House Of Gods 9 - Samantha Snow Page 0,53

since some of them were trapped on realms that were not their own. There was a chance that it would not work, but Astra was hopeful that their connections of magic to each other would be strong enough to overcome the obstacles of distance.

Lopt and Tannin would work through the forest beside Astra, who would be channeling all of the power into the roots of Yggdrasil. Brenna would work her magic through Vanaheim with the help of Njord and the witch. Baldur and Kemma would use their power on Valhalla, and Leif and Brandt would work through Earth. This would be their last resort, and if it didn’t work, the realms would drift too far apart to be brought back.

They had won the battle with Rolf, all of the realms were safe, at peace, and magic had been rightfully restored. All that stood between the happy endings that so many of them had yearned for was this one last piece; to bring the nine worlds united under Tara and Tannin. The prophecy would be complete. They took the night to center themselves. Those who were already with their mates spent the time to indulge in moments of love and comfort. Those who were not, spent the night in sleepless anticipation of soon being reunited with their lovers.

“What can I even say to her now,” Brandt asked as he lifted the glass of liquor to his lips and looked over the top of it at Jerrik, Colby, and Erik.

All three men had come to sit with him in the living room, as he wrestled with what would happen the next day. He was desperate to see Brenna and to hold her once again in his arms. He was also scared. He remembered everything…everything. Not only the things from before he lost his memories, but also everything that he had while his memories were missing. He didn’t know how to face her after that.

“You didn’t actually do anything that you need to feel ashamed about,” Jerrik reminded him. “Yeah, so you had some girls over, so what?”

“You know what,” Brandt said. “Brenna is my life; a piece of my soul was missing when I couldn’t remember her. It felt like being gutted over and over again, and never knowing why or when it would stop.”

“That’s exactly my point,” Jerrik said. “So you kissed a few girls? You were in the worst pain imaginable, and you were trying to drown it out to keep you from losing your mind. Brenna understands that.”

“You mean she will understand, right?”

Jerrik glanced between Colby and Erik.

“Please tell me you didn’t tell her everything,” Brandt said, looking panicked. “It’s bad enough that I have to live with what I’ve done; I don’t want her to have to live with it too.”

“She asked me to promise her that we would keep watch over you, Jerrik said. “She was worried about you.”

Brandt put down his glass and dropped his head into both of his hands. “God, how am I ever going to fix this.”

“I told her that you never slept with any of the girls.”

Brandt lifted his head to look at Jerrik.

“I told her how much pain you were in, and to be honest, I also told her what a dumbass you were being. But I told her that on most nights, I found you out here alone, breaking apart over a glass of whiskey and that you told me you couldn’t make love to any other woman. The two of you belong to each other, and that didn’t change even when you couldn’t remember who you were. She knows, Brandt…you both know. There’s nothing to hide from each other. Why complicate things? You both just want and need to get back to each other, end of story.”

Brandt looked at all three of them, and both Colby and Erik nodded in agreement with what Jerrik had said. He took a large swig of his drink and then extended his hand to Jerrik.

“Thank you,” he said. “You’ve always been there for us. Even when we haven’t made it easy.” He extended his hand to both Erik and Colby next. “Thank all of you for everything that you have done. You’ve always been like brothers to me.”

Erik interrupted the heartfelt moment with playful banter. “You do remember how we all tried to steal Brenna from you at the beginning, don’t you?”

They all laughed.

“Funny how things work out, isn’t it?” Colby said.

They all lifted their drinks, and the sound of the glasses clinking