Page 32 of Elf Shot

"Oh that. Yeah, just research stuff. It's fine."

Layla let Bayn go, picked up Arne's swords, and slid her arms through the holsters so they sat on her back. Bayn helped her adjust the leather straps so they sat snugly between her shoulder blades, before helping her put her pack on over the top of them.

"How is it? Too heavy? Because I can look after the swords," he said.

"No, they are fine. I'm used to having a heavy pack."

Ciara scoffed. "It's because she always overpacks and carries all her girly face shit with her."

Layla flipped her off, but she still smiled. Her cousin giving her shit at least felt normal.

"Go get him, sis," Bayn said and kissed her forehead. He looked at Tor. "Watch out for them or I'll kick your fucking ass."

"You really think I'm more afraid of you than Arne?" Tor snorted and slung his pack over one shoulder. "Just be ready for our return, frostling. And maybe take a step back."

Tor took the wooden stave from Layla and held it out in front of him. Layla's skin tingled with magic as he began to chant. The tiny runes on the stave began to glow with a pale blue light, and then the apartment around them fell away.

Layla's knees buckled as they landed on a wooden platform. Soft, silvery lights glowed in the thick branches above them. What she had mistaken for a platform was a wide thick branch.

"Welcome to the Heart of Yggdrasil," Tor said, giving Layla back the wooden stave. "Watch your step because if you fall off the path, fuck knows where you will end up."

"How do you know where to go?" Ciara asked cautiously. There were narrower branches veering off, pathways leading to doors and others into nothing but sky and stardust. Magic hung so heavily in the air, it made Layla feel drowsy.

"I've been here with Arne and Alruna when they have needed to travel fast and secretively. Not many beings can make it here to the heart, and we wouldn't have gotten this far without Alruna's token. The elves and wolves are always watching the portals in Finnmark, so going this way means that we are unseen leaving and returning," Tor explained.

He led them along the path and down to a set of archways made from branches. Runes were carved into the wood unlike anything Layla had ever seen. Each door seemed to pulse with a different kind of energy, and she wished Charlotte were with them. She would know exactly what it all meant.

"These ones will take us through to Svartalfheim," Tor said, pointing to four doors. Wrapped into their branches were small chunks of onyx, silver, gold, and ruby.

"North, south, east, west?" Ciara guessed, studying the doors.

Tor gave her a surprised smile. "That's right. The only question is which to take. Alruna didn't get an opportunity to subtly get out of Brök where the stronghold was."

"Vestri Mountains," Layla said, and they both turned to stare at her. She didn't want to explain her spontaneous trip to yell at the All-Father. "When I was doing Vili research, I went through every myth I could find in Kian's library. I was there to keep David company, so I had a lot of time to read. There was a story that mentioned Vili building a fortress in the Vestri Mountains."

"It's a good enough lead for me. West it is," Tor said, though his eyes were studying her closely. Layla hoped he couldn't smell the lie.

The Ulfheðnar were the All-Father's elite warriors, so telling Tor how she not only had the audacity to track down Havi's holiday house and then yell at him probably wasn't the best of ideas.

Tor walked to one of the archways and placed his palm on a rune. Instantly, the space between it flared with light and a forest glade came into view.

"Ladies first," he said with a wink. "I have to keep my hand on the rune to keep the door open, Wolf Slayer, so stop glaring at me."

Ciara unsheathed one of her daggers. "Me first, Layla." She crossed through before Layla could stop her.

"She's a real charmer, your cousin," Tor grumbled.

"I know. Lucky she's so pretty to make up for it, right?" Layla teased before stepping through the archway.

Magic sucked at her skin, and for a moment she felt like she was suspended in thin air. The ground rose up to meet her, and she stepped into a cool afternoon in Svartalfheim. Ciara was guarding the portal, her eyes scanning the trees and the sky.

"Two moons," she said, pointing. Layla turned to see a crescent moon rising from the east, and a full moon rising up from the west.

"So cool!" she exclaimed. Tor came through the portal, and then it shut with a burst of light.

"The moons are rising, so we have about two hours of light left," he said, studying the sky. "Your choice, Layla. We can stay here, or get ground covered."

"Let's walk. I need to work off some jitters from all the magic. Which way are we heading?"

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