House Of Gods 9 - Samantha Snow Page 0,62
the witch in Brenna’s dream. “You’ve just answered all of those questions for yourself now. You needed to stay focused; everyone did. You would have fought me and argued with me the entire time.”
“No,” Brenna started to protest, but then she thought better of it. “Actually, yeah, I probably would have.”
“Tannin’s curse was not for him; it was for my son.”
“Baldur?”
“Yes. He needed a bit of a push in order to become a man worthy of your daughter. As for Brandt’s memories, it was necessary to resolve the issue facing the realms first. Now that everything is in order, I will take my final leave. And, so too shall you.”
“Am I going to die?” Brenna asked, fearing that was what Freya meant. She had just been reunited with Brandt and couldn’t bring herself to think of what would happen to him if she would leave him again.
“No, no,” Freya chuckled. “Not at all. What I mean is that you have fulfilled your part of the prophecy, and so has Brandt. Now, our lineage will carry on as they are meant to do…and I will free the two of you from any further obligation.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that you and Brandt are free to enjoy the time that you have both been waiting for and that you have both so well earned.” Freya smiled at Brenna and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. “I will miss you, my friend.”
Brenna looked to her, but Freya dissipated into the air before she could even say goodbye to her.
“I will miss you too,” Brenna whispered to no one in her dream.
When Brenna woke up, it was with a start, and she jostled Brandt’s arm, which was still wrapped tightly around her. He, too, seemed startled, not just because of her movement.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he kissed her softly on the forehead and pulled her even closer.
“Yeah, just a strange dream, I think.”
Brandt looked at her curiously. “I had a strange dream too.”
“What was it about?”
“Some old witch, I’ll spare you the details because none of it really made any sense.”
At the mention of the witch, Brenna was immediately engaged. “No, please tell me about it.”
Brandt went on to tell Brenna about his dream, which sounded very much like hers.
“The strangest part was at the end,” he said as he continued to cradle Brenna in his arms. “Just before I woke up, her appearance changed. She looked a bit like Freya, and she told me to take you to Chinatown and to leave all the rest behind.” He paused when he saw Brenna smiling at him and noticed the single tear leave her eye and roll down her cheek onto her pillow. “What is it?”
“It was Freya,” she said.
He looked at her in confusion.
“I had the same dream. And I actually met the witch, well Freya actually, on Vanaheim. It was her, Brandt, and she has released us from the prophecy.”
“Does that mean—”
Brenna didn’t even wait for him to finish his sentence. “Yes, we can finally have our time.”
He kissed her and rolled her over on top of him as they both laughed. The realms were safe and connected and at peace. Freya’s prophecy had been fulfilled for generations to come. And they were finally able to take time to breathe and be together without a shadow of demise looing over them.
When Brandt and Brenna walked out into the open apartment, they were greeted by the smirking looks of Jerrik, Colby, and Erik, who were acting like high school sophomores that wanted to give Brandt a high-five for landing the hot girl. Brenna rolled her eyes and laughed as she walked up to give each of them a hug in turn.
“Honestly,” she said endearingly. “I thought you guys would be a bit more mature than this.”
“Who, us?” Colby asked playfully, and Erik laughed at him.
She took an extra minute with the hug she gave to Jerrik before she let him go, and then she stood in front of him, holding onto his arm still.
“Thank you,” she said. “I wouldn’t have been able to make it through this without you.”
Jerrik nodded his head.
“Better watch out,” Leif said as he came around the corner with Norna. “Looks like Jerrik is making a move on your girl.”
Brandt laughed. “Not a chance in hell.”
Brenna hugged Leif. “I even missed you too,” she said playfully.
“What will you two do now?” Norna asked after she had hugged Brenna.
Before Brenna could answer, Brandt spoke for her. “If