Page 45 of Between Broomsticks and Beating Wings (Love X Magic #3)

Glancing around, I found a large rug covering the stone ground, upon it a few padded seats and wooden tables.

The space was cozy, and a big part of me wanted to cuddle up with a glass of mead and settle in.

I craved relaxation. I craved true rest, the ability to drop all masks and armor.

It was exhausting being strong, being knowledgeable, being dependable all the time, even though these were things Kari needed of me.

They may have not been things she asked for per se, but we were living in this uncertain existence, and I feared if I wasn’t all these things, I would lose Kari to her own doubts and worries.

I knew Kari could handle way more than I was giving her credit for—she proved that today more than anything—but maybe I wanted to be strong so she didn’t have to be.

Maybe I wanted to be confident so she wouldn’t have to second guess.

Maybe I wanted to be dependable so Kari would see me as more than her captor, as more than the stranger who stole her death.

I sank into one of the seats, summoning a chalice of mead.

When I took my first sip, I heard a faint whisper coming from the hall.

I paused and listened for it again, wondering if I was going mad.

When I heard nothing, I let out a sigh and released the tension in my shoulders as I took another sip.

The fruity flavor tingled my taste buds, and I relished the familiar feel.

I’d had no intentions of giving up my revelry, but since I’d met Kari, I felt I couldn’t indulge due to the sheer weight on my shoulders.

Maybe I didn’t feel the need to as much as before.

“Rune…” the voice whispered to me again, and again I straightened, listening for where that sound had come from. Before, it had been a faint noise, but this time, I distinctly heard my own name echoed through the cavern. I set my chalice down and swung around to look behind me.

“Who’s there?” I asked into the empty room.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know.” The distorted voice laughed wickedly, sending a wave of chills up my arms. I stood, no longer craving relaxation.

All thoughts of letting loose fled my mind.

I faced the back of the cavern but quickly chanced a look over my shoulder, debating if I should turn back and find Kari.

Do I really want to lead the voice to her? Maybe they’ve already found her.

The hairs on the back on my neck rose, and I placed my hand over the hilt of my sword.

“Oh, now, now. You don’t need that silly little weapon.

It won’t do much good,” the voice called, followed by an odd fluttering sound.

When I realized the voice was coming from the tunnel, I darted into it, but there was still no one there.

I followed the sounds of the mysterious beacon, wondering if I was an idiot for potentially falling into an obvious trap.

When I rounded the corner and made it back to the main cavern, I realized the sound had dissipated all together. A few skalds with scrolls in their hands looked to me, then to my sword, and I retreated with a grunt.

When I was back in the cozy cavern, now tainted by the unsettled feeling inside me, I began running my fingers along the walls to look for a hidden compartment or room. It wasn’t until I reached the back that I noticed my hand sliding right through the stone and false flame.

Looks like there’s more than one illusion around here.

I walked through the false wall, and I found myself in an ornate bedchamber, gold clinging to every surface. By the bed sat a wooden arch, and perched on that arch, a crow.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

“Oh, relax,” the crow said with a devious laugh. “I’m not here for the mortal. I’m here for you.”

“Show your true form,” I said, my chin lowering slightly. It wasn’t a bow, but if I was going to demand anything of him, I certainly wasn't going to do it looking down upon him.

“Only because you’re my favorite…” The bird began to shimmer. “Or so you were.” When it finished its sentence, the figure was no longer a bird, but a man. A god.

“Odin,” I breathed, my knees bending in respect.

The stone bit into my armor, but I wouldn’t rise until he released me.

I had a feeling he was going to keep me down here for as long as he liked.

It was the mildest of punishments he could inflict on me, and I’d be lucky if it ended there. The chances of that were slim to none.

“Look at me,” the Allfather demanded, and I didn’t hesitate.

He was draped in white and gold, as always, his beard impeccably groomed, his white hair flowing behind him as if it had a life of his own.

A black eye patch was tied around his head to hide that he’d sacrificed one in the pursuit of knowledge.

He wasn’t a beautiful man, but he had an aura that made the air in my lungs flee. The very sight of him made me want to bend to his will, do anything he said, and thank him for it. It was the only reason I wouldn’t rise, not until he asked me to.

“Ah, there you are. I have to say, Rune, I haven’t been this disappointed in one of my attendants in the past century. Stealing a mortal? What were you thinking?”

“I’m sorry, Allfather.”

“I’m sure you are. However, that isn’t much of an explanation, now, is it?

What is your plan with the mortal? Why did you bring her to the mist?

And why are you here now?” he asked in his familiar, booming voice.

He rarely directed this tone at me, though, and I had to hold back a flinch.

I’d show him my respect but never my fear.

“Have you been hiding from me, my sweet soul collector?”

“I couldn’t help myself,” I said through gritted teeth, because he’d know if I was trying to deceive him.

“I didn’t want to see her die, because I knew if she did, she’d be taken to Helheim, not Valhalla.

It was a selfish lapse in judgement, not something I’d planned out in rebellion against you.

And yes, father, I took her to the mist so your crows couldn’t follow. ”

“Mmm…” He contemplated my words, all true. I wouldn’t give him any more reason to mistrust me. There was far too much to lose. “And after sparing her to avoid Helheim, why are you here now?”

“When we were in the mist, I discovered the mortal was given a morsel of Hel’s seidr upon birth, as were her mother and various ancestors. I brought her here to better understand why.”

“I see,” he said with a slow nod, stroking his perfect beard.

“The mortal is free to remain here, if that’s Hel’s wish.

That’s her concern, and I will not intervene.

You, however, are my concern. It greatly pains me to take this action, but I can no longer trust your instincts, and if I cannot trust you, you have no further use for me. ”

My heart all but stopped, and it felt like millennia were ticking by as I waited for his next words.

Is he going to kill me? Banish me from Valhalla? Turn me into a horse?

“Rune Dragomir, you shall keep your life, but not your title. You are hereby stripped from your position within the House of Wings. You are no longer a valkyrie, and you are no longer my attendant. Enjoy your mortality, and may it be swift.”

The armor secured around my leathers began to heat, parts of it already dripping to the floor. I looked down at myself and back to Odin, his singular eye glittering with satisfaction as he destroyed the only thing left of my title.

No, no, NO!

I didn’t move, didn’t scream or try to strip down out of the melting metal. I stood frozen despite the heat, staring at the god I’d once thought was everything.

Liquid gold pooled at my feet, and I watched as every detail Nori had painstakingly crafted turned into unrecognizable blobs.

There was nothing left of the armor on my body, save for the shimmering residue trailing my ruined leathers.

Even the weapons I’d strapped to my hips, back, and thighs were but a memory, and I grit my teeth as I saw the leather grip of my favorite dagger on the floor.

I’d never been so hollow, so raw, and the overwhelming feeling of nothingness was almost enough to distract me from the immortality leaching from my bones.