Weaving Fate - Nora Ash Page 0,104

Done with trying to sort out whatever Aesir mess had been stirred up in Asgard. This wasn’t my home, and its inhabitants were not my people. I cared for exactly two people in this world.

Ensuring the survival of my brothers and me was all that mattered—and right now, the logical first step in that plan was for us to escape this fortress.

I walked undisturbed the entire way to the god-king’s stables. Valhalla’s servants had grown used to my presence, letting me pass mostly unnoticed. The iron ring lodged on my left index finger ensured my powers were inaccessible, rendering me harmless in the eyes of Odin and his kin, but even Asa magic could do little to dampen my innate ability to blend into the shadows.

The large wooden door was unguarded, making me hesitate for a moment, hand over the doorknob. One of Odin’s most prized possessions was inside this room. He would never risk Sleipner being stolen—and I couldn't imagine him leaving a steed capable of flight unguarded while three captives resided within Valhalla’s walls.

I let my hand drop to twist at the iron ring on my finger. Not for the first time, I wished I still had my connection to my magic. It felt like I’d lost an eye, my ability to sense treachery hindered. If there was a trap on the other side of that door, my magic could have warned me.

As if I’d spoken out loud, a metallic clunk of the handles being pushed down rung through the hallways. Hinges squeaked as the door swung open, but the space behind it revealed no one.

“Grim,” an all-too-familiar voice said from within. “I have been expecting you. Please, come in. We have much to discuss.”

Thirty-Six

Annabel

The trek up the mountain to Valhalla nearly broke me.

Just staying conscious had been difficult since before we'd passed through the portal into Asgard, and after just a few yards, my legs buckled.

Bjarni caught me before I faceplanted on the path and pulled me into his arms mid-stride. It seemed effortless, but I wasn’t fooled—I felt his exhaustion in our bond.

“Put me down, Bjarni,” I murmured, even as my head lolled in against his shoulder. “You’re injured too. I’ll walk.”

“I’m not so injured I can’t carry my mate,” he rumbled. “Just a short while and we’re there.”

Despite my body’s refusal to stay upright, a surge of adrenaline made my heart beat faster. Soon I would get to see Saga and Magni again, and the first, horrible step to stop Ragnarök would be over.

Hopefully they would have found Mimir, or at the very least know where he was. But first I was going to sleep. In a bed. With all my mates near me, and that awful, aching emptiness in my chest banished for good.

Loki hadn’t said much since he'd helped me heal Modi—the fight with Nidhug had taken it out of him too. But now he walked behind Modi, golden rope around his wrists and head held high.

I’d been on the fence on whether or not I’d help the God of Mischief escape Valhalla, but after what he’d done for us in Niflheim, I didn’t have much of a choice. He could have fled when I freed him, but he’d stayed and fought. He’d saved us. And yeah, it was probably for purely selfish reasons, since he believed he needed me and at least one of his sons alive, but the end result was the same.

I owed Loki a life debt.

The path to Valhalla was mostly empty, but the few Viking warriors, servants, and even a Valkyrie we passed on the way turned and stared, gasping whenever they spotted Loki.

“Been a while since you’ve visited the place, eh?” Bjarni said. He cracked a half-smile at his dad. “Seems you made quite an impression.”

Loki ignored him. He kept his eyes on Valhalla’s large port, the set of his jaw betraying his unease at our approach. Not that I could blame him, really. Whatever hand he’d played in bringing forth Ragnarök, walking toward your own beheading had to suck.

We were greeted by throngs of silent Valkyries lining the gate on either side. Wordlessly, one of them broke free and came to stand in front of us, hand outstretched toward Modi.

He hesitated. “Our agreement is with Odin. My brother and the two Lokissons are to be freed.”

The blond woman nodded. “That is the agreement, son of Thor.”

Modi drew in a deep breath, nodding as well. Then he handed her his end of Loki’s rope. “Very well.”

The Valkyrie’s