House Of Gods 9 - Samantha Snow Page 0,20

After all, Tannin was an ancestor of Njord’s, so it would seem that he should have more of a vested interest in the boy than some unrelated witch.

Had Kemma and Baldur told Brenna that the witch was actually Freya and had Brenna told them that she even knew about the witch, then much confusion could have been resolved. But as luck would have it, the witch swore Brenna to secrecy about her presence on Vanaheim and also about the task that Brenna was doing for them. And Kemma and Baldur had told no one of the letter they had found. They had decided that it would only serve to make people more afraid of their son, and since they had figured Freya to be gone once more, they didn’t see the point in telling anyone about the letter. Which meant that every time Brenna returned to Vanaheim and sat at the table to discuss her findings with Njord and the witch, she had no idea that she was actually talking to Freya about her son’s child and imparting information about the prophecy that could change the fate of all the realms.

As much as Brenna loved seeing her daughter on Valhalla, it was visiting Tara in the forest that she most enjoyed. Yggdrasil was as lush and peaceful as ever, and Brenna got to enjoy some of her time there by stretching out moments under the stars or walking through the woods, looking for mushroom circles. She found Tara to be as much of a delight in her adolescence as she was in her young childhood. Cai and Astra acted as wonderful and devoted parents to the girl. Astra taught her all about the forest and how to create spells and use nature’s magic, while Cai told her stories about ancient immortal history and showed her how to chart the stars at night using white mushroom caps against the dark green moss to lay out the placement of the constellations. Tara was a very happy and imaginative teenager, with a clear sense of justice and compassion. She did, however, still have a blunt mouth on her, which everyone seemed to appreciate for the most part. She also still had Button.

“Do you think you will always keep Button with you?” Brenna asked on one of their walks through the woods.

“Of course, I will. What would make you even ask such a question? You know he is my dearest friend,” Tara replied.

It was funny to see a maturing girl who was as tall as Brenna now, caring her worn-out stuffed bear with her everywhere that she went. Tara’s long, golden hair had lightened as she had aged, and her rich brown eyes were framed by thick eyelashes that any model would have killed for. She had a curvaceous figure that accentuated her hips and breasts and made her look much more like a young woman than a girl anymore.

“Button and I will be together for all of time,” Tara continued. “He is special.”

“Yes, he is,” Brenna agreed. “And so are you.”

Tara rolled her eyes. “Ugh, is this about Tannin again? Yes, I know all about the stupid prophecy. I overhear Cai and Astra talking about it at night all the time. I’m not sure how anyone expects me to get with a boy I haven’t seen since he was an infant, and I have heard tales of him being more demon than immortal.”

“Wait, I thought demons were immortal beings to,” Brenna said.

“You know what I mean,” Tara said as she rolled her eyes. “I mean, I’ve heard that he’s scary and has a temper, and one day he could possibly split all the realms apart. I’m sure you can see why I wouldn’t exactly be excited about going on a date with him.”

“People change,” Brenna said. “I’ve seen it.”

“Yes, I’ve seen it too. But sometimes it’s for the worse, not the better.”

Tara’s words stung Brenna, as she thought about Brandt and how changed he had become. His change had definitely been for the worse.

“Are you coming?” Tara asked from up ahead on the path.

Brenna hadn’t even noticed that she had stopped walking. She and Tara were on the hunt for fairy mushroom rings. It was one of Tara’s favorite things to do; find a circle of mushrooms growing in the ground, set Button in the middle of the circle, and make wishes in your mind that you hoped would come true. Tara always told her how Button had all the wishes tucked away