Page 6 of Between Broomsticks and Beating Wings (Love X Magic #3)

CHAPTER FOUR

APPLES FOR APPLE

Rune

R ayna and I snuck toward a large iron door, careful not to alert our house mother, Asta, to our late departure.

Asta had been enduring my antics for over a century, and I wouldn’t have had any gripes about continuing in my ways if not for Rayna.

Rayna cared deeply about her duty and how people such as Asta looked down upon her and cast their judgment.

She lived for praise and pride and wouldn’t allow my behavior to impact her ability to become one of the most valuable soul collectors in the House of Wings.

Rayna hadn’t been chosen by Odin for the Valhalla sect of the House of Wings like I’d been long ago.

She, like most valkyries, was selected initially by one of the four other sects.

In most cases, valkyries must provide invaluable service for decades—centuries—before they capture Odin’s attention.

Only then would he advocate for a transfer of houses and take them under his metaphorical wing.

A house transfer was a rare thing, and Rayna had done it after only one year of service in Freyja’s sect in Fólkvangr.

The time it took for her to catch Odin’s attention was unheard of, and the day she was sworn into his sect, she rewrote history.

Reaching for the iron door’s handle, I didn’t care if I alerted the whole realm.

Rayna shot me a look that demanded I behave, and, just as my fingers brushed the cool metal, I reduced my strength, dragging down the handle with maddening slowness.

Once the two of us were safely on the other side, into the tunnels lit by nothing but torches anchored to the wall, Rayna released a breath.

“Thank you.” She squeezed my forearm, her eyes locked eagerly on the base of the tunnel—a black void that led to a field of stars.

“Same time tomorrow?” I asked, a laugh hidden somewhere within my shrouded voice. She shot me a glare, one side of her face illuminated by candlelight, the other half lost to the darkness.

Winding through the tunnels didn’t take long, as our muscles memorized the way long ago.

The path was a direct shortcut built under the House of Wings for emergencies, though to my younger sister, being late was an emergency.

The rest of our sisters traveled to the fields above ground, but that required leaving the front door and walking right past Asta’s chambers—so the tunnels it was.

When a sparkle of moonlight blessed our vision, we knew we were in the right place.

Rayna climbed up the ladder first, leaving me alone in the darkness.

Maybe I hesitated each night, my boots lingering on dirt floors, because the silence, the peace, was my hidden pleasure.

When Rayna called down for me, I raised my chin, shook off my growing doubt, and ascended the ladder.

Rayna tipped back her head and audibly sucked in midnight air, releasing her breath back into the dark sky littered with twinkling stars.

I joined in, expelling the stale tunnel air from my lungs and replacing it with crisp, Asgardian oxygen.

I swore the air here was intoxicating. Odin's Hall was one thing, shiny and marvelous, but the rest of Asgard was glorious mountains, breathtaking fjords, and air so fresh, it rivaled berry mead.

“Let’s go!” Rayna’s pointer finger found the sky, and she began running as two large figures suddenly nosedived in our direction. But she wasn’t running away from the looming feathered beings. No, she was running toward them.

The being with dusty charcoal feathers and hair—long and obsidian—opened its muzzle and let out an irritated chuff.

She dipped down close to the grassy meadow, but her hooves never touched down.

That didn’t stop Rayna. Using her well trained muscles, she launched herself into the air and grabbed hold of the pegasus’ harness, squeezing her calves around her midsection.

The winged horse didn’t wait for the valkyrie to adjust herself before she shot back into the sky.

Showoff. I muttered, then spun to see where the other pegasus had disappeared to. A white streak through the sky stole my attention. I brought two fingers to my lips and, with a loud, pointed whistle, called her over.

The creature dove to meet me. Her landing, while graceful, caused air to whoosh around her massive wings, sending a hit of oxygen up my nose, sobering me a little more.

When her black hooves graced the flattened grasses, I reached up for her bridle and directed her face toward me.

Her soft, putty-like chin found my palm, then her curious lips nipped me.

“I don’t think so,” I said. “Apples after Midgard, not before. You know the rules.”

The pegasus let out a disappointed huff, pulling her head from my hands, then showing me her rear.

“Come on… Rayna and Gunhild are probably already at the Bifrost Bridge by now. You know how they get when we keep them waiting too long.”

She cranked her head backward to look at me, her top lip flaring.

“You’re impossible.” I said, tossing an apple up into the air. She caught it with her front teeth, and as she began munching on the fruit, she adjusted herself so I could climb on. Hoisting myself up, I swung my leg over her in one swift movement. “Let’s go!”

Epli, or Apple, as I liked to call her, launched herself into the sky, up through a cluster of puffy white clouds.

I cursed her under my breath, yet I knew better than to open my mouth so high into the air.

As punishment, I caught a bug that hit the back of my throat with the force of an arrow.

With a quick cough and a sharp turn, Apple and I headed toward the Bifrost.

Apple was the pegasus no one wanted. Year after year, no one bonded to her.

They said she was too unpredictable, impossible to tame, and the first pegasus in history that had no real interest in war.

At a time that I, myself, cared much for war and glory, I still felt a pull toward her.

Her beauty had almost caught her a few potential matches, but I was the first one she hadn’t thrown off her pristine white back laced with golden feathers.

What everyone else had failed to miss was that Epli needed to be bribed.

After 604 years riding together, she still required payment…

in the form of apples. What she lacked discipline, she made up for it in more ways than her beauty.

Firstly, she was fast. Rayna’s pegasus, Gunhild, knew this, which was why she never landed and made Rayna work to mount her—not that Rayna ever minded showing off her skills.

The two of them were a match made in Valhalla.

Both fierce, both focused, and both wildly competitive.

As Apple and I began to approach the Bifrost, it was impossible to miss the way the bridge, made of pure, colorful light, lit up the entire night sky like an exploding star.

The Bifrost shot beams of light across the sky from red to indigo, forming the perfect illusion of a rainbow.

It was not created of sunlight and rain, but Odin’s powerful seidr. The bridge was made for gods, valkyries, and sometimes even the dead to travel the realms at the speed of the rainbow light itself.

I saw Rayna on the back of her strong pegasus, hovering over the bridge, staring off into the trails of color that bled into the night sky.

The sight was magnificent, and I wondered if her position over the Bifrost each night was the same as the moments I stole in the cool, dark tunnels beneath the House of Wings—a moment to be alone and cherish the utter silence of your own company.

Interrupting my sister’s peace, I yelled out into the rainbow sky, “I imagine Bodil has already collected ten souls by now! How long do you think it will take you to double her numbers?”

“It’s not about the quantity, Rune, but about the quality! You taught me that.”

“I did, didn’t I?” I said as Apple flew next to Gunhild. She gave her a quick nudge as we approached.

“The sisters will learn not to get caught up in the high of selecting souls soon enough. Once they figure out Odin is sending half their bounty right to Hel, they’ll take a moment to ponder whose soul it is they’re taking.”

That was the thing about Rayna. I could teach her all I wanted, and sure, the knowledge I’d collected over the years helped her stay in Odin’s good graces, despite being associated so heavily with me, but what no one but the gods and us knew was that Odin admired how picky Rayna was.

He loved that Rayna only brought the fiercest warriors back to Valhalla—the ones with the most meaningful deaths.

Just like the sister’s got high from taking souls, I believed Odin was fueled by his halls being filled with the souls who brought him the most glory.

Rayna’s selections often offered him exactly what he needed most.

The difference between me and Rayna, compared to the rest of the sisters, was that we knew all you needed was a few amazing warriors each night to tide Odin over.

He didn’t care for the runners, the whimperers, or the ones who feared their deaths.

We knew when we looked into the souls of the people on the battlefield who exactly he’d be sending to Freyja and her realm, Fólkvangr.

If I were to indulge in my nightly obsessions, it meant my efficiency on the battlefield needed to be without flaw.

If I wanted to hang back, letting the souls I’d collected wait while I lingered on Midgard, those souls better be the best on the battlefield.

If I wanted my passions to be hidden from the gods and my sisters, then I could never let them know I only spent a fraction of my night in the minds of the deceased, seeing their last moments and deciphering if they were worthy enough of Valhalla.