Page 82 of Fallen Gods

When the doors open, I follow him out of the elevator. “But did he—”

“Ask him yourself.” He shrugs. “That is, if you can get on his good side, which I guarantee you can’t. He doesn’t like people, mainly because his entire life people have either let him down or told him he was crazy… Well, that part’s sort of on him. There was a while where he kept going on about visions. Freaky monsters, lots of dead bodies, a black-and-gold bridge. Didn’t really help his case.”

My body breaks out in an immediate cold sweat. “A bridge?”

He ignores me. “And that was before the attacks over the last year. Sigurd hasn’t let him leave this area since last fall, did you know that? For his own protection?”

We stop at my door. “I didn’t,” I admit.

“Kidnapping attempts,” Reeve drawls. He leans against the wall beside my door. “Know anything about those, daughter of Odin?”

No. But suddenly it makes sense—we learned about Mjölnir’s location a year ago. Of course my father has been trying to get his hands on Aric ever since. And of course Sigurd wouldn’t let his grandson off campus, outside his protection. I wonder if he’s been adding runes for exactly that purpose—keeping my father away.

And that’s why Odin sent me.

“So maybe don’t push him so much,” Reeve is saying. “He’s fit to blow. This isn’t one of those stories where you jump in to save the sinking ship. I love my brother, don’t get me wrong, but he’s not someone you can save. He’s someone you run from. And whatever twisted little game your degenerate daddy is playing at…you won’t win. Consider this my last warning.”

“Wow,” I say slowly. “You really care about him.”

Reeve’s eyebrows furrow. “Of course I do, Stjerne. Now go on. Maybe get into some warm clothes. And don’t forget, tonight’sthe Nerf battle. It’s one of the only fun things we do around here.”

“Yeah.” I nod slowly, considering it. “I’ll see you in an hour or so.”

“Make good choices.” Reeve winks.

I quickly make it into my room and shut the door behind me.

Would truly ignoring Aric, giving him space, be a good choice?

And could I even walk away now if I wanted to?

Chapter Forty

Rey

“Wow.” Ziva eyes her rapid-strike Nerf gun appreciatively, then holds it up and attaches more ammo to her body.

Aric and Reeve are the team captains for the Berserkers. Shocker. Ziva and I volunteered for team Viking, while Eira’s over collecting butterflies. Okay, not really, but I’ve seen her skip at least twice with her Nerf gun in the air, and she keeps aiming at Reeve. I can’t tell if he thinks it’s a threat or that she’s suddenly set her sights on him.

Rowen’s off on the side of the field monitoring, probably taking pictures to show my father I am in fact yet again “playing” when I should be hunting.

But I am—hunting, that is.

With all the chaos going on around us, it’s not going to be hard to slip away during the game and do some investigating. First stop, Sigurd’s office.

Why there? Because Mr. Collector of Creepy Rune Gardens may just have more of the ones I’m looking for.

If Sigurd is anything like my father, then he’d want to keep his treasures close.

Aric and Reeve walk over to position themselves across the line in the middle of the field. I point my gun at Aric’s stomach and fire two shots. Gods, that felt good. “Sorry, I was just making sure it worked.”

He narrows his eyes. Reeve steps in front of him. “Save the rage for the field, man, save it for the field.”

Apparently, they run this tournament-style, with teams assigned to battle it out before progressing to the next tier. I can see a scoreboard and an array of sweaty students lingering alongthe sidelines. I wasn’t expecting to go head-to-head with Aric’s team in the first round, but win or lose, he’ll be distracted.

Sigurd walks down the line between the two teams wearing a black track suit, paired once again with his Endir hat. “All right, the whole point is to capture the other team’s flag in their territory. The Viking flag is in the dining hall, and the Berserker flag will be at the fountain.”

That’s on the same side of campus as the admin building. Not too close, but nearby.