Page 37 of Rune

If my siblings were here, they’d recognize the guise in an instant. I prayed Leif would not be as keen.

I recovered quickly and offered my hand. “It’s an honor to meet you both.”

Leif’s handshake was warm and eager. He didn’t dress like the other gods—dripping with weapons and an air of superiority—but had a clean look about him from the shave of his beard to the short cut of his hair and the kind set of his almond eyes. “You’ve no idea how eager we are to meet you. We thought you were dead long ago.”

My smile threatened to crack. “Here I am.”

Leif tipped his glass at me. “Here you are.”

Erik was quieter as he took in every detail of me, and I took in as much as I could of him. Unlike his son, he was burly and stiff, with a sharp look in his dark eyes and no laugh lines etched into his skin. Hereminded me very much of Jarl Hakan. I softened my voice. “It’s so wonderful to meet you. Ve has told me much about you.”

He paused for only a moment, but it stretched for ages. Then he spoke, “I look forward to getting to know you better.”

Something in his eye said he already knew everything he wanted to know about me and I hadn’t met his standard. I bit down against the insecurities and reminded myself I was a goddess here and he had no reason to question me. But even as I thought it, he turned to Ve. “Why don’t you boys go find yourmóðirwhile I have a word with Ruin?”

Ve stiffened. “I’d rather not leave Ruin with strangers. She’s still new to all this.”

“You just met her a few days ago,” hisfaðirreminded him. “You are still a stranger to her.”

Leif dipped his head, as the tension in the air thickened like the clouds at our feet, drenching me in shivers of discomfort. Ve looked like he wanted to argue more, but hisfaðirput up a hand. “I only wish to get to know the girl my son is to marry. She will be right here.”

“I’ll be fine.” I placed a hand on Ve’s arm to gently push him away. “I’d love to speak with yourfaðir.”

He hesitated but finally obliged. He strode into the crowd without a look back.

“You too, Leif,” Erik said.

Leif downed the rest of his drink, and set the glass aside. “Welcome to the family, Ruin,” he said with a chuckle as he followed after his brother.

Losing Ve felt like losing my armor as I stood before hisfaðir, searching for the right words. Before I found them, he held out his arm. His still demeanor melted as his shoulders relaxed and he took in a long draw of air. “Come,” he said. “Let’s take a walk away from all the noise.”

I placed my hand on his arm and allowed him to lead me into the house and through a back hallway before cracking open an arched doorway. Back outside, he guided me along a twisty path leading to a small garden at the side of their home. It reminded me much of mymóðir’s garden, carefully tended and planted in perfect rows, with a large watering can resting on a hook. The familiar scent of turned dirt filled my lungs.

“I used to garden with my parents,” I said to fill the silence. The words settled between us until I didn’t think he’d respond, but then Erik tore his eyes from the garden.

“My daughter planted this,” he said.

Not just Leif then. Ve had a sister as well. I didn’t want to acknowledge I hadn’t known that already, so I said nothing.

Erik grabbed hold of a stone bench and turned it away from the garden to face the mountains. He wore a sword at his side, and the sheath clinked against the bench as he sat down to stretch his legs before him. The clouds blanketing the ground of Asgard gathered thicker, masking our ankles as I sat beside him and searched for something to say. I couldn’t tell yet if his silence was disfavor toward me or merely a quiet spirit. I hoped it was the second.

“I’ve never been much for these gatherings,” he said at last. “Too loud and overbearing and filled with silent politics.”

I knew nothing of the politics of gods, but I knew of dislike for crowds. “I’m not fond of parties either,” I confessed.

That earned a smile. “Ve isn’t either. It’s rare we manage to drag him out of his studio, and even then, he’s usually coated in clay or paint.”

The amount of new information I was amassing about Ve tonight was startling. I truly knew nothing about the man. We did not plan this well.

Erik was watching me closely, and he caught the surprise. “You didn’t know he likes to paint?”

I swallowed. “It hadn’t come up yet.”

His lips pulled into a thin line, like it ought to have been the first thing his son said after his name. “I’m sure it would have soon. I’ll let him tell you about himself though; I want to know about you.”

That should have been an easy question, but I tried out a few answers on my tongue and hated all of them. Runt of the clan. Sister to Tova. Burnt out flame of Trig. Probably wasn’t going to receive my shield this year. None of those said anything about my heart, and yet they had defined me. Finally, I shrugged. “I’m just Ruin. I grew up as the second daughter of six, farming the land with myfaðirand training to be a shield-maiden like mymóðir. That’s all.”

Now his brows raised. “Shield-maiden? So you fight?”

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