Page 8 of Her World In His Hands

A deep sense of doom shrouded her as she waited for him to continue.

“My punishment was to take part in a line up with other Gods, our identity was cloaked. A giantess has been wronged by a God who had killed her father. She approached Odin, and by way of appeasement he decreed that she could choose a God to wed, but that she must select him by seeing only his feet, and, and…”

“She chose you,” she said flatly, finishing the sentence for him.

He nodded. They stood and stared at one another and then he moved towards her. She didn’t want him to touch her, but he drew her like a magnet. She found herself in his arms clinging to him. “Can’t you defy Odin?” she asked, hating how desperate her plea sounded.

“He told me that if I don’t make an effort to make the marriage work with Skadi… ”

“Yes?”

“He threatened to annihilate you.”

“Annihilate … As inkill me?”

His arms tightened protectively about her. “Yes … Sassa, I am so sorry. I’ve handled this badly and broken both our hearts, but I promise you that as soon as I can walk away from Skadi I will. I shall find you.”

“I’ll be long dead.” Bitterness flooded her heart.

“I don’t know. You ate from the tree of immortality. I did some research and discovered your grandmother had an affair with a God which might mean that you are immortal.”

She pushed away from him. “What? If I cannot have you then I don’t want to be immortal and spend forever alone!” she cried in horror. “And what do you mean my grandmother had an affair with a God, what God?”

“Breeda spent several months with the God Heimdall. Your mother may have been a result of that fling, which means when you ate from the tree of life it probably bestowed you with full immortality.”

She paled. “No, no, no, I cannot live forever… You have to do something! Ask Odin to reverse the effects, or cast a-a spell!”

“He does not have the inclination to do that,” Njord explained, shaking his head sorrowfully.

“You think I’ll liveforever?” Tremors began in her chest. Her legs began to quake. She felt sick.

“I do,” he replied, “but I can bestow wealth, it is one of my gifts. I shall leave you with enough to keep you in comfort for perpetuity, and when I can leave Skadi I shall return to you, Sassa, and we shall spend the rest of eternity together.”

Her throat clogged with rage; how could he have been sostupid? She’d warned him to stay away from giantesses. “You are a God, aGod, Njord! You are supposed to make good judgements. I warned you about giantesses, and I trusted you to make sure we could be together! I wish I’d never laid eyes on you, get away, go! Run back to your future wife; I hope she makes you thoroughly miserable!” Her voice rose to a shriek and she turned and ran from him into her house and slammed the door.

Although she knew that as a God, Njord could simply appear inside her dwelling, she hoped he would respect her privacy, it seemed she was wrong because there he was stood in the center of the room.

“I’m heartbroken too, and so very sorry, my dear heart. Sassa, keep the Amber brooch I gave you close, through that I will always be able to find you. For a few years I dare not risk Odin’s wrath by visiting you, but after a while I am sure he will relent and I will come to you.”

“No! No! No! I will not wait around for crumbs from your table! Go away, leave me! I’ve been such a fool! Everyone knows the Gods use people for their own ends… I want you to leave before my rage evokes Loki or worse Odin. Go, Njord!” she screamed.

He vanished, leaving behind a domed-lid wooden chest. Sassa stared at it numbly, her earlier tremors turned to shivers which shook her slight frame. Staggering to the curtained bed, she collapsed there, curling into a ball. Wrapping her arms about her chest she hugged herself and rocked. A strange keening sound filled the room, it took her a while to identify the fact it was her own grief.

The following day she went and stood at the fjord edge and stared across the water; how long she stood there for she had no idea. Bringing her closed fist to her face she opened her palm and stared down at the amber brooch. Lifting her hand, she drew back her arm and threw the bauble into the water then turned back toward her house.

CHAPTERFOUR

Present day…

“The New Yorkorder has quadrupled. Since S.H.E is doing really well in the states, I think we could cut back on the advertising budget,” Paige said.

Sassa tapped her pen against her bottom lip thoughtfully. “My sources tell me to keep up the blanket advertising for at least another month then we can cut back.” No need to explain to her head of advertising that her source was in fact her own second sight.

“You’re the boss,” Paige replied cheerfully. “I’ll keep you informed. Our front investor, Nick Godden wants to meet up with you in the next few days. Would you prefer to meet him in Inverness?”

“Hmm, no, ask him to come out to the house for lunch, the day after tomorrow would be good if that suits him. I want this finalized as soon as possible. Thanks, Paige.” She clicked off Zoom and swiveled around in her desk chair to gaze out of the window. The purple heather was blooming in the Scottish Highlands, and her home office offered a fabulous view of Urquhart Castle and the mountains beyond. Situated on the banks of Loch Ness, her manor house was her home and her solace.

After a woeful year of grieving for Njord when she’d even considered suicide, she’d finally accepted her immortality and moved into the village. The son of the local Jarl had noticed her beauty and come a courting. Sassa had agreed to marry the handsome Viking on a rebound from her relationship with Njord, and yet the union had been a surprisingly happy one. After a year she’d confessed her previous relationship with a God to him, without revealing which one. Magnar had been more than happy to receive the trunk of gold and silver coin which never seemed to run dry. They’d been blessed with three sons and a daughter. The Jarl had ordered his son across the sea to settle the land of the Picts, a country which offered a better climate and good land. Sassa and their children crossed the sea to join her husband, and here she’d remained until present day in the land now known as Scotland.

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