of gray yarn the same color as her dress, as well as a silver pair of scissors.
I stared at the scissors. If the connection was severed, I could be master of my own destiny. I’d know if I actually loved him or if it was simply magic that drew me to him.
I’d be able to focus on freeing the Night Elves. And as Empress of the Vanir, I’d be able to protect them. They could come to Vanaheim. I’d seen the open plains, the vast forests—there was plenty of room. My brethren could soak in the warm sun, run their hands through the prairie grasses, breathe in the scent of the ancient trees. Under my protection, they would be free, safe, and happy.
I could truly be the North Star, for both the Vanir and the Night Elves.
But what was it that made me hesitate? Why hadn’t I already told her to cut that thread? Was the Wyrd fighting back even now?
“Leading a people always requires great sacrifice,” said the Norn quietly. “Your duty is bigger than you are. There are great snarls in the Wyrd for you to untangle; both your peoples need your full attention if they are to survive.”
I looked at the ball of yarn in her hand and at the razor-sharp scissors in the other.
“Cut me free,” I said.
The Norn smiled, and again, I saw gray teeth the color of death. Then, she raised the ball of yarn, drew out a single strand, and snipped it off.
I gasped as a great sense of hopelessness lanced through my heart, a shattering sense of loss. It was like nothing I’d ever experienced. Worse than my imprisonment in the Audr Mines, worse than being eaten by Nidhogg. It felt worse, even, than the deaths of my parents.
Had I just made a terrible mistake?
Never in my life had I felt so alone.
Chapter 44
Ali
The mist dissipated, and I found myself once again standing in the stone circle with the Regent, grief splintering my chest.
“Where did you go?” he asked, looking at me strangely.
“To see the Norn.”
The Regent frowned, looking perplexed. “The fairies needed to meet you, but they have come and gone. They will return later to give you their blessing. They remember you fondly and are hoping you have new music for them. Apparently, they’re getting tired of singing some song called ‘Halo.’”
I smiled. “I have a new one they’re going to love.”
“They’ve disappeared for now. We must come back later.”
He led me back through the forest, and as we walked, I asked him all about the realm. I learned that the Vanir weren’t completely united. Though I was the Empress, thousands of years ago, they’d broken into four main clans. Various clans and factions complicated things further.
“Keeping them all in line,” the Regent explained, “is going to be a full-time job.”
“There must be a significant risk of assassination if it gets you the crown,” I said. “How do I know that someone won’t leap over the table, stab me in the heart, and declare himself new Emperor of the Vanir?”
“A Vanir can’t rise against a crowned Empress or Emperor. That was why the coronation was important. You were able to kill the Emperor because you were not Vanir. You will be at risk around High Elves, or Night Elves. You will be at risk during the final battle of the Winnowing. You will fight the leader of the High Elves, and you must win at all costs. If you do not, Gorm could rule over us all.”
And here was my chance to save the Night Elves. To become the North Star at last.
All I had to do was kill Gorm.
Chapter 45
Galin
A sense of loss ripped through me. It wasn’t just sadness; it was more like a deep foreboding. A painful drumming in my heart, like something terrible had happened but I hadn’t yet found out what it was.
And then it struck me like an arrow to my heart. Ali had untethered our threads. Somehow, she must have found the Norn. Unless she’d died?
For minutes, I lay paralyzed. I felt as if my soul had been severed from my body once again, or at least part of it. Panic nearly drove me mad as I thought she could be dead, but Ganglati kept telling me she wasn’t, that her soul was not with him.
It took me a few minutes to master control of myself once more, to think of Ali.
Even if she was no longer my mate, even if our threads