Page 83 of Rune

I soaked a final breath of Danmark’s crisp air into my lungs, gaveMóðira last look, and reached my hand to Balder.

Before his fingers met mine, mymóðir’sramblings formed coherent words. “She was a gift from you,” she said, pleading with the gods. “Please don’t take her back.”

I tried to yank my hand away, but it was too late. Balder’s fingers reached mine, as his other hand slipped into his pocket. This time, there was no slow fade. It was blinding light, a sharp pain, and a feeling like I was being ripped from my body and yanked upward.

It took one blink for Danmark to fall away and Asgard to return. We stood at the same point, right next to the patch of garden Ve and I had been working on, with my head dizzy and mind racing. Mymóðir’s form was no longer beside me but her words remained in the air, sharp like a sting.

Please don’t take her back.

Balder appeared lost in thought as well, staring in the distance. He must have heard the words too, but he chose not to comment as he shook his head and unclipped his sword from his back. Blue crystals glittered from the hilt. He set it on his lap as he sat with his back against a tree, taking a deep breath.

“When we lost you, we cried in anguish for weeks. We mourned for years. Our home was never again the same, and nothing could have filled that void.” I sat beside him, unsure why he was telling me this. His soft eyes met my own. “The mortals will never love you like us, because you are not theirs. You are a part of our family, my niece, and we are not whole without you.”

He passed the sword to me. “Odin crafted this for you, with his ring embedded in the hilt. It is a sign of his deepest love.”

I gasped as I held it in my hands.A weapon strong enough to take on the gods.That’s what I’d asked for, and that’s what he delivered. The metal was pure white, the hilt a deep black with pockets of blue, and the weight perfectly aligned for me.

“It is time for your heart to let your family go,” Balder said, and now I understood. Tomorrow, a piece of my mortal family might die, and he wanted me to remember who my true family was. He was edging my feelings so I didn’t do anything hasty upon her death. Keeping me here. “As they are already letting you go.” I said nothing as I slid the sword back into its sheath. Balder reached to squeeze my hand. “You have the strength of the gods behind you for tomorrow, but I suspect you do not need it. It is already in your heart.”

He meant I would survive Tova’s death. There would be nothing to survive. It would not happen. I forced a smile to my face. “Thank you for the sword, and for allowing me to see my family once more.”

That seemed to appease him, and he gave a curt nod before standing. “May the sword always protect you, and remind you of home. Farewell, Astrid.”

The sudden use of the name jolted me, and fell over my ears like betrayal. It was a final reminder from him of who I was, but to me, it was a reminder I was an imposter. I kept my face calm as he left, and forced the feeling away so I could go over everything that just took place. It was a lot to take in, but the most important thing Balder had shown me was something he hadn’t meant to. And it changed everything.

He’d been in a hurry to leave Danmark, and in that rested his mistake. For he hadn’t drifted me to unconsciousness first, which allowed me the final piece of puzzle I’d been missing.

He’d touched something in his pocket.

It was not a gate I searched for to get to Earth. It wasa key.

The key lay in Balder’s pocket.

TwEnty-EiGht

THE MORE I traced over the problem of getting that key, the more I doubted it could be done. But for now, it was not the most pressing issue at hand. Tomorrow Tova would fight for her life, and that needed to be where my mind was. I buttoned up the silky, maroon tunic, reminding myself I’d been distracted enough recently.

Sometimes I thought of Tova tucked in the cell, cold or hungry, and felt ashamed I was enjoying warm sunlight and eager kisses from a god while she had nothing. Instead of pushing that feeling down, I let it bubble to the surface and dwelled on it, until I was refocused on my own goal—save my sister.

I slipped a slender blade into a sheath on my calf, and let the loose pant leg fall over it. My shoulders were bare, which made hiding more knives difficult, but a shawl would look as if I had something to hide. My intention for tonight was to appear as innocent as possible.

I could bring my new sword though. It was a gift from Odin, and my reminder to him that I am his blood.

Today I’d play the gods. Act like nothing more than an infatuated goddess in love with her fiancé, hardly caring what happened to her sister. Let none notice when the shell of sweetness cracked and the monster stepped out.

I dusted rouge on my cheeks, spread deep red on my lips, left my chopped dark hair loose with a strand of gold hanging through it, and descended the steps of the temple to wait for Ve.

He showed up on cue—and by the gods—heshowed up.

Onyx hair tamed back into a curled bun, black suit left undone to reveal a bare chest, thick straps tight against his skin in a crossed pattern, holding an array of knives. A wide shield glittering red and gold on his back. A sly smile on his face like he knew what the sight of him was doing to me.

The role of innocent flirt would be my easiest one yet.

“My shield matches your dress.” He stepped from his chariot, where the two horses bowed their head to wait for their master’s command.

“It does.” I descended the stairs, letting him see how the flow of my skirt was no skirt at all, but two pant legs. At the bottom, I held one leg up. “Not a dress.”

His brow cocked. “That’s practical.”

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