Page 67 of Rune

I snapped my head up, stilling Ve before he stepped closer. “Yourfaðirasked you not to see me?”

His head tilted to the side and the corner of a brow raised. “Did you think he liked you? You fought him.”

“That was his idea!” Then my voice dropped. “But yes, I was aware he didn’t like me. It will likely bring him great joy when he inevitably finds out we are not together.”

Ve shucked off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. “It’ll be eons before that happens, but likely so.”

As the tension caused by Trig dissipated, we fell into a more familiar stance. It paved the way for what I wanted to know. The question bounced in my mind a few times before landing softly on my tongue. “How were the other opponents?”

The silence was loud. The shadows of coming night lurked into the room, hiding his eyes from me, even as he moved forward, almost to my side.

“Determined. And it was clear other gods are pulling strings here, though Odin claims to not see it. Illegal weapons are in play. Tonics protected some from being struck. Some healed their wounds in the blink of an eye. Impenetrable armor. Unnatural strength. Tova and Glyn’s match appeared to be the only fair one.”

Though we both knew it wasn’t.

“I thought no one was to interfere with the Champion Games? You were very adamant about that.”

“I remain so. If Odin catches you, it’ll be your head.” He bit his lip, contemplating the next part. “So don’t get caught.”

A rush of relief filled me. I was going to interfere with or without Ve’s help, but having him on my side would make it much easier. “So Tova fights more than just other mortals. She fights the workings of gods.”

“And she will beat them.”

I shut my eyes as I drew in a long breath and every bit of knowledge I could find. “How do we beat the mortals if the gods are helping them cheat?”

Ve thought. “As it happens, I’m also a god of healing, so I can grant Tova a tonic to protect her from mild afflictions. It won’t be perfect, and it’ll have to be dampened enough that it isn’t traced back to me.”

“People will likely guess it was my fiancé who helped Tova.”

“As long as it can’t be proven, that won’t matter. Now,” he went on, “I can fashion armor thin enough to be worn beneath her tunic, and strong enough to withstand an arrow. But I can do nothing to improve her weapon’s aim.”

I grinned. “She won’t need help there.”

“Then she’ll be fine.” He sounded so certain, I almost believed it.

Outside, a bright blue light claimed the sky, starting as a silver spark and expanding past the line of the trees until it was higher than Odin’s mountain, then high enough that it was like a star. The light hung there, expanding, before it burst into sparkles to fall like rain.

As it fell, a new light took its place, shooting up from the ground.

“What is that?”

Ve moved to open the door to Hitta Haven and beckon me to sit on the smooth, marble stairs beside him. “This is how we honor those who fell today. One light for each of them.”

Cool air hit me as I stepped outside and lifted my chin. The second light was exploding, and the shimmer fell so far, it landed on the leaves around us, on the pillars of the temple, and at our feet. As soon as the dust settled, a third went up.

“It isn’t much,” Ve said as it climbed the sky. “But we are honored by the lives given today.”

I kept my mouth shut as a fourth went off. As it did, I spoke Glyn’s name in my mind. This light would be for her. For her strength, for her persistence, and for her fight. For the sacrifice of her life instead of Tova’s.

The fifth and final light of tonight went up. Five lives lost today. Five more tomorrow. Nine on the final day.

“There’s one last thing,” Ve said as the final light settled. He stayed outside, elbows on his knees and head cocked to see me. “Tomorrow while the second round of champions fight, you’ll be below the arena, in the cells, training with Tova.”

His words sucked the air from me. I’d trained with her hundreds of times, but having one final time, it meant the world to me. “Odin will let me in the cells?”

“He wouldn’t, but he needn’t know. I convinced the guard at the back doors to let you slip in.”

“How?”

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