Page 107 of Rune

If I planned to sneak anywhere to find the key, the Viking would need to sleep, and Ruin would be let out once more.

When I’d finished, I waded back to shore.

Balder stood there, a white tunic under his iron breastplate, and helmet reaching his brows. Those eyes burned into me. He clasped a sword before his body.

I eyed my own.

Balder spotted it too, and gestured for me to pick it up. “Odin has ordered you found and killed.” He glanced to the cave. “Your friends are inside?”

“Are you going to kill them too?” Water dripped from my clothes and my heart pounded faster.

He shrugged. “Only one must die. Say the word, and I spare you.”

I reached for my blade, holding the weight up. “You will not touch them.”

He braced himself. “As you wish.”

Balder advanced first. I skirted away from the water to find more stable ground to steady myself against, holding my sword up to absorb the impact of his first blow. Balder fought in quick movements and swift hits, not in aggressive lines and heavy strikes. It was an easier style to defend against, but he left little time to find an opening to attack. My feet moved in an impulsive dance, using both my hands to swing my sword. It beat against his own.

“I remember when I gave you this blade,” he said.

“I’d hope so,” I spoke between breaths. “It was two days ago.”

He laughed, but there was no joy in the sound. “What had I said? May it always defend you.”

And remind you of home.How quickly the warmth of welcome turned sour, and I was being spat from their mouths.

I steadied my feet. “And I hope it does.”

He swung overhand, bringing the sword down against mine so hard, it made my knees crumple until my back met the ground. He crouched overtop, still pressing his blade down. The dull end of mine pushed against my chest. I panicked. “You did this to me,” I croaked. “You brought me here. Forced me into this world.”

Something sparked in his eyes, like fierce regret. “I am atoning for that now.”

“This is not atonement.” I used all my energy to shove back, rolling out of the way. I stood, breathing heavily. “This is injustice.”

“You had no life before this.” He spoke louder now, until he was almost shouting. He threw himself at me again. “This is mercy!”

I was more prepared this time, and stepped out of the way, ducking low and lifting my sword to trip his feet, then spinning fast so I was behind him. I shoved, brought him down, and put my sword against his neck.

“Then we will call this retribution.”

My blade stayed tight, as I worked his sword from his hands and threw it to the side. As I did, I spotted Tova and Trig running from the mouth of the cave. They stopped when they spotted me in the winning position, one move away from his death.

Thoughts ran fast through my mind. Disbelief that it’d been so easy to take down a god. Fear that he was tricking me. Uncertainty about whether I could deliver the last blow. It all tangled together inside,creating a stone that sat heavy in my gut and froze my limbs while I hovered over him.

Balder looked at me, patient as ever, staring boldly in the face of extinction without fear. “What do you wait for?”

“I just need the key to leave,” I said, holding out my hand. “Do you have it on you?”

He chuckled. “If you want that, you’ll have to kill me for it.”

I debated it. The blade stayed tight against the stubble of his neck, pressing as hard as I dared, or as hard as I needed until he gave in. The desire to kill him was not in me. He’d treated me kindly during my time here, and I wished no ill upon him. But if it came to his life or the life of my sister and Trig—I’d choose them. And without that key, we wouldn’t live.

I prepped myself to do it.

But I didn’t.

“Tova, come search him.”

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