Page 60 of Between Broomsticks and Beating Wings (Love X Magic #3)

“We’re throwing a feast!” I said hastily, stooping to begin collecting our belongings from the grass below.

“Rayna can be responsible for the food, and, hopefully, Alvion still has some ale and mooncakes,” I said, my thoughts moving faster than my mouth could.

“Of course, Tove will serve as entertainment, since there’s hardly time to hire actors for a play.

Oh! Did you know Nori is quite talented on the harp?

Maybe we can get her to play something upbeat for us. ”

Kari put her hand on my forearm, and the distraction allowed me to take a much-needed breath. She let out a giggle, then nodded her head, sending her hair flying over her fur-lined shoulder, “Okay, okay! Let’s have a feast, then. I expect it to be the best you’ve ever had.”

“I’ve never attended a feast with you, seeress. Will you accompany me?”

“I will.”

“Well then, the festivities haven’t yet begun, but I already can attest that this will be the best I’ve ever had.”

“You’re such a flirt,” Kari said with a giggle, swatting my arm. “Don’t stop.”

I looped my arm into hers, a basket in the crook of my other arm. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Kari and I laughed and planned to our hearts’ content as we climbed the stairs to Sessrúmnir.

We were halfway to our room when Rayna called for us in the next hall.

Her voice wasn’t panicked, rather, controlled with an excitable inflection.

We rounded the corner to see my sister trudging toward us, a wide grin on her face.

“Have you already heard about our feast?” Kari asked. I wondered how word could’ve travelled so quickly, but I was happy to see how thrilled my too-serious sister seemed over the celebration.

“Feast? No,” Rayna said, her smile wavering for only a moment as confusion crossed her gaze. “Freyja is requesting your presence in her hall, as is Odr.”

Kari’s grip on me tightened.

It really is him.

“Why so soon?” Kari asked, her face forming lines too hard for her soft features. “Is everything okay?”

“More than,” Rayna said. “The God of Inspiration requests to meet the seeress responsible for finding him immediately.”

“I can’t believe this,” Kari all but gasped. “I’m sorry, Rune, but the feast will have to wait.”

“No apologies necessary. You have a god to meet. We better not keep him waiting.”

Kari and I rushed down the hall, the seeress lifting her flowing gown in one hand. I hadn’t expected this time to come so soon. In my many years tending to Odin, I’d learned one valuable lesson: you’re always on the gods’ time.

When we reached the double doors to Freyja’s throne room, we slowed and caught our breath.

This is happening.

“Listen to me,” I panted before the guards could open the chamber doors. “Whatever they say, I just want you to know, I’m so proud of you.”

Kari’s entire face lit up, and a sparkle glistened in her right eye. She didn’t say anything, but she grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

“Are you ready?” I asked.

“Let’s do this.”

Guards standing on either side of the double doors pulled them open upon a nod of my head. Kari walked in first, and I followed behind, keeping my distance. I was here for support, but by no means would I claim to have any part in the return of the God of Inspiration and Frenzy.

Even though I stood at a distance behind Kari, I still offered Freyja and Odr a respectful bow.

Kari knelt at the base of the dais, but Odr frantically motioned for her to rise.

His untamed beard was crusted with dirt, his robe torn in several spots, but he still wore a smile on his face for the one who had finally located him.

“Rise, rise, Kari Kettlesdotter, and welcome to our home!” Odr said.

Freyja was sitting upon her throne while her husband stood next to her, more like a guard or an attendant than her equal.

Being her husband didn’t make the god a ruler.

Freyja was the Queen of Fólkvangr, and she may have been on to something by not allowing him to be the king.

If this past week told me anything, it was that Odr was far too frantic to be a ruler of any hall, let alone a realm.

Kari stood, her hands clasped behind her back like she’d seen Rayna and I do so many times now.

“I should start by thanking you,” Odr said.

“I know I look rather…disheveled, but I couldn’t have waited any longer to meet the seeress who was able to see through the light elves’ imprisonment.

The prison I was kept in is one known across the nine realms for being impossible to escape, and I had been trapped under the roots of the same tree for over three decades, completely deprived of the arts.

And of my wife and children,” Odr tacked on.

“It was my honor to be of service to Freyja. I’m happy to see your return to this great realm. You were missed by your people greatly,” Kari said, lowering her eyes as she spoke.

“An exaggeration, surely,” Odr chuckled. “How were you were able to find me, young seeress?”

“I am a mortal born of Hel’s seidr. It has grown inside me, a morsel to a spark, to a flame.

And now, a fire burns within me, strong enough to melt the ice of Helheim.

The seidr may have once been the Goddess of Death’s, but it has twisted into something entirely new.

And with it, I was able to have a waking vision of your abrupt departure from Asgard.

As for seeing through the wards of your imprisonment, it’s not my first time being impervious to such barriers.

The one imparted on Asgard’s gate also has no effect on me. ”

“How intriguing. And, ah, yes, a departure for more pigment. The only kind worth using comes from the elves. Though, I do admit, I got a bit carried away while on my trip to acquire more. I didn’t intend on staying in Alfheim for so long, you see,” Odr confessed, scratching the back of his neck in the way a young mortal man might.

“The light elves have an awe-inspiring collection of paintings, and if you noticed, I’m quite the collector myself. ”

Freyja rolled her eyes and shifted on her wooden throne.

Odr continued, his features moving excitedly, as if pulled unnaturally by string, “Do you paint? No, of course not. You have the hands of a potter. Not a very good one, at that,” Odr said distastefully, but he quickly moved on as he realized he was insulting the woman who’d saved him, pottery skills aside.

“Well, anyway, I was quite overcome by a stunning depiction of their enchanted forest. The painting moves you see, and I simply had to have it. All my art is still. How boring ! When I offered to purchase it, there was no gold or jewels they would accept for such a priceless piece. It was then I decided I would have it anyway.”

Odr stole a quick glance at Freyja before continuing. Even the goddess’ felines looked at Odr like he should have known better.

“I was swiftly imprisoned, and well, you should already know the rest.”

Kari’s eyes lifted to look upon the god. “If you don’t mind me asking, how were you freed?”

“The ruler of Alfheim is my twin brother, Freyr. He was gifted the realm upon the growth of his first tooth,” Freyja said.

“Our relationship is quite…tumultuous. He has never been one to favor my husband. We hadn’t spoken in many years, not since I was sent to Asgard to secure peace between the gods.

In exchange for my husband, I agreed to meet him in his realm to mend our broken relationship.

He agreed to the terms I sent with my valkyries, and, in turn, I am bound by my word. ”

“That is quite graceful of you, Goddess. Odr is lucky to have such a dedicated wife,” Kari said.

“Quite,” Freyja bit. “Now, I believe it’s time for my husband to depart. We have matters of our own to attend to, don’t we, Kari?”

“We do,” Kari said with a swift nod of her head. I couldn't tell if she was nervous or excited, but perhaps she found room within her for both feelings to place their roots.

With that, Odr was dismissed from Freyja’s throne room, and Kari was left standing before the goddess.

I found myself holding my breath, though I didn’t understand why.

This was good, wasn’t it? Kari was about to be bestowed the honor of becoming Freyja’s newest attendant.

So why was my gut heavy with worry for what was to come?