then," before heading to the dining hall.
When I reached the doorway the signs of damage were everywhere. One of the doors hung off its hinges and I understood why they would take time to have it fixed. You'd need a couple of Surts to fix them because only a being as large as a fire giant would be able to mend the broken hinges and reset the door. And Surts loyal to Odin were sadly scarce.
Once inside, I stared up at the high-beamed ceiling to see several bare patches where the logs had come loose and fallen. No sign of the beams or the damaged furniture remained, and though that was a good sign, it didn't make me forget what we'd been through.
I saw my team and headed for their table, nodding at the various warriors who called out greetings to me. When I finally reached the seat and sank down on it, I heaved a sigh of relief and oddly, felt like I'd just run a marathon, my limbs heavy and numb as the same time. I shook my head trying to shake off the strange tiredness that suddenly seemed to be dogging my every step.
"Bryn? Are you okay?" asked Joshua as he placed a trencher in front of me.
He'd disappeared from the table the moment I'd seen the group from the door and now I saw he'd been fetching my meal. I glanced up at him but even that small movement made me feel exhausted.
"I don't know. I just feel so tired all of a sudden.
"You've probably been running yourself ragged," snapped Suri, clearly annoyed at me, Brody sat beside her, nodding his dark head in complete agreement. "Once you finish that, you need to go straight back to your room and rest." She was glaring, her golden-eyed expression clearly one I didn't plan on messing with.
"Yeah," I sighed. "I don't think I'm going to be very useful until I rest." Suri's expression lightened a little and I felt strangely loved. Being bossed around by the people you are in charge of was oddly gratifying.
I fell upon my food, but found that I wasn't as hungry as I'd thought. My stomach pinched, and my mouth felt funny, signs that I was starving, but despite the slices of fresh roast beef and steamed veg, and the fresh, straight-from-the-oven buns, I could not summon up the urge to eat.
"Am I going to have to feed you," asked Joshua in my ear.
My vision blurred as I turned my head to look at him. "I think I'll try to feed myself, thanks," I said giving him a tired grin.
I settled in and tried to eat as much as possible, and with the inane chatting and ribbing from the team I managed to polish off quite a bit until nausea began to dog my every swallow.
Pushing the plate away, I said, "One more bite and I'm going to toss more than cookies." I managed to utter the words while swallowing the urge to hurl.
Looking at the people at the table, all who were like family to me, I knew I had to take a chance on them, to trust them. I leaned toward Joshua. "Get Fen, Suri and Aimee and bring them to my quarters, and don't let anyone know you're coming," I whispered. And I left Brody out of the group deliberately. He'd grown up in Ms Custer's care and I wondered if his emotions would get in the way of his mission if I included him. A large part of me didn't want to hurt him, and I felt like keeping it from him, even for a little while, would keep him from hurting.
Even as I made the request, I wondered if having Fen, a child of Loki, included in my clandestine meeting, was a good idea, but at this point I had to take a bet on who to trust. That I was risking the lived of two important woman with that bet, weighed heavily on my soul.
Then I said my goodbyes and headed to my quarters. The room was empty and I stared around it wondering if there were any listening devices either magical or tech, secreted somewhere that I'd never be able to find.
Sinking onto the furs, I considered other possible locations for the meeting. Somewhere out in the open would be hard to bug.
I was rubbing my forehead and straining hard to keep my eyes from closing when a knock on the door got me to my