Page 34 of Rune

There was no noticeable distinction between what was outside the gate and what was inside, other than a path that widened as I moved down it. I followed the path south for no more than five paces before I heard something.

My entire body froze. I strained to listen.

Someone was singing.

Shortly after I stilled, the voice hushed. Then it spoke.

“If you’re here, you might as well come all the way in,” it said. I swallowed, and followed the path around a bend.

On the other side of the turn, the trees had been cleared away to make room for a garden with zucchini, squash, rutabaga, and small melons that Frigg was tending to. She wore the simplest outfit I’d seen her in yet, but even the cream-colored dress with wide pockets and high neckline managed to look classy on her.

Frigg smiled like she’d been waiting for me. It was impossible to pretend I was doing anything other than sneaking around as I approached her.

There was no judgement on her face. She leaned back on her knees, and offered a shovel.

“These ones didn’t make it,” she said, gesturing to shriveled bulbs. “Will you help me clear them out?”

“Of course.” I took the shovel and knelt beside her.

She was quiet for a bit as she worked, and the ease of it melded into a comfortable silence that spanned almost an hour. It felt familiar to be working the ground again. Finally something I knew, and something that was useful.

We’d cleared out all the bulbs before she spoke again.

“I know you want to leave us,” she said.

I wiped my brow and sat back.

The words weren’t accusatory, yet they buried guilt into my chest like an axe.

Yet she said more, and a deep understanding rang through her tone. “This is all new, frightening, and I’m guessing you can’t believe you’re a goddess yet. You’re running through your memory, hoping it leads you here.”

She understood, then. My next breath was like taking the first proper swallow of air in years. “I’m trying to make sense of it all, but it’s hard to grasp.”

Her dirt-streaked hand found mine. “I know. I don’t need you to accept this family yet, but we are here for you when you’re ready to call Asgard home.”

The tip of her finger brushed against the end of my scars as she pulled back. I looked at them.

“How did I get these scars?” I asked her.

She blinked like the question surprised her.

“I was told I got them in Asgard,” I went on. I rolled up my sleeve so she could see them in all their glory. The sun shone against the skin, brightening the webs against my sun-stained coloring. “These are what made you certain you’d found me. But no one told me how I got them. Was I born this way?”

Frigg’s hand reached out again to gently touch them. She smiled, but it was a cracked motion, like a weak mask over an expression of pain. Her voice carried the same broken weight to it. “It was Odin’s wolves,” she breathed. My brows shot up.

I hadn’t seen Geri and Ferki yet, but I knew of Odin’s wolves, for they were legend in Danmark. Ravenous. Greedy. Loyal. Highly protective of Odin. “They attacked me?”

“You attacked them.” Frigg chuckled, but her sorrow still lived close to the surface. “You were a wild little thing, even as a youngling. You attacked Hashi, and she fought back. Odin saved you before she did much damage, but the scars wouldn’t go away.”

I tried to find that in my memory, but it wasn’t there. Neither was that name. “I don’t know of the wolf Hashi. I thought they were named Geri and Ferki?”

“Odin used to have a third. He put the wolf down after she attacked you.”

I shivered. As if feeling it too, Frigg squeezed my hand. “He would do it again in a heartbeat to keep you safe.” She tugged my sleeve back down, while I tried to find the right words to say. “Ruin, these scars helped prove who you are. But they were not what convinced me you are my granddaughter. It was that same wild spirit you’ve always had that convinced me of who you are. You get it from yourmóðir. That is the reason I love you, and how I know you are mine.”

I didn’t deserve to have Odin slay one of his wolves for me. I didn’t deserve the unending love Frigg had for me. I didn’t deserve a home amongst the gods. Yet they gave it so freely, because I was family to them.

My real family hadn’t even given me a woolen blanket when I was freezing in the winter.

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