Page 62 of Rune

“I held my own against yourfaðirfor a while,” I said.

He peeked to me. “You’re not a mortal.”

I fell silent. By his logic, and if I was a goddess, I ought to have fared well in Danmark. More than that. I ought to have dominated. But I hadn’t.You were gone from Asgard for too long. Your strength will return now that you are home.It had. My breathing felt better. Even now, as dirt clouded the air, it wasn’t choking my lungs like it usually would. But instead of making me feel relieved, I only felt cheated. Because if they were right and I was a goddess, I’d lost a really nice life here in favor of a difficult one in Danmark.

My gaze shifted to find Odin. He watched me with steel in his gaze, looking as suspicious as Ve that I was seconds away from hurling myself into the arena. I wasn’t. Not yet.

His head shook slowly. I averted my eye.

Then it snapped back. At Odin’s side, tied by his hands to Odin’s chair, was Trig.

His back was straight as a board, and while he tried not to appear nervous, I caught how his eyes shifted amongst the gods. Mainly they were focused on the locked door though, waiting for Tova. His skin was pale and sickly, and Odin hadn’t given him anything other than his torn Viking clothes to wear. Or he had, and Trig refused them. Either way, he looked greatly out of place in the threadbare tunic, faded belt, and scruffy boots lined with fur.

His sword was gone. Very wise.

I crossed my legs as I sat, letting the skirts fall around me. “Do you remember the boy I was in love with in Danmark?”

Ve frowned. “I do.” His tone darkened. Was that a hint of jealousy?

I raked a hand through my short hair to move the wild waves aside as I jutted my chin forward. “He’s the one chained to Odin’s chair.”

His eyes flared before they swung to Odin. “The one who looks like death?”

How many people did he see tied to Odin’s chair? “Of course it’s that one.”

“That’s the boy you love?”

“Loved,” I corrected. “In case you forgot my heartwarming story, he broke my heart.”

“I remember well,” Ve said with a tone indicating he wasn’t pleased to see Trig here. “What is he doing in Asgard?”

I eyed Trig, grateful he didn’t appear to see me. If Tova was upset at seeing me happy after all she went through to find me on Earth, Trig would be livid to see me snuggled up with another man. A handsome man, who kept his arm near mine so his finger could absentmindedly stroke my hand as if that were the most natural thing in the world. All for appearances, but Trig wouldn’t know that. “He came to fight Odin to save Tova. Odin didn’t agree, but graciously allowed Trig to stay and watch.”

Now his focus swiveled back to me. “How long have you known he was here?”

“I saw him last night.”

His jaw dropped. “And you went the entire chariot ride without telling me?”

“You were too busy being upset for me to say anything,” I reminded him. His jaw closed. “And there’s nothing to tell. Odin refused him, and now he gets to watch whether Tova will die, right alongside me.” I wasn’t sure whether it was crueler to leave Trig in Danmark not knowing what became of Tova, or to let him be here to witness her death. The way Ve’s lips twisted, he found it cruel. Or that could be a lingering displeasure at seeing my former flame here. Either way, I didn’t miss how his hand grabbed hold of mine. “She will not die,” he whispered. Followed by, “and he can’t have you back.”

I wouldn’t want him back. Before I could open my mouth to say so, someone called out Ve’s name.

From the thick crowds gathered on stone seats behind us, Ve’s friends pushed through, led by Liv who was shoving with her elbows as gods complained. She gave them and their sharp weapons no mind. Behind her, Leif was a little more apologetic as they barreled past.

Liv’s blonde hair was pulled into a dramatic braid curling down her back, with a striking black armor set strapped to her body, complete with a leather skirt ending halfway down her thigh. Her gaze flickered across the arena like she was hungry for the action. That same emotion buzzed in the air around us. She jumped into the seat next to me and flung her feet up on the railing. “It’s about time they get started.”

“Just waiting for you,” Ve said.

“The day Liv is on time is the day time stops,” Leif remarked as he found the seat beside Liv with far less enthusiasm than she had. Still, the excitement was living in every inch of him as he leaned forward and set his eyes ahead.

“I was on time today,” Liv said.

“We had to drag her here.” Ingra’s stiff voice came as she sat behind us. Instead of armor, she’d gone with an ivory dress that accented her pale skin and striking dark hair, but the dress couldn’t hide her lithe movements or make anyone think she was anything less than deadly. Ingra frightened me more than the others—even Bjorn who was huge. It was the quieter, softer ones who fought the hardest. Tova had taught me that. She was the same way.

My focus pulled back to the door where the guard stood. She was behind it somewhere, awaiting the fight.

I couldn’t decide if I hoped she fought first, so I could relax knowing she lived, or she fought last, so I could still keep this hope alive. Truthfully, I hoped for a miracle so she didn’t need to fight at all.

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