Page 80 of Rune

My gut twisted.Tell him now. Tell him you will be too old and wrinkled for his taste before long, while he remains flawless.

But I kept my lips tight. Perhaps Aegir would never say a word, and I could tell Ve on my own time. I had no reason to believe Aegir would betray me. My impulse to tell Ve I was not a goddess was dwindling like sparks of a fire going out, replacing themselves with fear that his feelings would change if he knew I wasn’t like him. Soon, fear grew into a roaring flame that consumed all else.

Ve remained unaware of the fight within me. “Are there festivals in Danmark too?”

I snorted, grateful for something else to focus on. “There are, though no dancing in the sea for us. We sacrifice animals before altars a fair amount though. And see who can throw an axe into a tree with the most precision.” Though it was nothing compared to the tales he told of Asgard, his eyes lit up like I’d just told him we bathe in gold every week. “It’s not an easy life,” I warned. He needed to understood what awaited him in Danmark. There were no great feasts, no breastplates of silver or temples to sleep in. And no guarantee of safety. “We must work to survive.”

“I can do that,” he said with resolution. Determination glinted in his expression. “We will work hard, and build a good life.”

He was just leaning over to kiss me when movement over his shoulder caught my eye, like bronze shifting through the evergreens.

Aegir, I thought at first. But it was Balder who stepped forth, with his hair combed back, dressed in as simple of an attire as I’d seen on him yet, holding his distance.

Seeing my attention divert, Ve checked over his shoulder. When he spotted Balder, he stepped back.

“May I borrow our lost goddess before the feast?” Balder asked.

Ve’s focus flicked to me to check for approval first. I nodded. He kissed my cheek briefly before stepping away.

As he moved, Balder advanced through the gravel atop soft grass, tossing me and Ve a knowing look. I ignored it. “Did you get the message to Trig?” I asked as soon as Ve was far enough away. He was mounting his chariot now and headed off, with a promise to be my escort for the event later today.

Balder stopped with his hands folded before him, right over the strings of his black tunic. The color contrasted the white of his cloak, with the cowl down. Threads of silver ran through the seam, the only thing to show his wealth. Other than that, he appeared like a mortal, down to the faded leather of his boots. “I did. He was pleased to receive it.”

No reply though. I prayed Trig found the hidden code.

“Things are going well with your fiancé, I see?” His eye went past me and to Hitta Haven as if wondering what had transpired there between us. Thoughts swarmed through my head—those of kisses and promises and bliss. I kept them all to myself like the beautiful treasure they were.

“I’m lucky to have him,” I said, then cringed. That sounded fake. Balder tucked his chin in as he studied me.

I feigned an innocent expression. “What brings you here?”

His throat cleared. “I’ve something to show you.”

I cast my eyes around him, but saw nothing. Not even a chariot to bring him here.

“Something in Danmark.”

My blood stilled. A shiver of emotion pulsed through me—anticipation entangled with fright. He was taking me to Danmark. I could escape there. Finally, I’d see the way out of Asgard and be back with my own people again, where I had no fear of the secret motives of the gods. It’s what I’d been wanting since the moment I woke here.

Yet the second emotion hit me harder.I’m not leaving without them.

What if he’d uncoded my message and knew I was searching for the way out of Asgard? Or that I planned to save Tova tomorrow and take her with me? Or worse—Aegir had found him first, and all the gods knew I was masquerading. He would punish me by dragging me back to Danmark where he found me, leaving me behind with no way back to my sister. As my thoughts continued, they grew darker and darker until I was convinced Balder had something terrible planned. I tried to ease myself. Vikings get like this before raids—I’d seen it from myfaðirenough to know. But I did not have a battle before me today. I stilled my heart. “What is it?”

Balder watched like he could see all my thoughts. “That,” he said, “is better for you to discover yourself. Then we will return for the feast.”

Relief hit me. He planned to bring me back, and not abandon Tova here.

At ease, I dug my knife from the dirt and strapped it to my side. If Balder was going looking like a mortal, then I would too. “Take me.”

His look was apologetic. “Not awake.”

Worry coursed through me, but his hand was faster. At his touch, my vision blurred. I fought against it. I must see the way out. But soon I was on my knees, using all my force to keep my head upright to see Balder as he knelt beside me, running a finger beneath my chin and gently guiding me to the ground. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “You’re too precious to risk losing.”

I could be here another twenty years, I thought. He was never going to show me the way home.

That was my last thought as my head landed on the dirt.

The air was cold, and that’s how I knew. It wasn’t a comforting breeze that cooled the nape of necks, but a bitter one with more teeth than whispers and a sting that stayed on your skin long after the mug in your hand washed away the chill in your blood. A cold like that wouldn’t be found in Asgard.

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