Entrapment (Thor's Dragon Rider #3) - Katrina Cope Page 0,31

a security blanket, and if by some chance we did escape, I didn’t want to leave them behind.

“I don't know if you remember, but Freya gave me this.” Keeping my voice as low as possible, I squat, clasping the small charm that dangles from the side of my quiver. The charm covers not much more than a fingertip. I hold it between an index finger and thumb, showing off the shiny silver wings with a horn in the center.

Elan peers down at it. It’s pretty. What does it do?

“At first, I thought it was just a kind gesture by Freya because I didn't have wings, and I badly wanted to prove myself back then. She gave it to me when she had me kidnapped and taken to her camp.”

Elan snorts. Ah. Not exactly the best way to start a friendship.

I smile. “I know. I guess it wasn’t really kidnapping. Let’s just say I was roughly escorted to her camp with Mistress Sigrun’s approval.”

I remember you telling me about it. That was a terrible act by the mistress.

“As it turns out, she had her reasons and gave me this. This little charm has magical powers. It's through this that I called her when we were in the middle of the battle on Asgard.”

Elan sniffs the charm. I don’t remember seeing it.

“You were too busy fighting to know what I did.”

How does it work?

Rocks crumble around us, and I check the hole above to make sure the lava monster isn’t listening. When I’m confident that it was just shifting to a more comfortable spot, I continue whispering.

“I'm not quite sure. All I do is this.” I rub my thumb gently over the charm a couple of times.

Elan tilts her head to one side, her eyes curious. And then what?

“And then we wait and see if it still works. I haven't used it since that day and Asgard. There’s been no need to.”

Nervous, I busy myself with pacing the cave and checking for any fallen arrows I may have missed collecting earlier. The charm remains between my forefinger and thumb as I slump to my backside in the middle of the cave. Elan’s eyes barely leave me as she continues circling, her talons tapping on the rocks with each step.

We wait and wait. Nothing happens. I lower myself to my back, the stones poking into my flesh as I gaze up at the covered hole. Worry twists in my stomach, making me sick. The silence eats at me, and I need all my willpower not to hurl the charm across the cave.

“Maybe it doesn't work anymore.”

Sadness fills Elan’s eyes. Maybe it will take a while for her to respond. As you said, you haven't used it for a long time. Perhaps she's forgotten about it, or whatever helps her hear your call is placed aside. She shrugs, spreading her wings.

“That’s not very encouraging,” I retort.

She purses her lips. I’m trying.

My shoulders cave. “I know.” Staring at the little charm, I lightly brush my thumb over it again. “Maybe you're right. Maybe she's lost whatever it is that can tell her I’ve used it. I don’t know for certain, though. I thought the notification happened in her head.”

Elan eyes me strangely. What makes you think that?

“Because when I accidentally stroked it in front of her, she said it sent a sharp pain through her head from a loud piercing noise.” I continue rubbing my thumb softly over the surface, wishing she would hear it. All my hopes collapse with each unanswered stroke. I reach for my quiver bag, ready to put the charm away, when something clicks inside my head, almost like audio has been flicked on. My spine straightens with apprehension.

Kara. You can stop rubbing that thing, please. An implored urgency underlines the soft, smooth voice inside my head. I heard you the first time.

I cringe. “Sorry. I thought you didn’t hear me.”

I know. My response took so long because I couldn’t work out where you were. I need to locate you to talk to you. Where are you, exactly? Murk disturbed the channel, blocking the direct link to wherever you are.

With my head angled toward my lap, I talk to my stomach, trying not to let the lava giant hear or see what I’m doing. “I've been abducted with Elan.”

Upon hearing me communicating with someone, Elan stands over me. “Is that—”

I shush her instantly, holding up a palm. “I'm stuck in Muspelheim, the land of the fire giants,” I tell Freya.

Her voice