm. Can you compartmentalize this?” Tyr put both hands on my face and pulled me close. He kissed me with a force that left me breathless. He ran one hand along my neck and down my arm, leaving a warm tingling in his wake. But when he reached the spot where the wolf bit me, everything turned to ice.
Tyr raised his head when I stilled. “You okay?”
I shook my head, and started to sob.
“Mia.” Tyr wrapped both arms around me. “Why are you crying?”
“Because,” I wailed. “I really, really, really like you.”
“I really like you, too.”
“And I don’t want the giant wolf to kill you!” I blubbered, wiping my nose on my sweater. “This is all just… just…”
“Oh, baby.” He held my face in his hands. “I’ll always take care of us. You get that, right?”
I nodded.
“Come on. I should take you home. You’re probably exhausted. And I doubt you want to stay here.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Don’t worry about any of this, all right? Henrik and I have this house under control. And Brynn will make sure you’re safe back at your place.”
“Brynn can do that?” I asked.
“Brynn’s one of Freya’s top battle goddesses—she’s a valkyrie.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“WHAT THE HECK?” I flung open the door to Brynn’s room and stormed inside. She lounged comfortably on her bed, nose buried in Pride & Prejudice.
“Hei hei to you, too.” Brynn lowered her book.
“You’re a goddess? A freaking battle goddess?”
“Shh!” Brynn jumped off her bed and raced to the door. She poked her head in the hallway before it shut behind her.
“Oh, they’re not home. Stop glaring at me. If anyone gets to be mad, it’s me.” I crossed my arms. “How did you never mention this before?”
“I couldn’t tell you. And besides, there wasn’t a good time.” Brynn lifted her chin.
“Don’t even try that one. All the late night mani-pedis, the walks to campus, those afternoons in the lab—never, not once, could you have mentioned that you’re not human?”
“Why’d he tell you? Something big must have happened.” Brynn walked to the edge of her bed. She patted the mattress, and I sat down next to her.
“Giant wolf attacked the house,” I muttered.
Brynn’s eyes widened. “Is he—”
“Everything’s fine.” I waved my hand. “Tyr and Freya flew around the driveway with their space guns. The wolf disappeared. Freya went home. Tyr brought me here. Everything’s hunky-do
ry. Except my boyfriend and my roommate are immortal warriors.”
“Pretty awesome, right?” Brynn beamed.
My head dropped in my hands. It had been a ridiculously long day.
“Did he show you the flying thing? Only some of us can do the flying thing. I can’t do it, didn’t get the gene.” Brynn bounced on her knees next to me. “Isn’t it cool?”
“Uh—”
“And the ‘space guns’? Henrik and I made them. They’re nano-molecular particle accelerators.”
“Meaning?” I raised my head.
“They’ll make you implode. So awesome, ja?”
What was it with these people and imploding? “Why are you still bouncing?”
“Because I’m so excited you know!” Brynn tucked her knees under her on the mattress. “Now we don’t have to keep up that stupid ‘neighbors from Sweden’ story. So dumb. It was Henrik’s idea. I told Tyr you could handle the truth. You’re fiercer than you let on.”
“Thank you?”
Brynn rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. You come off sweet and delicate, but you’re tough as nails. All keep calm and carry on, like you people say.”
“British people say that,” I corrected. “Americans are more pull yourself up by your bootstraps; knuckle down; steel magnolias forever. That kind of thing.”
“Close enough. So do you have any questions? About us, I mean.”
“Do you want me to start at the top of the list or the bottom?” I fingered the edge of her bedspread.
Brynn looked like a kid on Christmas morning. “I know it sounds kind of crazy, but we’re really not that different from you.”
“Except you’re divine. From another world—realm, whatever. Defy laws of physics, have weird space weapons, and you can never, ever, die. Except…” I trailed off. Except when you’re murdered.
“Did Tyr explain immortality to you?” Brynn asked. I nodded.
“How old are you?” I asked tentatively.
“Not that old. In mortal years, maybe… I think eight hundred and forty-nine?” Brynn leaned in, her face practically bubbling with joy. “My birthday’s next July.”
“You’re going to be eight hundred and fifty?” I tried not to balk. And that’s young?
“Big one, right? I’m thinking of hitting some of those theme parks in Southern California.” Her hands flew to her cheeks. “Ooh, ooh! Would you go with me?”
“Um, sure. Maybe we can get you a senior discount.”
“Ha.” Brynn shifted so she sat cross-legged. “Well, now we can talk. So here are the rules. Ask me anything you want to know about us, or Asgard, or what we do, or whatever. But you can’t ask me about Tyr’s ex-girlfriends—there were some nutters, and frankly, they aren’t worth mentioning. Don’t ask me to explain the deal with him and Freya—they’re BFFs, and they’ve never even thought of each other romantically, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, come on. It’s super obvious she freaks you out.”
“I thought my boyfriend’s best friend was a supermodel. Turns out she’s a goddess,” I muttered. “That’s just not normal.”
“She’s great. Trust me. So, what do you want to know?”
“I don’t know. Start with the basics. Did you ever really live in Sweden?”
“Yes.” Brynn nodded. “We haven’t actually lied to you about anything. We lived in Malmö for a while. Tyr had to locate and dispel a portal to Jotunheim that someone managed to open off-shore. But before Malmö, there was Trondheim, Norway. Another portal issue, this one to Muspelheim. And before Trondheim, there was Asgard.”
“Explain these portals. Are they like what Fenrir came here through?”
“Yes. You know about that?” Brynn blinked.
“Tyr said someone with dark magic opened a portal and sent him home.”
“Right. Well, Asgardians are pretty powerful—we usually travel by Bifrost, our rainbow bridge, but if we’re in a pinch we can open a portal; that’s kind of like a wormhole that takes us wherever we need to go. Well, during the last fifty years, somebody from one of the bad realms, like Muspelheim or Jotunheim or Helheim—”
“You guys have a lot of heims.”
“We do,” Brynn agreed. “So somebody from one of those places has been using dark magic to open portals to the Scandinavian countries. We don’t know why they’re targeting that region, and we haven’t figured out who’s doing it. But every portal we’ve found has residue of dark magic, meaning something evil is opening them. Surtr, the leader of the fire giants in Muspelheim, has heaps of dark power. And Hel, the ruler of the underworld, has all kinds of black powers. She’s a total nightmare.”
“The ruler of the underworld is a girl?” I smoothed the bedspread. The fabric felt soft against my fingertips. I wondered if Brynn had brought it from Asgard. Wonder what the thread counts are up there. Jeez.
“Of course. Who else could manage that many evil spirits? You think some guy would have the patience for all the bickering that goes on down there?” Brynn shrugged. “Her dad’s Loki. He slept with a giantess and made three monsters—Fenrir, Jörmungandr, and Hel. She’s hands down the worst of the three.”
The wolf, the snake, and the keeper of the underworld are siblings?
“Is Tyr going to be mad that you’re telling me this?” I leaned against the headboard.
“I’m not afraid of Tyr. Besides, he knows you’re going to need to know all of this eventually, since you’re going to end up with him when all this sorts itself out.”
“Pardon?” My mouth dropped.
“Don’t look so surprised. Freya sees you two together. So it’s totally happening.”
“Freya what now?” My voice jumped an octave.
Brynn sighed. “The whole situation is really complicated. And Tyr would probably rather tell you himself.”
“Spill it, valkyrie.” I crossed my arms and stared.
“Oh. Oh, fine. But don’t freak out.”
I gave her the look. “All things considered, I think I am well past my freak-out point today, thank you very much. Talk.”
“Fine.” Brynn sighed. “So here’s the deal. Freya has been looking for a match for Tyr for-freaking-ever. He has this weird complex and doesn’t think he deserves to be happy, so he’ll hook up with girls but he won’t get serious about anybody, because he thinks he’ll just destroy their spirit or get them killed, whatever.”
“I gathered that,” I murmured.
“Right. Well, the Norns told Freya there’s a prophecy about who Tyr’s going to end up with. Apparently he’s destined to be with a girl not of Asgard.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means he’s not fated to be with a goddess. He’s fated to be with someone from another realm. It could be a light elf, or a mountain giant, or…” Brynn waggled her eyebrows.
“Or a human?” Did that mean Tyr and I could actually be… fated to be together?
“Or a human,” she confirmed. “But the prophecy doesn’t say which human. Something that specific would take away Tyr’s agency, you know? The Norns are supposed to guide, not dictate. So it was up to Freya as Goddess of Love to lead Tyr in the direction of a good non-Asgardian match.”
“Hold on. Freya’s Goddess of Love?” I gaped.
“Yep. Also head of the valkyries. Anyway, she knew Tyr needed to get out of Asgard to protect Elsa, so she found a handful of girls who met her very specific qualifications—you included—and planned to introduce all of you to Tyr and hope he’d fall for one of you. But then Fenrir attacked you, and Tyr’s always been a sucker for a damsel in distress. The fact that you happen to fit the profile of his ideal match from both Freya’s standpoint, and the prophecy, well…” Brynn shrugged, finally taking a breath. “Sometimes things just have a way of working out.”
Except my ‘ideal match’ was an immortal battle deity, and I was an Engineering undergrad. Romeo and Juliet had nothing on us in the star-cross
ed lovers department.
“Why is Freya so keen to match up Tyr? Did Tyr know what Freya was up to? That she’d lined up a bunch of girls for him to meet?” In other words, had I inadvertently entered the world’s most bizarre dating competition? One where nobody bothered to ask me if I wanted to participate?
“Oh, gods, no. He didn’t know anything about the whole dating plan when Freya suggested he bring Elsa to Arcata—he only knew it was wooded, remote, and close to one of our safe houses. Freya’s filled him in since, and he’s none too thrilled he moved realms in part to satisfy her matchmaking needs. He’s resisted every match Freya’s tried to pair him with.” She elbowed me in the arm. “Guess you’re too irresistible, even for the bachelor god.”
“There were other girls…” My brain whirred.
“There were.” Brynn spoke matter-of-factly. “In Freya’s mind, any one of them could have been a match for Tyr, but based on your profile, and your unbelievable stubbornness, we thought you had the highest likelihood of winning him over. It’s why Freya moved me in here, instead of with one of the other girls. You were our best bet, and in the event you accomplished what we hoped and captured Tyr’s heart, we knew you’d require protection immediately. Possibly sooner.”
The words made my blood chill. She hadn’t been wrong about needing protection. Fenrir’s attack came within an hour of my arrival in Arcata—before I’d even met Tyr. But that wasn’t the only thing Brynn said that left me unsettled. “Wait. I was your best bet for what?”
Brynn’s eyes filled with moisture for just an instant before she blinked it away. “Tyr’s got a lot of darkness in that pretty little head of his. We’re afraid if he loses one more person close to him, he could snap. And if that happens, we need to make sure someone with a strong unifying spirit is with him, to keep him grounded. You’re amazing at bringing people together; you know that, right? You’d make a great Unifier. That positive energy is what he’s going to need if, Odin forbid, we lose Elsa. We’re counting on you to keep him on our side. Because if the God of War goes dark…” Brynn’s eyes turned down and she bit her bottom lip. She looked absolutely gutted. “Well, it wouldn’t be pretty.”
