Page 27 of Rune

“They are well. Their life goes on. But for you, there is a pleasant incentive to remain here.” His eye twinkled. “Did Frigg tell you you’re engaged?”

Every thought of escape flew from my mind as my focus latched onto those words. “Engaged?”

He laughed at my surprise. “Yes. Since you were in yourmóðir’s womb, you have been engaged, and your fiancé waited for you.”

The glass became heavy in my hand and my stomach weak. Balder went on, unaware of how my head spun.

“Yourmóðirand his were good friends, and each conceived a child within a week of each other. They took it as a sign you were meant to walk in this life together, and the union was planned. Of course, no one expects you to bond yourself to him if it is not your desire, but youshould at least meet.” At my hesitation, he added in a softer voice, “It would please yourmóðir.”

From the hope in his eye, it would please him as well. “I can meet him,” I said weakly. I can promise that much, especially if it took Balder’s mind off my desire to see my family again. But with each question dodged and each answer left unsaid, Asgard was slowly becoming a cage around me, and that brought dread like a strong cord over my heart, warning me I might not leave this place alive. I took a sip to hide the nerves.

But Balder’s mood remained unchanged. “Finish your drink then, because he is here.”

I almost choked. “I’m to meet him now?”

His grin was mischievous. “That’s the whole point of this party.”

I downed my drink. “And here I was thinking it was to celebrate me.”

Balder was already forging ahead, using his broad shoulder to drive a path through the thick of the crowd to bring me to the cusp of the balcony. He showed me a place to stand, squared my shoulders toward the other gods, and stepped back. From here, the night breeze came from behind, catching the plumes of smoke from the fire and tracing a path down my back. Once more, the entirety of the room stood before me, from both floors of the home, one by one turning to watch what I would do.

Balder held his head high like a proudFaðirmight, and cleared his throat.

“We have waited seventeen years for this moment when the daughter of Rava and son of Ase meet.”

That name shouldn’t mean anything to me—she wasn’t mymóðir—but I let the name Rava sink into me all the same. From the back of theroom, Astrid’s statue stared back at me as I stole another sliver of the life that should have been hers.

I looked away, back to the crowds, where I searched for the face of the man I’d need to fool before I slipped out of Asgard.

I wasn’t the only one planning to slip away. In the back of the room, a figure cloaked in a black hood treaded along the shadows of the wall between sconces, before they ducked from the room. Lucky. It was too late for me to escape the same way, and with each word from Balder’s lips, my chest tightened further.

This was different than meeting Frigg or even Odin. This was someone who’d been waiting his whole life to meet me, and his expectations had to be built unbelievably high.

Balder went on. “Their union was written in the stars since the day of their conception, and today their paths cross for the first time.”

The crowds cheered with glasses raised. “Send him up!” they cried. “Where is the boy?”

The gods looked amongst themselves, as Balder peered over the room. They didn’t search long before it became apparent he was not here.

I thought back to the cloaked figure who’d escaped moments before, and my chest sank. This stung worse than meeting him and finding disappointment in his eyes. He’d already seen me, and he didn’t care to meet.

“Perhaps another time.” I stepped away from the open balcony where I felt too exposed. “I’ve waited this long to meet him. I can wait a little longer.”

“That boy is never where he’s meant to be,” Balder said under his breath. “Very well. Another day. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go track him down and hang him by the feet.”

With a start, I realized the night was coming to an end, and I’d yet to figure out how to escape this world. With Svana staring at me like she was already plotting my demise and the possibility of Aegir appearing to unveil the truth, or any of the gods putting it together that I was merely mortal, my chances of survival were dwindling. I had to escape within a few days.

With no leads, I’d be forced to scour Asgard for an exit and hope I survived the trip home. Balder’s words had confirmed the existence of a path, I just had to find it.

Across the room, Odin raised his voice. “Before you all go, I have a message for you.” He left Frigg’s side to stand like a bear behind me with both hands on my shoulders. “My granddaughter has been returned to me—healthy and alive. As she comes into her own as a young goddess, some may think of deceiving her, exploiting her, or harming her to feed your own power.” The deep set of his voice rolled like thunder over the room, and I shivered. Cold swept into the hall, and every person shifted. “There will not be a power grab over my granddaughter. I am placing my protection over her, so if a single hair on her head is harmed, you will be cast from Asgard and spend a century scouring the Earth. You have my word I will not lose this child again.”

The fear flashed in every eye, but none could feel it as much as I did. It sat like a stone in my stomach, twisting my insides with a cold hand and sending my mind whirling. I had to do more than merely escape Asgard.

I had to escape Odin.

The terrible truth hit me like the head of an axe, and my knees weakened. If it took a god to get Astrid out of Asgard as a toddler, it would take a god to get me out now.

tEn

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