Page 39 of Rune

Erik set his sword back in its sheath and leaned his weight into the bench. “What was it like living with mortals?” he asked.

I sat beside him. There could be a hundred ways to answer, but I came up with something sincere. “They taught me to be grateful for everything and how to be strong.”

“That sounds nice,” Erik hummed. “Such a fascinating land.” His breaths came in steadier strings now, and his chest didn’t pull as tight with each one. Behind us, a howling wind cut through the night and drowned out the buzz of the party, flitting about the fallen leaves that hid in the eaves of Erik’s home. I was grateful to be out here instead of in there; conquering one friendship instead of tackling the pressure of a hundred.

I shifted to reclip my axe and let the weight of it pull me back to lean next to Erik and enjoy the stillness of the night. Down below in Danmark, they’d be preparing for harvest and stocking up for winter, but for the first time in my life, the colder months weren’t marked by tireless work. I picked up the flute of champagne I’d set down on the bench earlier and took another sip.

Erik’s gruff voice bit the silence. “I’ve always found mortals to be agonizing creatures.”

I almost choked on my drink. “How so?”

“They are as bitter as the land which they work, and the cold of their winters has hardened them all into unforgiving beasts with little kindness.”

He didn’t hold back.

“Is that why you won’t let Ve visit them?” As soon as I’d said it, I snapped my mouth shut.

Erik’s demeanor changed in an instant like an ember bursting into a raging fire. “What did my son tell you?”

I worked my jaw. “He wishes to travel across the countries, but you won’t let him.” I teetered between wanting to temper his sudden emotions and wanting to lean into them to uncover why he wouldn’t let Ve visit the mortal land.

Erik stood to his full height, and I followed suit so I wouldn’t feel as small next to him. It didn’t work; next to a god, especially a suddenly angry one, I was helpless.

“You do not know what you speak of,” he grumbled. “Don’t repeat things that don’t involve you.” He hovered so close, the heat of his breath wafted over me. It was nothing compared to the heat of his eyes. They’d narrowed to slits that made me shudder. I didn’t withdraw.

“I’ve seen parents like you,” I told him. “They are too afraid to lose their children, so they hold them close with an iron grip. They lose them in the end. Ve is a grown man—a grown god—who should be allowed his own choices.” I kept the waver out of my voice with great difficulty.

He laughed, but it was dry. “Ve makes plenty of his own choices, believe me.” He looked at me like I was one of those choices. “You don’t know him well enough to say what he wants.”

Erik towered over me like a mountain. If only he relented and let Ve go, my problems would be solved. Ve would return me to my clan and I would escape the peril that would surely come as soon as one of these gods found out I was lying to them all. This one stubbornfaðirwas all that stood between me and that. If he released Ve now, I wouldn’t need to wait two months.

But Erik looked like he wanted to crush me, not reason with me.

My parents hadn’t cared enough to keep me away from harm by tethering me to them. If they had, I wouldn’t be here. But Ve’s situationwas a different kind of struggle as he fought to cut his own path. It was a fight, I suspected, he’d been fighting alone.

I knew about being alone. That, I could relate to.

“You’re right,” I said. “I don’t know Ve well. But you’re wrong about Vikings. They are brave and honorable and give their children a lot more respect than you give yours.”

His hand met my cheek with a crack.

I staggered back as pain shot like an arrow across my jaw and my vision darkened. I reached for the blade at my waist, but didn’t draw it, as my other hand met the cold wrought iron of the bench. I grabbed hold to secure myself to something as flecks of color returned to my sight.

Erik’s teeth grated together. His eyes became dark pits bearing into me. “Leave now, before I risk Odin’s wrath and hurt you.”

Now I saw what Ve was afraid of. A vibration hummed in my ears. Something trickled down my cheek, and I didn’t need to touch it to know his ring had cut me. “You’ll lose him in the end,” I echoed my previous words. This time, I had the sense to walk away.

“Maybe,” Erik called after me. “But not to you. My son can do much better than you.”

I tried to ignore the way his words twisted my heart into a tight knot that pulled at every insecurity I’d ever felt, but I kept on walking. My pride wasn’t worth staying to argue over, and it was clear Ve’s freedom wouldn’t be bought with words.

The noise of my engagement party surrounded me once more and I tore up the hill to where the lanterns lit the night. People turned as I came into view of the veranda but their eyes caught on my cheek where it bled and they thought better of approaching me. Good. The night had already exhausted me, and I feared I had little else to give.

I searched for Ve, but found Odin instead.

Rather than turning away, his gaze went lethal and he pushed through the crowd to my side. His fingers lifted to touch the raw skin of my cheek.

“Who did this to you?” he asked.

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