Page 36 of Rune

I stepped down without his help. “Call me that again, and I’m using Delight.” At his puzzled expression, I patted my dagger.

“Out of curiosity, I’m going to keep a tally of the number of times you threaten me over the next two months,” he said. Then he gestured to a grand staircase behind him, leading up the outside of the house to a balcony overlooking the veranda. “That is where we will be presented. Think you can pretend to be in love with me?”

Quite easily, yes.

“I’ll do my very best.”

The real trick would be him convincing the others he fancied me.

Hand in hand, we ascended the stairwell. The top spilled us on the wide balcony, where Ve led us directly to the railing. His grip on my hand tightened, and he held up our clasped hands to get the attention of the gods.

“Thank you for coming tonight,” Ve shouted, quieting the crowd.

While there’d been dozens of gods the other night, tonight there were nearly a hundred guests, crowding the open veranda below, scattered through the open halls of the house, and migrating on the roof directly across from us. Word of my arrival had spread. Once more, most wore weapons of some sort though I’d yet to see anything resembling violence, other than my tiff with Ve earlier. But he hadn’t needed a weapon to hold me back.

Down below, Frigg stood by Odin, both in matching shades of teal and seated at a fountain so comfortably, the rest of the gods appeared to be centered around them. Even in someone else’s home, they still commanded the space. Frigg caught my eye and winked.

Let the show begin.I smiled back, and let myself lean in to Ve. Encouraged by the touch, he let go of my hand and wrapped an arm around me.

“Many years I have waited for the day when I would meet my fiancée,” Ve said. “I’d heard tales of what her beauty would be, what strength she would possess, and how mountains would surely bow at her presence.”

That might have been a bit much. I nudged him with my foot, and saw him grin. “What I failed to hear about was her fire, but believe me, this young goddess has a wild spirit.” He laughed, and a ripple of chuckles ran through the crowd. Then he quieted and his expression softened. To everyone watching, he’d look very much in love as he gazed at me.

“You were well worth the wait.”

He was selling his part well.

We hadn’t rehearsed lines for me, but I cleared my throat. “And I lived my life not knowing who I was,” I spoke. Ve’s brows raised in surprise as I projected my voice over the crowd. “But this?” I tilted my head to look up at Ve. The night made his dark eyes look black, but I could see they were on me, waiting for what I would say. “You were a surprise, but one of the greatest surprises life has given me. I look forward to many adventures with you, wherever they take us.”

I added that last part purposefully, laying the first brick in the long road to our escape. The glint in his eye told me he caught it.

He faced the crowd a final time. “To Ruin, our lost goddess.”

“To Ruin,” they echoed.

Something about the fact that no one in this place knew my real name pleased me. Standing on this balcony in front of Asgard with every eye trained on us, noting every detail about me, felt like a glass cage. They were there, in every direction, and I couldn’t escape them. I’d lived my life as the runt of the clan, and now I had the eye of the gods. It was empowering and frightening at the same time, which made keeping my true name a secret all the more special. It was something they couldn’t see into. My name became one of the most treasured things about me, and I’d keep it close for when I needed to remember who I was.

You are Rune; a fighter and a survivor. Viking.

I repeated the mantra to myself as Ve led me back down the stairs and into the party.

“That was good,” Ve whispered to me. He plucked two flutes of bubbling champagne from an ivory pedestal and put one in my hand. “Now convince my parents. If we accomplish nothing else tonight, we need to convince them this is real.”

“I do not have the best luck getting parents to like me.”

“Your freedom hinges on this. There—” he pointed across the terrace, where a wide veranda extended from the house with little flames burning in jars and a fire burning in a stone encasing the side. Two men stood together there, one young like Ve and one older with striking black hair, slender eyes, and arms crossed like a shield over his body. The man he spoke with offered him a drink but he refused with the flick of his hand. Then his eyes darted out over the guests and found us.

My stomach tangled into a ball of nerves. If I hadn’t been good enough for a Chieftain’s son, I wasn’t good enough for a god.

Ve pressed forward with no sign of hesitation. I set my jaw and straightened my spine before remembering this was not a fight I walkedinto, and I softened my expression by the time we ducked under the string lights to the veranda.

Ve dropped my hand to greet the younger man first. “Leif, you made it after all.”

They clasped hands before pulling into a strong embrace. “I wouldn’t miss this! Your infamous fiancée has been found. It’s all anyone in Asgard can talk about, and everyone who can get away from business is trying to get here.” He stepped back and straightened his jacket. “This must be her.”

Ve slid an arm over me and put on a smile. “This is Ruin. And Ruin, this is my brother, Leif, and myfaðir, Erik.”

I tried not to let the surprise show, but a simple family run through would have been nice. How many other siblings did he have here, people who knew him better than anyone and would know this was a façade?

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