Page 24 of Between Broomsticks and Beating Wings (Love X Magic #3)

Finally, we lost the raven thanks to Apple’s unnatural speed. The raven was faster than most, being one of Odin’s, but it soon tired, slowing to a point of no return. We were in the clear—for now.

We rode in relative silence, and I took that time to weigh my options, just as Rune had suggested.

Helheim. Asgard. Midgard. Maybe somewhere else entirely.

I hadn’t chosen up until this point, because I hadn’t thought what I wanted really mattered.

At the end of the day, I would end up wherever people weren’t either trying to have me or my cat killed.

If we could live unbothered and in peace, that was where I’d go.

Rune had ruled out Midgard when she said Tove couldn’t return, but I hadn’t given up hope we would find a god to allow his leave.

I wouldn’t hate returning. I had a life, after all, with clients and people who were probably worried sick thinking I’d been taken by raiders.

It was the only plausible answer, seeing as there was no body left behind.

I couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take for my neighbors to start picking apart my belongings, claiming what they wanted.

I thought of my box of flower bracelets, my sister’s drawings, runes scribbled onto birch bark, the pottery I’d spent days making.

I thought of all the ingredients for spells that had been collected over decades by three generations of seeresses.

I had to focus on my environment so the grief of imagining my belongings being stolen didn’t eat at me. It was then I noticed the area around us was getting suspiciously dark. We’d been traveling for a while now, but we were still a long ways away from sunset.

“What’s going on?” I asked Rune.

“We’re approaching the gate. Get ready to land soon,” she said, adjusting her hold on Apple’s reins. “We go on foot from here. I hope you like walking.”

I did indeed, and I was more than ready to sink my boots into soil.

I’d take a long trek on foot over flying any day of the week.

I was also more than ready to relieve my bladder.

I wasn’t about to admit that to Rune, though.

I’d been trying to ease up on her, but talking about my bodily fluids was next level comfort she hadn’t yet earned.

A stone archway appeared in the distance, the area around it drenched in darkness. I had to squint to make out its details.

“Why is it so dark by the gates?” I asked.

“It’s a warning we’re about to leave Asgard,” she said, leaning in so close, I could feel her hair tangle with mine in the breeze. “A signal to turn around and go back the way you came. We’ll be landing here. Hold on.”

Rune pushed her hands forward, and Apple began to descend, thankfully more graceful this time. No screams were ripped from my lips, even if the tingles in my belly were still present.

When Apple’s hooves hit the grass beneath us, I let out a little sigh of relief.

Before we could get moving again, I detached Tove and myself from her saddle and leapt off her back.

Not caring if we were meant to ride the rest of the way there on her, I experienced far too much relief to have my feet on the ground once more.

“Where are you going?” Rune called out as I strayed from her and her pegasus.

“Uh, I need to do…mortal things,” I admitted, trying my hardest not to feel embarrassed by something so natural that quite literally all animals did, humans included. Being reliant on something always felt like a weakness, and I still wasn’t inclined to show her mine.

Rune’s lips quirked, and she motioned her head to a cluster of nearby bushes. “Go ahead, mortal.” As I began walking toward the bushes, leaving Tove behind on the lush grass, Rune spoke from behind me, her tone tainted with amusement. “You should know…it’s not an act exclusive to your kind.”

My embarrassment grew, and I felt ridiculous for believing otherwise.

I didn’t respond, resuming my walk to the bushes shrouded in shadow.

Crouching behind them, I took care of matters while trying to fight the eerie messages of the biting wind that seemed to be getting more intense by the minute.

The whispers in the wind wrapped around my connection to universal energies like a waking vision.

They warned me to turn back, to forget about this place.

As I searched for a clean leaf, I secured my mental wards to block out the unnecessary warnings.

They were there to ward people away from unintentionally leaving Asgard, but there was nothing unintentional about our journey.

When I finished, I wandered back over to the others, darkness falling upon my shoulders like a heavy blanket.

We hadn’t even made it to the path between realms, and an uncomfortable prickle already ran up my spine.

My gaze landed on Rune, where she brushed Apple’s gorgeous mane as the winged creature refueled on oats.

I guess I wasn’t the only one around here with weaknesses—not that I would ever harm the pegasus to get at the valkyrie.

Animal abuse was a hard line for me, and I was kidding myself if I even thought I was a match for Apple.

She would stomp on me for looking at her wrong and happily feast on the snacks I’d smuggled from áma and stashed in my pockets.

The woman had been secretly feeding me in her incantation chamber so I didn’t fall ill after living on nothing but hot barley for days.

We’d both let Rune think she was still punishing me for her sleeping arrangements, since she’d never believe áma would allow food in her sacred room.

I’d managed to break the Asgardian within three days.

“Ready?” I asked as I approached Rune. She glanced up from Apple’s mane and nodded swiftly. “Good. I’ll be walking from here on out.”

Rune nodded once more, not fighting me like I’d expected. I wonder if she did that for Apple’s sake.

“Just don’t listen to the whispers,” Rune said, remounting her companion.

“Oh, I can’t hear them anymore,” I said with a shrug as I started walking toward the gate.

Rune glanced down at me with a furrowed brow. “You can’t?”

“Nope. I enforced my mental shields to block out universal messages,” I stated simply, tuning into the hollow space within my mind once more to ensure they hadn't weaseled their way back in.

Just me and my internal voice.

“You…can do that?” Rune asked.

“Yeah. Can’t you?” A leaf crunched under my boot, bringing a soft smile to my face—the sound reminded me of home.

“No,” she admitted with a frown.

“Well, did you try?” I asked.

“No, but I think I’d know if I had the ability to block them out. Even my seidr has its limits.”

I was honestly surprised she owned up to having limitations at all. I thought she had far too much pride for such admissions.

“Hmm, well, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m not about to turn around any time soon,” I said.

Rune frowned again. “Is this something áma taught you?”

“No. Why?” I asked.

“Because your Midgard seidr shouldn’t work here. It’s of another realm, and I didn’t think your power was strong enough to stretch across the worlds.”

“The gods’ seidr can,” I pointed out.

Rune snorted. “Are you comparing yourself to one of the gods?”

“No,” I chuckled. I was growing more confident in my new abilities, but I was no goddess.

It would be blasphemous to pretend otherwise.

“I’m just pointing out that it’s possible.

I’ve been reading that scroll you gave me on seidr of the underworld.

It’s quite fascinating, and I find the spells written across its pages far easier to craft than the ones in my notes on Midgard. ”

Rune remained quiet for a moment as she took this new information.

I debated not telling her, but she was proving to be a worthwhile travel companion so far, and it might bite me in the ass later if I keep my growing skills from her.

If anything, her knowledge of my seidr may make her take me more seriously, make her look at me like I was more than a simple village girl.

Rune broke her silence and said, “If our conversions with Hel go well, I’ll seek permission to enter the area where she keeps her history. If we can copy some spells over from her scrolls, it may aid in discovering what else you’re capable of.”

“There’s a big ‘if’ within that plan,” I pointed out.

“But, I’ll admit, I’d love to get my hands on her scrolls.

I can’t imagine the spells she has access to.

Sure, she’s the Goddess of Death, and I may kill myself attempting her spells, but could you imagine if I were capable of achieving even one of them? ”

“Her curse does live within you. Maybe it’s not so far-fetched to believe you have a larger tie to Helheim than we originally thought. You were born with her curse, a seed of her power growing inside you over the past three decad?—”

“Two decades,” I corrected. “And seven tenths.” I muttered the last part under my breath.

“For almost three decades,” Rune said, shooting me a look.

I suppose she viewed age as a positive, a source of power.

For mortals, on the other hand, getting older meant failing bodies and decreased power, even if our place in society was more secure.

“Anyway, you may find her hold on you increases when we enter Helheim, so be prepared for that possibility.”

I thought about it, wondering how it would feel to be under the goddess’ thumb in such a way.

I guess I had been my whole life, fear of my own face keeping me from living a standard way, not to mention the spirits that haunted me over the years.

The least I’d ever felt Hel’s curse was in Asgard, but that only made sense, seeing as her seidr was weakened in a place ruled by the Allfather.

Who knew what would happen when we reached Hel.

Rune was right, though, because I had to be prepared for the possibility of my curse returning upon my exit from Asgard.

Who knew—once we made it to Hel, I could very well acquire more symptoms of the curse than merely rotting eyes and the ability to see the dead.

My stomach knotted at this knowledge, but as I stared at the stone gates quickly approaching, I forced my fears down, crushing them under my boots.

“We’re here,” Rune breathed. I glance up at her, a mix of anticipation and curiosity fighting for space within my body to replace the fear I was trying to banish.

“Well, here goes nothing,” I said, swallowing hard as I took one step under the stone arch.

I reached up toward the swirling iron gates, yanking on one, then the other, until there was a space large enough for Apple to walk through.

Gripping the cold metal in my clutches, I waited for Rune to enter first. It was so dark here, I could see nothing on the other side of the gate, and I wasn’t so sure about stepping into the unknown first.

“If you want to remain on the ground, take this,” Rune said, handing me Apple’s reins. “Give me Tove. It’s best if we all stay together, and you’re about to lose all your senses. You won’t be able to feel it in your hand, but whatever you do, don’t let go.”

I handed Tove to Rune as I processed what she’d said. She placed the squirming boy between her legs and clipped him to Apple’s armor.

“I’m going to lose my what?” I asked, but Apple stepped forward into the darkness before I got my clarification.

I felt a tug on Apple’s reins as she was lost to the abyss, and if I didn’t want to fall behind, I needed to take that final step with her.

With a final deep and steadying breath, I submitted to the nothingness of the beyond, getting swallowed by a false night.