House Of Gods 9 - Samantha Snow Page 0,21

inside of him for safekeeping until the time was right for them to come true. Brenna thought it to be an adorable game but found herself making wishes too when she saw Button sitting inside the circle of mushrooms. If the bear really did store all of the wishes inside himself, then that bear was full of wishes.

Visiting Tannin was much less peaceful. Valhalla was fine, and every time Brenna came, she got to stay inside a beautiful room inside the Great Hall. She got to spend time talking with her daughter, and she was always fascinated when Kemma would tell her stories about the changes coming about in Baldur. It was rather shocking to hear her describe Baldur as a loving father and doting mate. When Brenna had first found out that Kemma wanted to stay with Baldur, she was worried about her daughter. But she could see that he was not the same man he used to be.

See? Brenna asked Tara in her thoughts. People can change.

But when it came to Tannin, things became a lot more stressful and unpredictable. For one thing, he was constantly bored and looking for new ways to occupy his time. He was not interested in any of the things Baldur or Kemma tried to show him. He couldn’t have cared less about being a warrior, no matter how hard Baldur tried to entice him to start training. And it always seemed to him that his mother was hovering around, trying to make sure he hadn’t turned anyone to a pile of ash again. It had only happened that once, and it was so long ago, but he got the feeling that Kemma had never forgotten about it and was constantly trying to make sure nothing triggered him into any vile acts.

Brenna, like her daughter, could also see that the boy was restless. He was growing into a man and wanted desperately to get out of Valhalla and explore some of the other realms. But since he was told he had to stay on Valhalla, he found different ways to entertain himself. Tannin’s magic was strong, stronger than most of the warriors on Valhalla put together. Because it was the only exciting thing in his life, Tannin loved to use his magic to do whatever would give him the biggest thrill. Sometimes he would put two faces on one of the livestock, which usually sent at least one person screaming. Other times, he would lock himself in his room for hours at a time and use his magic to draw pictures on top of the air. But as time went on, Tannin got more prone to his demonic side and began to scare Kemma with the things he thought of to do. One night while Brenna had been there to visit them, Kemma seemed unusually quiet. Tannin wasn’t there with them since he had gone out to look up at the stars at night before he went to bed.

“I think that we need to send him to Helia,” she said as she sadly looked down at her hands that were resting in her lap.”

“What, why?” Baldur asked.

“He is getting darker every day. He is bored and upset. He won’t spend time around any of the other teenagers his age here because he is too afraid they will mock him for being different. And I am too afraid that if they do, our son will kill them on the spot. His temper increases by the day. I just don’t think we are what he needs right now. I think he needs the guidance of someone who can understand what he’s going through better than we can.”

“Helia,” Baldur said.

“Yes.”

“No,” Baldur shook his head vehemently. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Kemma put her hand on his shoulder and looked at him gently. In all of the years they had been together now, they had grown to both love and care about each other and about their son. She knew sending Tannin to Helia would be a painful thing for Baldur to except. Not only did it mean being without their son for a while, but it meant sending him into the care of the woman who had broken Baldur’s heart and caused him many years of bad choices and atrocious behavior that he would rather forget. It also meant to him that he would be giving up on the child that he had promised to raise and be there for.

“I cannot turn my back on