Page 56 of Between Broomsticks and Beating Wings (Love X Magic #3)

“Damn cat. You won’t be laughing when I tell Apple to throw you off her back,” Rune muttered, trying to collect herself and yanking the hem of her dress out from underneath a frazzled Rayna.

“You would never,” I said with one final, belly-disrupting laugh.

Rayna climbed to her feet, giving me space to help Rune do the same.

I brushed her ass with one of my tender hands while I supported her with the other.

She grumbled something about needing to find some high breeches while she adjusted her crooked bust.

Rune took a wide berth around the feline-filled basket, scowling at my sinister boy as she did.

I wouldn’t say anything to him now, but I was going to find a way to get the two of them to care for each other just as I cared for them.

The constant hissing and threats used to bring me much satisfaction, but I’m not sure how much longer they could go on.

I wasn’t willing to lose either one of them if they couldn’t figure out how to get along on their own.

Rayna sauntered away from us, completely unaffected, though I noticed Rune had a slight hobble to her step.

Maybe I shouldn’t have laughed after all.

I’d forgotten Rune wasn't as resilient as she’d once been; she was vulnerable and very much human now.

Muttering a quiet apology so her sister couldn’t hear, I checked Rune’s elbows for scrapes.

I wanted to be able to laugh and know the fall did little to wound her, inside or out, but until she was inducted into the sisterhood once more, every fall, every scratch was going to be a reminder of what had been taken from her.

Before I brought too much attention to the matter, I stole a quick kiss and then made off to place some of my ingredients and belongings in the basket with Tove.

When I had everything I needed, I grabbed my light furs from the back of the chair closest to the door, then motioned to the other two women that I was ready to go.

Rune and Rayna shuffled out of the room and into one of Sessrúmnir’s endless halls. The moon claimed the sky, so the torches lining the halls were needed as we made our way through them.

“Where are we off to?” I finally asked when Rayna gave no indication of our destination outside of telling me we were on our way to see Odr’s belongings.

“His chamber,” Rayna said. I swore I could feel the color drain from my face, as if it had been my very lifeforce.

“His what?” I asked. “The god of inspiration and frenzy’s what ?”

Rayna gave me a sidelong glance.

“Oh, don’t tell me this doesn’t faze you,” Kari said. “You may be an attendant to the gods, but I highly doubt you’ve ever been where they sleep. You don’t offer that kind of assistance.”

Rune chuckled and elbowed her sister. “She’s got a point. Unless things drastically changed after I left.”

“Okay, fine,” Rayna said, straightening her spine and pushing back loose strands of gold and white hair. A smile crept onto her otherwise stony facade. “It’s kind of cool.”

“Admitting you think something is cool? I’m never going to let you live this down,” I said with a throaty chuckle. Rayna rolled her eyes and continued down the hall.

As we drew closer, more guards and valkyries filled the halls to ward off anyone not permitted in the quarters of the gods.

I took in every detail as we walked, from the tapestries and paintings to the carved statues depicting Freyja and Odr’s daughters.

Hnoss and Gersemi were captivating women from what I could tell, which only made sense, seeing as they were the goddesses of beauty and treasure.

“Should I be concerned?” Rune asked as she caught me staring at them a little too long, my head continuing to their statues even after we’d passed.

“Yes, you know, I’ve been meaning to tell you…I’m leaving you for a slab of stone,” I jested, poking her side. Rune’s shoulders rocked slightly, but she didn’t let out her suppressed chuckle as we passed a set of guards, maintaining a level of professionalism I didn’t yet have.

“Let’s go, you two,” Rayna said, waving us forward to where she held open a door.

I entered the room first, but when Rune tried to enter, Rayna held up her arm to not let her pass.

“I’m afraid Kari needs to do this on her own.

Our presence will only serve to distract and confuse her seidr. It’s for the best if Odr is the only force she can sense. ”

My mouth gaped, but I allowed my lips to close softly. My head bobbed in understanding, and when Rune found my eyes and saw my nod, she backed away from Rayna’s outstretched arm.

“Kari, I’ll be standing guard for the entirety of your stay.

I’ll only be a knock away if you need anything, be it food, drink, incantation oils, you name it.

Freyja has given you full access to her husband's quarters. Nothing is off limits,” Rayna said, her eyes widening slightly, as if she too had a hard time wrapping her mind around such a task.

Free roam of a god’s quarters? Who knew getting struck by an arrow would allow me such privileges.

“Thank you, Rayna.” I tapped my foot on the impressive stone floor a few times, and just as the valkyrie moved to close the door, I said, “Maybe…you can help Rune come up with an appropriate offering for Freyja while you both wait. You know the goddess far better than we do. If being in here aids me in understanding where Odr has gone, we’re going to need plans prepared to secure Rune’s position. ”

Rayna glanced from me to Rune. She then nodded once, and the door shut, leaving me alone in the gilded room.

The place was dusty and devoid of human touch, but I could tell it once was a well-loved space.

The walls were covered in paintings and various art, even more so than the halls.

Everything about Odr’s quarters was over the top, as if it had been frantically put together in a burst of inspiration.

In the corner, by the window, sat a large wooden easel holding a stretched linen canvas.

The painting had been interrupted, and the pigments he’d been using were now dried up.

I ran my finger over the neglected boar's brush that had never been rinsed.

It was hardened, with bent bristles, as if the god of frenzy had been pressing upon his canvas far too hard.

The strange strokes caught my attention as I realized they were glistening.

When my fingers made contact, nothing lifted off the dried painting.

I leaned in closer, noticing the unique colors appeared wet due to the opalescent pieces crushed into them.

I glanced at the metal tray holding his pigments, noticing one of the jars was empty, scraped clean.

Muttering to myself, I pulled the easel into the center of the bedchamber to give me more room.

I disturbed Tove as I began pulling objects from within my basket.

He hopped out and dove toward a cluster of dust creatures hidden under a nearby bench.

I shook my head at my little gremlin. Then, one by one, I placed candles in a circle around the easel.

Once they were all set, I lit them with my seidr, forgoing flint.

The tracking spell was one áma had taught me in case I lost Rune during our travels.

At the time, I never thought I’d eventually use it to find a god.

The spell would only help me locate Odr if he was in the same world as I was, but if I could determine if he was still in Asgard, it was a start. I wanted to be able to give Freyja useful information as soon as humanly possible, even if it wasn’t the precise location she was looking for.

Stepping in the candlelit circle, I ensured my dress didn’t become a victim of the flame.

In my unclasped palm sat my favorite divination tool.

I dangled the calibrated pendulum in front of the unfinished painting, the stone swaying gently from the leather strip I held.

A tool just like this was used in Midgard to help me make decisions locked within my mind, ones that I may not have been completely aware of.

But leaving my realm, I’d learned that through my underworld seidr, I was able to tap into the gods to get the answers I sought.

Being in a place so tainted by Odr, I was hoping his lingering essence would help me understand what happened here, where he’d gone.

Testing out the pendulum’s calibration, I started with a simple question I already knew the answer to. Into the stuffy air of the room, I asked, “Am I in Asgard?” The stone’s swaying pattern was disrupted by a circular motion from east to west.

Yes.

Satisfied with the answer, I moved on to the harder questions. “Is Odr here in Asgard?” The pendulum maintained its rhythm, so I repeated my question with different wording. “Is Odr in the same realm as me?” The pendulum swung in a diagonal motion from the southwest to the northeast.

No.

I sighed at the response, though I had to say, I wasn’t all that surprised.

Glancing around at the candles I lit, I realized I wasn’t going to get an exact location if he wasn’t in the same realm as me.

I considered going down the list of realms and asking the pendulum if he was in each of them, but I knew it wouldn’t be of any use.

“Hmm…” I trailed off, an idea blossoming in my mind. I took in the easel and the brushes. “Did Odr leave in a hurry?”

Yes.

I glanced around the ornate room at what other clues I could’ve missed. It was possible he hadn’t planned this journey at all. “Was Odr taken against his will?”

No.

“Not taken against his will, but he left in a hurry all the same,” I murmured to myself, tapping my foot on the floor. “Will Odr come back to Asgard?” I asked. The pendulum swung northwest to southeast.

Unknown.

I asked a few more variations of the same question, hoping the problem was with the way I’d asked, not the question itself, but I received the same unhelpful answer each time.

Realizing this pendulum had reached its limit, I curled it back into my fist. I left the candles lit as I left the circle, exploring the god’s chamber.

From his belongings alone, I could tell he was a god of chaos, and he certainly enjoyed living in euphoric splendor.

I’d thrown more than my fair share of objects down after realizing what they were intended for.

Wiping my hand down my dress, I moved toward his bed.

The quilt and furs were coated in a fine layer of dust, but I still lowered myself until my back hit the mattress.

I stared up at the painted ceiling, depictions of ecstasy decorating it in muted colors.

When I squinted hard enough, I realized the same man had been painted over and over in a myriad of erotic positions.

Familiarity struck me as I recalled the tapestry of Odr in the hall.

It was him. The god of inspiration was staring down at me with his dark eyes and long, chestnut hair. His beard was trimmed to perfection, even in the depiction of another man gripping it in his fist. My brows rose, and I shuddered as I caught a glimpse of what had been painted next to it.

This man is creative, to say the least.

As I settled in his bed, I closed my eyes and tried not to think about all that had occurred below me. His presence in this place was vibrant, and I held on to that bond, strengthening it as I tried to pull history that clung to the gilded walls.

My eyes flung open just as I realized I would find none of the answers I sought while in this waking world. I hopped out of the bed, startling an exploring orange feline. I muttered an apology as I sent a gust of wind to suffocate the still-lit candles.

My knuckles tapped against the main chamber door, ready for Rayna to open it. Rune wasn’t of much use to me standing around with her sister, but I had a task for her that could be more than useful.

Rayna’s face appeared in the doorway, and I used my fingers to pry it open enough for me to see Rune too.

“I need you,” I said to Rune over Rayna’s shoulder. “Not here, but in the mist.”