Page 20 of Baldr's Secret Mate

He was trying to bait me, and while I felt my hackles go up, I wasn’t going to fall into his trap. I stood my ground with Mist held tight at my side. Tyr’s eyes darted to the side, noticing the realm gate at last.

“And I see you’ve learned some new tricks.” He gave me another unsettling smile. “It was you who killed the witch, wasn’t it?”

“She killed herself,” I shot back. “She forgot the promise she made to a witch much more powerful than her.”

“Your meddling mother has been a thorn in my side for long enough. It’s about time I brought an end to her and her magic.”

He reached down, grabbing the gun from his holster. As he took a step back and leveled it at me I felt Mist force himself in front of me. He held his arms out wide, shielding me from Tyr.

“No!” he shouted. “You’re not going to hurt him!”

“What the fuck do you care?” Tyr snapped. “You don’t even know him!”

Mist glanced back at me. “I…”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Tyr grinned. Then he began to laugh louder and louder until it reached a pitch that made my brain rattle. “This is so fucking pathetic.”

I pulled Mist backward another step closer to the portal.

“You love him don’t you?”

I froze in place, feeling Mist stiffen in my grasp as well. There was a burst of electricity through my body starting where my skin touched his. Was there some truth in what Tyr said? Did Mist really care for me as more than just his friend? I couldn’t deny that my heart greatly desired it to be the truth. I just wished the timing was a little better.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Try growled, keeping the gun trained on us both. “And maybe when I shoot him, you’ll finally show your power and stop being such a useless piece of shit.”

My wolf senses caught a faint sound above the crackling of flames and the faint hum of the realm gate behind us. It was the squeak of tension building in the spring behind the trigger. Tyr was going to shoot whether Mist was in the way or not. In a split second I made the only decision I could. Forcing Mist to the side I heard the pin snap and the gun fire. A blazing white hot pain filled my right shoulder as the bullet tore clean through me.

I gasped in surprise, nearly crumpling to the ground. The realm gate behind me shivered, the magic nearly severed by the pain that coursed through my body. Mist tightened his grip on me, stopping me from hitting the ground.

“No!” he screamed. “Baldr!”

My mother’s magic welled up inside me, looking for a target to inflict pain on. However, with Tyr several feet away, Mist was the only target close by. I saw the gold magic shimmer in the air around me and it took nearly every last drop of strength I had to stop it from destroying the wrong person. Even so, I heard Mist cry out in pain as the golden dust clung to his skin, blisters rising up in its place as if it were burning him.

However, there was no turning back now. As Tyr lifted the gun once more, I knew our only chance of survival was through the gate. Grabbing Mist around the middle I drug him backward toward the portal, all the while keeping my gaze fixed on Tyr.

As soon as realized what was about to happen, his eyes grew wide. He dropped the gun and lunged forward, trying to grab us and stop his decade long project from being stolen. But even injured, I was too quick for him. I turned to the side, pulling Mist out of his reach and tossing him through the portal. At the same time I felt Tyr’s hand wrap around mine that was stillholding the spellbook. His grip didn’t find flesh, but paper. The book swung open as Tyr held tight to the back cover.

But I was already falling. There was a loud tearing sound as Tyr ripped the back third of book clean off. With no more tension holding me in the mortal realm, I rocketed through the portal ass first. The second my body cleared the gate, it collapsed. A moment later I hit hard earth, a shockwave rippling through my body.

I tried to open my eyes, but the second the gate closed and the magic severed, I felt a deep exhaustion wash over me. It was a familiar feeling considering this wasn’t the first time I’d drained myself past the point of no return. My fingers twitched as I tried to find Mist, and I swore I heard a voice, but the darkness was coming in too quickly. Before I could utter a single syllable, I slipped into unconsciousness. My last thought was simple, but worrisome.

Where had the gate taken us?

Chapter Eleven: Mist

It took me a second to get my bearings. Slipping through whatever magic Baldr had cast was an exceedingly strange feeling. As I sat up and shook my head, I reached down, my fingers expecting to make contact with cold, unforgiving snow. Instead they found only long grass and damp earth. I opened my eyes at last, staring out at my surroundings.

I was in a field of tall green grass swaying in the warmth of a summer breeze.

The sun was high in a clear blue sky, warming my skin in a way I hadn't felt in years. All around me wildflowers dotted the landscape in bursts of vibrant color. In the distance I could see the edge of a forest, its leafy canopy rustling gently. The air was filled with the buzzing of insects and chirping of birds - sounds I had almost forgotten existed after so long in the silent, snow-covered dome.

For a moment I sat in stunned silence, overwhelmed by the sudden shift from frigid winter to lush summer. It was as if we had traveled not just through space, but time as well.

Baldr.

The thought of him snapped me back to reality. I whirled around, searching frantically until I spotted him lying motionless a few feet away.

“Baldr!” I cried, scrambling over to his still body lying in the grass. My heart pounded in my chest, threatening to burst. “Baldr! Are you okay?”

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