Page 78 of Fallen Gods

Aric’s breathing evens.

I examine my fingernails like I’m making small talk and really couldn’t care less. “What sort of dreams?”

“Didn’t ask you to be my therapist.” His eyes are still closed. “What makes you think I would ever tell you anything? Your father deals in secrets. You’re his daughter, even if you’re as powerless against him as anyone else.”

I bristle. “I was just asking a question. You don’t have to insult me.” Or remind me of my place. I instantly think about the chessboard.

“It wasn’t a question. You forget who I am. My family is just as powerful as yours, Rey, just as dangerous in our own way. You, of all people, know how I was raised.”

“You talk a big game, but I highly doubt your upbringing was worse than mine.”

One eye opens. “My parents are gone. Dead. They’ll never see me graduate. Never celebrate a birthday or holiday or ask me how my day was again.” He stops, takes a small breath. “My mom was kind, Rey. Really sweet. She’d make me give her a hug each time I left the house. I can barely fucking remember what that feels like now.”

I jerk back. “The panic I would feel if my father actually attempted to hug me—he’s more likely to hold a knife to me.”

“I don’t remember my parents’ hugs anymore,” Aric says. “All I remember are my grandfather’s tears.”

We’re both quiet for a while. Lost to our thoughts and grief.

“I mean, at the very least, I bet your stepmother showed you some sort of affection,” he finally says. It feels like an opening,like a fleeting moment I can use to connect with him. Gods know I need one.

I glance sharply at Aric. “Not so much hugs,” I admit. “But she always had stories for me—some might argue that’s better than physical affection because they lasted longer. Tales of Jötunheim, stories steeped in war and betrayal, unspeakable loss and timeless love.”

My chest tightens. Laufey doesn’t deserve Odin’s wrath.

Aric studies me, his expression unreadable. “So, stories?”

“Yeah,” I say with a shaky laugh, brushing at my damp cheeks. “I always had a favorite.”

His lips twitch into a scowl. “Naturally, it’s about betrayal. Murder. Evil.”

“Of course.” I shoot him a pointed look. “No. It’s about true love. ‘The Nightfrost Ring.’”

His head jerks up, brown eyes locked in on me.

I continue before he can interrupt. “How Thor fell so madly in love with the Giant Alvaldi that to prove his devotion, he had the dwarves—the master smiths of Svartálfheim—forge a tether to Mjölnir. A ring that tempered his power. He wanted an equal by his side, someone not from Asgard, someone his father didn’t choose for him. He wanted true love.”

Aric exhales like I just punched him in the ribs. “You finished?”

I frown. “Whatever. You’re the one who asked.”

He drags a hand over his face and mutters under his breath, “What did I do to deserve this?” Then louder, with a bitter edge: “That’s complete bullshit, and you know it, right? I mean, the story of Nightfrost is legendary, sure, but Thor betrayed her. That’s the part they sugarcoat. The ring’s been lost ever since. Some say Alvaldi’s heartbreak was so deep, she cursed the Gods and hid it. Others say she died still holding it in the woods of Jötunheim, whispering for Thor to rescue her. Who knows?” His eyes go dark as frost gathers along his knuckles. “End of the day,it’s still betrayal. Tale as old as time. You trust someone, and they slap you in the face.”

“Wow. Okay,” I say, genuinely taken aback. I’ve always truly loved that story, always considered it as pure as pure could be.

His voice softens. “If you love that story…then you know it’s for the best.”

I glance up to find his mouth only inches from mine. “What’s for the best?”

“Staying away from me, from my family, before you end up just like that woman in the story. Dead.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Aric

The drive back is uneventful, the silence between us tense as hell. My death threat could have been delivered better, sure, and I think she could tell I was losing patience with all the questions when I cranked up the music to tune her out. But how was I supposed to tell her I was in the middle of a breakdown?

I need space, and Rey sees everything.