Page 35 of Rune

I had to clear my throat to manage words. “Thank you.”

“I hope you find the clarity you search for.” She pulled me into a hug. “Because I think you would have a nice life here.”

There was one last question on my mind.

“Do you know why my breathing is weak?”

She frowned, then a knowing look passed her face. “You are weaker the longer you are away from Asgard,” she said. “Your physical ailments were simply because you were away from home too long. Your strength will return now that you are here.”

One by one, things were lining up. It was getting harder to deny, and harder to not hope, what they told me was true. But with that came the unsettling thought—whatever the truth was, someone had lied to me.

When I returned home that evening, a wool skin was waiting for me inside, along with a note. I picked it up.

The nights can get brisk here. And the wool was always meant for you. -Ve

I touched the soft fibers. This was far nicer than anything we had in Danmark, and it would not go unappreciated as the temperaturedropped. But the true warmth came from the small action Ve had taken to return to the cave and bring this to me. I could fake being engaged to anyone if it meant getting home, but it would be far more enjoyable to do so with a man who had a decent heart.

I wrapped the wool around me and headed up the marble stairs just as the sun was setting. It made the room carry a golden glow that reminded me of evenings by the fjord. As I stared out the window, I tightened the wool and made a promise. I’d find my home soon, wherever that was meant to be.

ThirtEEn

I REGRETTED THE evening as soon as I stepped outside wearing enough jewels around my neck to feel as if I were choking.

Ve had suggested I forgo weapons to put on a charming appearance tonight.Difficult for you to accomplish, I’m sure,he’d said with half sarcasm and half sincerity. I chose a different route. I strapped the most beautiful axe from Hitta Haven to my back—a gorgeous weapon with a silver head and perfect balance—and a dagger to the outside of my arm like a tattoo I kept on me. Ve had frowned when he came to pick me up. “That’s a bit much,” he said.

“I’m not leaving without a weapon. You feel like telling your parents on your own that you want to live in mortal lands?”

“They’d chain me to Asgard,” he’d grumbled. He motioned to the chariot with a sigh. “Come on then.”

His eyes narrowed to slits as I came closer. “Is that the dagger you used to cut me?”

I patted it. “I think I’ll name it Delight, in honor of your dreadful nicknames.”

“Cute,” he said dryly.

We took the chariot ride in stilted silence. I didn’t miss how the muscles in Ve’s arm rippled with how tightly he grasped the crossbar, his knuckles whitening with each passing moment. “It’s going to be fine,” I told him.

“You haven’t met my parents,” he responded.

I would tonight. I was very interested to meet whoever could make a strong god like Ve fearful.

An urge rose within me to protect him. I tried to shove it away, but the truth was hard to ignore. Ve was someone I’d easily fall for. If I wasn’t careful, I’d end up doing whatever it took to save him, and let myself die.

“You look beautiful tonight,” Ve said.

The way that made my heart flutter was not in the spirit offakingfeelings.

“Thank you,” I muttered.

At last, we reached the single-story structure of his parents’ home, spanning the field with many open walls, tall windows, and greenery left to climb rampant wherever it chose. On a different night, this would have appeared like calm quarters full of fresh air and the scent of turned soil, but tonight was not that night. Tonight, it was overrun with gods.

Ve didn’t pull the horses to a stop at the front veranda, but kept them moving past it and around the corner. Then he stepped off to offer his hand. From the back of the house, there was nothing but moonlight to illuminate his outfit, but the moonlight was very generous with him,causing my eyes to wander his way more. They caught on the straight cut of his suit and brass buttons, lingering along the high set of his jaw, and making a home in the tangles of his hair that he’d coerced into a knot at the back of his head.

I had to remind my heart one more time he could never be mine.

“Ready, my love?”

That didn’t help.

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