Page 113 of Rune

Getting the message, his tongue swept out. Then he exhaled. He grabbed my finger and checked again.

“It’s sweet,” he breathed. “Aegir was wrong.”

“Aegir waslying,” I corrected. “As he was the one to steal me as a child. My parents confirmed it.”

His smile overtook his face, and he tucked my cheeks into his hands. “You’re a goddess,” he spoke, laughing with relief. “We have centuries left together.”

“Are you sure you won’t get bored of me by then?” I asked.

His reply was a whisper upon my lips before they met. “Never.”

“What do we do now?” I asked between kisses.

His hands were on my back and words breathed into my hair. “We stay together. We let Odin know who the real traitor is, and you reclaim your place in his family. Then we be free of it all. Rune, we did it. We found a way out. One of us with more theatrics than the other,” he said with a chuckle. “Now we explore the world for as long as we want.”

I was obsessed with that. The image of our future. The thought of us. “And after?”

“After that,” he said as he paused to brush my hair behind my ear. His eyes soaked in the sight of me. “We make a home. Here, or in Asgard. Anywhere you are, that’s my home.”

EpiloGuE

TOVA AND TRIG were bound together on the second Freya’s day, with their hands fasted together before a gothi in the presence of the entire clan, and those willing to travel in winter on such short notice. Jarl Hakan didn’t want to delay the ceremony any longer, for fear Tova would be taken from us again. So there we stood, as snow fell around us, watching them commit their lives to each other.

Tova wore a deep red dress with silver flowers in her hair. When she got to the part about gods watching over them, she gave me a wink.

I winked back. At my side, Ve stood, dressed in mortal clothes of simple tunics and thin wools. More than one person glanced his way, curious about the stranger who appeared overnight. We explained him as a matchFaðirhad prepared for me years ago from a distant mountain clan, and no one could disprove that.

We hadn’t told others about who I was. I doubted I would. Over the years, Ve and I would visit less frequently and keep out of sight, until all those who remembered me in my youth had forgotten about Tova’s mediocre sister. Until then, we had plenty of land to explore.

The clan cheered as the marriage was proclaimed, and the wine began to pour.

“It’s good,” Ve commented, peering into the cup. “Nothing like jravn, but still very good.”

I poured some for myself from a large horn. “I’d quite like to try jravn again sometime when I’m not fearing it will kill me. I could have fainted when Leif said it would kill a mortal.”

Ve laughed. “I do remember how frightened you looked.”

I could laugh now. There were so many moments I wanted to go back and live without fear, but we had a hundred lifetimes to make up for it. Hand in hand, we made our way closer to the outskirts of the clan, settling on the planks of the harbor to watch the feast. Tova and Trig sat at the head of a table, sitting close even as they entertained those around them. Tova’s smile was as wide as I’d ever seen it, and for once she didn’t appear uneasy with all the attention on her. Her experiences over the past few months had molded her into a stronger person, and the clan would be lucky to have her alongside their future chieftain. She would lead them well.

An equally large crowd gathered about Sigrid as she showed off my sword, which I’d heard her call her own several times. I might gift it to her one day. For now, I could only hope she didn’t accidentally chop someone’s head off. The blue stones on it glinted like Odin’s eye, reminding me of the task ahead. Once this was over, Ve and I wouldtravel to Asgard for a brief visit to set things right. Then our life was ours.

A slow shuffle came from behind us, and I turned in time to see the seer approach, clutching his tattered, dark robes in hand as he maneuvered slowly. Ve offered a hand.

“Seer,” he greeted. “What news have you from home?”

His shriveled face turned my direction. I adjusted my clothes, though he couldn’t see them. Today I’d dressed simple in a blue dress sinched at the waist, with a knitted shawl and dainty flowers in my hair—all of it making me feel like another person. Tova’s wedding was one of the few occasions I’d gladly wear a dress for.

“I’ve heard chatter of an uprising. Alliances shifting. Old foes being thrown down.” The crackle in his voice was like a fire, and his words burned within me.

“Is Aegir the god thrown down?” I asked.

His lips peeled back into a smile. “And Astrid will be the one to rise.”

The name still settled over me oddly, like one not truly mine. I decided to adopt it in Asgard, but on Earth, I would remain as I always was. And to Ve, I’d forever be his Rune. But when the seer said Astrid, it was as if it was the most normal name in all the land.

A new thought came over me, and I shuddered. “Did you know the entire time I was a goddess?”

“No. What I told you was true—your future had been shielded from me. Now I know why.” He spread a long, painted finger toward my older sister. “But they have unveiled Tova’s destiny and it is a glorious one.”

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