Page 29

MY THROWN DAGGER landed beside Trig, right between his feet. He snapped his heels together to hide the silver hilt between leather boots, while ropes still bound his ankles to a stake. His gaze met mine, and a million unspoken words passed between us. The feast was in chaos. Chairs tipping over. Gods scrambling to get a better vantage point. Voices raised with surprise. All eyes turned toward the city and away from Trig, so no saw me throw the blade, nor did they see as he bent to slice through the rope. Within moments, Trig was free, the rope falling on the ground. His eyes lifted.

Please don’t run toward Tova, I begged. Hide.

He nodded. Then he dashed away, his blond hair disappearing in the thick of the green trees. Undoubtedly, he’d loop back later, but for now, that was one problem dealt with. Another would arise later when we needed to find him to get home, but that was less pressing.

I faced the city once more.

“They are almost to the weapons,”

Ve said for me. He sent a disapproving look where Trig had gone, but didn’t say anything. Trig was already a passing thought in my mind as I studied the mortals. They’d split into two groups, the larger one heading for the higher point where two large barrels of weapons stood. It’d be a better starting point with more places to hide and a superior angle, but the weapons were further away. The second group, consisting of only three of the nine mortals, raced to the lower gate to the city, where a smaller barrel waited beneath bronze webs of steel. They’d get there first.

I wanted to run toward them, but all the gods were stilled to watch. Soon, they’d ascend into their glass domes above the city to witness it all, but none advanced more than a few paces. Until they moved, neither could I. Instead, I was stuck frozen, waiting to see if Tova made it past the frenzy. She’d chosen the higher point, as had First, which put them about fifty yards away from the weapons while the other group had found theirs. The first to reach the barrel drew out a broadsword and swung aimlessly, creating a wide arch to keep the other two from the weapons. The other two slowed, but when he swung again, one jumped as soon as the blade had passed. This one clutched a dagger, and with a flick, sent it not toward the one already armed, but the one unarmed.

It struck, and none flinched. The gods watched silently as the first champion fell.

The one who did the killing spoke to the other, and after a moment, the blade was lowered and hands shook. I gasped. “How often do they do that?”

“Every time,”

Ve replied. “Though the bond will break by the time it’s final four.”

My heart pounded in my chest at the quickness of it all. Just like that, we were down to eight champions, and one alliance was made.

The higher group got to their weapons, but they valued their lives more. With shifting gazes to each other, they took what they could and scattered into the city to play the game with more stealth. The gods sighed, but now the initial fight was over, they began their march toward the streets, to climb to the safety of the glass.

Odin roared. I kept my head down and walked, knowing he’d spotted his prisoner was gone.

“Find him,”

he shouted, and the rustle of quick footsteps followed. I hoped by now, Trig was far enough away to hide until the threat had passed. It was out of my hands now.

“Ruin.”

Odin’s low growl swept over the field; his tone low like storm clouds waiting to release their rain. The hairs on my arm stood up as Ve and I turned in tandem, catching a sharp glare from Odin. It looked like a warning. A lethal warning. “Don’t interfere.”

I hadn’t fooled anyone by setting Trig free. Yet since he couldn’t prove it, I swept on a placid expression and nodded once. “You’ve made your commands clear.”

From his frown, I hadn’t soothed any worries. But beside him, Frigg stood with her hands folded before her, a soft turn of her mouth, and sympathy edging from her eyes. While everyone around us was soaked through with excitement for the sudden start to the Champion Games, she stood still like a tower in a storm, looking at me as if I’d already lost my sister and she felt every ounce of pain.

I gave her an equally pained expression. If Odin found me to be interfering, I’d count on the sympathy from Frigg to soothe him.

Then I clasped my hands around Ve’s arms as if he were the only thing holding me up in the world, and let him lead me toward the city.

“You grow bold,”

Ve spoke, his Asgardian accent falling heavier with the whisper. “Being Odin’s granddaughter won’t save you from his wrath.”

Only a few weeks ago, Odin threatened anyone who touched a hair on my head. Perhaps I was bold. Or I was desperate. The heat of the sun licked my bare shoulders, seeping into my skin as sweat prickled along my brow. I counted our steps. The trick would be to make the gods believe I was there amongst them when in reality I was helping Tova, and that would be the easy part. The hard part came next. Compared to all I had to accomplish today, I could hardly think about Odin’s stare at my back.

It wasn’t long before our steps turned into a sprint, guiding the gods toward the city. From what we saw, it was all streets of tan and steel and heat, with blinding light reflecting from windows and empty homes. The roads lay quiet. Deathly still. I purposefully veered toward the northern path where Tova had gone, trying to see through the streets to find a trace of my sister.

The dirt already ran red.

A cry bit the air, one laced in agony. It was male. No one ought to feel that relieved at such a horrifying sound, but I did, just knowing it wasn’t her.

“The entrance to the glass domes,”

Ve said, stepping up to a hazy blue light. It stood like a doorway between us and a looping stairwell. “Only gods can pass.”

He said it so plainly, and stepped through. I tried not to panic. I didn’t have time to guess whether it would kill mortals like jravn would—only trust that whatever had kept me alive thus far would allow me to survive this. Still, I sent out a silent prayer. Then I followed him through. Thankfully, I passed through the light, with only a misty feeling on my arms.

Gods were following fast. We hurried up the stairwell to be the first in the room, where stone tables sat by stacked chairs and empty plates meant for refreshments. No one cared it wasn’t set up yet. We all went to the wall to peer through the glass.

This was the best view of the city. Odin’s home sat directly behind us, and the ocean at the bottom of the mountain. From here, we saw resplendent gardens on roofs, ivy of jessamine slithering up trellis gates, and golden bridges with iron girders sprawled across torrent rivers. I took them in as quickly as I could, trying to force a map into memory. Then I looked at the city through a different angle, searching for places to hide. Beneath the curve of a bridge. A balcony I could climb to. The narrowest streets.

I shifted my eyes once more to find the piles of weapons strategically placed in the most open areas of the city. Likely, the mortals would gather in perimeters around those locations, waiting for the brave ones to make themselves known.

“You got it?”

Ve whispered.

“I’m ready.”

The room was already crowded with gods, and thankfully, Odin was not amongst them. He might not fall for this as easily. But everyone else? I could fool them.

On cue, I shivered. I let the vibrations overtake my body, until those around us noticed. They raised a brow, but none were surprised. My sister was down there. Shivering was showing restraint.

I increased the display as I wrapped my arms around me like a blanket and knelt to my knees where the cold stone grated into my skin. “I can’t,”

I whimpered, putting on a good show. “I can’t do this.”

Ve knelt beside me, stroking my side and leaning close. “I’ve got you.”

He pulled me into him. “It’s okay.”

Then his hand was beneath my chin, and his lips were on mine. I kissed him like he was the only thing grounding me, tasting my tears on my lips. Ve lifted me to my feet and pretended to whisper in my ear. I nodded. He led me out the door, and leaned back to speak to those we were leaving behind. “She needs space.”

He shut the door, leaving us on the outside with the perfect excuse for our absence.

It took all my strength not to run down those steps, but just in case anyone else was entering, it was vital our charade wasn’t uncovered. We eased past the light doorway once more, bending around the back of the tower where the shade provided relief from the sun and protection from wandering eyes.

“You were brilliant,”

Ve commented, unclipping several blades to pass them to me. I took them, tying each to my belt as I tried to peer around the tower and into the city. “Slip through the west roads, and come through the back.”

My hands stilled. “You aren’t coming?”

“Two will be easier to spot. I’ll bide my time and reappear later with some excuse about your absence.”

He removed the laurel from my hair and gently slipped it into his jacket.

“Everyone will suspect when I’m gone.”

I untied my sandals and kicked them off.

Ve pressed a final blade into my hand. “Then don’t get caught.”

And he pushed me to the city.

I took off, bare feet slapping against dusty cobblestones as I dove into the first alley I could find. It was so narrow that my shoulders almost touched both sides, and low hanging ivy whipped me in the face. My mind raced through a million things at once: Find Tova, remember the map of the streets, stay out of sight, and lastly—don’t die.

I peeked back once, but Ve had already disappeared.

Patience would be the key here, that I didn’t race out to find my foes, but rather waited for them to reveal themselves. For there was no reward for those who killed the fastest, only the one who survived. Honor was pointless to the dead. The key would be to wait. To lurk through the darkest streets, never crossing in the open until it was safe. Be like a shadow that kills.

I was no use to Tova if I was dead.

But I was no use to Tova if she was dead. My sister should hide. I could not.

Instead, I tore through the town with as much discretion as I could, blazing a path toward Odin’s home. There was an alley there I’d seen, one surrounded by a garden to give a clear view of those who came from the west and a high wall to protect from the east. More importantly, it bore a strong resemblance to a patch of land on our childhood home, so it would be like I was fighting on familiar ground. I’d take any advantage I could get. And I bet Tova headed for the familiar as well.

A shop loomed ahead, marking the end of the thick town and the start of an open stretch I’d need to cross. A sign outside raved of sticky buns and melted chocolate, but it was the faded brown banner with the emblem of a wolf that caught my attention. I tore it down to cover my hair in hopes of masking my identity. The other mortals might not notice I was not one of them, but I feared the gods more.

My gaze shifted upward. One more step, and I’d be in view of the glass domes.

I took the step. It would be twenty paces until the beams of a bridge offered protection, where I’d wait in the slick mud to mark my next path. Fifteen minutes, and I’d find Tova.

Four steps. Five.

Something flew over my shoulder. A dagger embedded itself into the ground at the base of the bridge. There wasn’t time to see where it’d come from, only to hope it was their only one. I hurled myself around, curling my fingers around my own blade just as someone’s arms wrapped around my waist and brought me down.

The back of my head slammed into something hard, and a bright light flashed. I jerked, ripping one hand free. It was almost enough to reach my blade when the attacker punched me, sending my vision dark.

This can’t be how I die.

I swung my own fist, meeting something firm. Then kicked upward, right where I knew it would hurt. A satisfying grunt came, and they were jarred enough that I could scramble free. But their hand found my waist sooner, and drew a blade. It was pressed beneath my chin.

Finally I registered their eyes, and found familiar pools of blue.

“Trig?”

His face was murderous, eyes darkened like they held death, and skin sweaty. His breathing came fast, and I doubted he recognized me from how he was looking. Or he did, and he didn’t care.

“Trig,”

I said again, bracing a hand beneath his. “It’s me. It’s Rune.”

The recognition swept in, wiping some of the fear away.

“Rune,”

he breathed. Then he dropped the blade. He took in our surroundings, then shoved me with force toward the cover of the bridge. “Hide.”

I stumbled back, landing in a patch of mud and pressing my back against the curve of the belly of the bridge. Trig sat across from me, ripping his previous dagger from the ground and scouring around us.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Same as you, I suppose,”

he whispered, but his focus was far more on the city around us as opposed to me, as if he hadn’t just tried to slit my throat.

I took the time to study him. His shirt was ruffled, falling out from his tucked in position to lay crooked over his leather pants that he tucked the blade back into. He brushed back his hair, and as it did, red blotches on his neck stood out. They continued down his arm. He spotted me eyeing the blood. “Killed one on my way in.”

“You shouldn’t have come in. Odin will kill you if he finds you helped.”

Trig smirked. He tipped his chin northbound. “Make for those hedges on my count. We’ll carve a path toward the garden wall. Ready, go.”

He ran, and I had no choice but to follow. Our footsteps pounded loudly into the dirt, and the breeze helped cool the sweat and dry some of the mud from my pants. They were beyond saving though. I couldn’t show up again in this outfit and not give away what I’d been doing.

We pressed into the hedges, letting the sharp branches snag at us. The city remained perfectly still, but we ventured dangerously close to another glass dome, one nestled against Odin’s home, and one I suspected he was in.

“Truly, Trig. I can’t save you from Odin’s wrath.”

“You seem to have a lot of sway with the gods,”

he mentioned, and from his tone he meant Ve. The tone wasn’t accusing, but I questioned it all the same.

“I don’t hold that much power,”

I told him. “I can’t even save myself if I’m caught.”

Now he turned. He wiped hair back from his face. “I’ve seen the way that god looks at you. He is wrapped around your finger.”

My face reddened. Talking about Ve with Tova was one thing, but with Trig, it was worse. “Fine. Take the risk then.”

“I will. Come, there’s a gate here. If there’s no one on the other side, the garden is ours.”

His hands grasped the iron bars, and he pushed. They opened with ease. He peeked in. I held my breath, waiting for a dagger to fly or an arrow to pierce him but nothing did. After a moment, he risked stepping inside.

“It’s clear,”

he whispered, beckoning for me to follow. “And it’s fine. You’re just as wrapped around his finger as he is around yours.”

It was true. At least for me. But I didn’t say so as I slipped past the gate and shut it securely behind me, tearing the hem of my pants to tie the gate shut.

“That’ll hold for two seconds,”

Trig said, watching me.

I shot him a look. “That could be our life.”

But for good measure, I tore the other pant leg and tied an additional knot. Four seconds now. That would be enough warning someone was coming, and it allowed us to move further in from the gate.

“The gods will link that fabric to you,”

Trig commented.

I glanced to the gate. “As long as we are alive, I don’t care.”

The glass dome loomed dangerously close, but the floor wasn’t made of glass, which kept us somewhat safe. Still, if I wandered too far south, they’d see me. Essentially, I’d just trapped myself in the garden, unless I risked going back through the gate.

“I’m glad you’re happy,”

Trig said. “I was worried about you, you know, when you tried to kill me.”

His glanced held humor within in. “I was a tad dramatic,”

I mumbled.

“Just a little.”

He tromped through the garden with absolutely no regard for what he was stepping in. I took more care, but my focus was more on the high wall to the east as I made sure no one rested on top of it, than that I didn’t trample vegetables. Heavy ivy clung to the stone walls, several patches thick enough to hide a person. We’d aim for there, once we found Tova.

I scoured my eyes around once more. I was certain she would be here.

The garden nestled into Odin’s home, and along the marble walls was a single, black door. From the window nearby, I guessed a garden storage room, and a perfect hiding place. Good. We had options, then.

We reached the ivy wall. A high wall to one side, a garden to the other, and a palace at our backs. This was as safe as we could be, and yet my stomach tightened at the thought of Tova out there, somewhere in the quiet city.

I’d feel better if we had our escape planned. I turned to Trig. “Did you receive my letter?”

He perked up, as if glad he could be of help here. “I got the message. It’s not a gate, it’s a key. And I know how to use it.”

That was hopeful, and tracked with my encounter with Balder this morning. He slipped from one realm to the next without a doorway, but a key. A rush of relief filled me. At least one piece of good news could come from today. “Do you know where a key is?”

Now he deflated. “No. You?”

I breathed heavily through my lips, wishing I’d spent more time garnering Balder’s friendship. “Yes, but getting it will be tricky.”

A scream cut through the air, close enough we both froze. Every muscle went rigid. It was followed by a sharp sound like steel slicing together, then nothing.

The stillness was somehow worse. But the scream was not from Tova, that much I could tell.

“Four confirmed dead,”

Trig whispered.

“Five left to kill,” I echoed.

With luck, more were dead.

The sun dipped lower, casting a warm glow in the sky. Soon it’d be night, and I suspected a victor would be named before the sun rose again. We couldn’t stay here. We needed to find Tova. To do that, I needed a better disguise. I’d just knelt to smear as much dirt across my outfit as I could when Trig crouched beside me with cautious eyes on the horizon. “I don’t get why we need a key. When Tova wins, she and I go free.”

“But I don’t.”

His gaze swung to me. I dropped my head. “And I don’t trust that they will let you both leave. We aren’t safe here.”

“Ve?”

His expression clouded.

“No,”

I hurried to correct that assumption. “He’s the one good thing about this place. It’s everyone else I don’t trust.”

He laughed. As we stood, cowering in the darkness, possibly minutes away from death, he laughed. “You’ve never trusted a soul in your life.”

That wasn’t true. I trusted him once. It was a really poor time to say that though. “I’d feel better knowing we had a way out instead of relying upon the gods.”

He studied me before relenting. “Okay. We get the key then.”

Another noise came, this one far closer. It was a scratching against the stone wall, something from the other side. A stab came, then scratch. Repeating over and over. Lifting higher along the wall.

“Someone’s climbing,”

I whispered, but Trig had already repositioned himself into a crouch to look along the wall, flipping his dagger into his hand to throw. I grabbed my own weapon, but stilled myself.

Then Tova appeared.

She rose from the other side of the wall to perch on top, knees bent and back straight, fearlessly looking out over the entire city. She’d found a short sword, and strung it to her back, with one knife clasped to her arm and another in her hand. Both long and narrow-tipped. Perfect killing blades.

She’d found something to pull her hair up, letting us see her wild eyes.

Her vantage point was too high. Anyone would see her. Sure enough, before I could call out to her, someone shot an arrow. It whizzed by her head, barely missing. Instead of climbing down, she shouted into the evening, “That was your last one! No more cowardly fighting! Come and get me!”

“You have the high ground!”

A boy’s voice called back. “I’d be stupid to come now.”

Tova grinned. “I’ll let you climb the wall before I attack.”

“Tova!”

Trig shouted, but she made no sign of hearing. Someone was shouting, charging toward the wall.

Tova was honorable. She wouldn’t attack until the boy climbed. Which meant one of them would die up there.

Trig grabbed onto the vines, but they creaked under his weight. He cursed. “I can’t climb.”

“When you see him, you throw a blade,”

I instructed. Then I grabbed the ivy instead. They weren’t too weak for me.

I could hear the boy on the other side, climbing as I did. He’d reach first, but I’d be closer to Tova. I heard when he lifted himself to the top as Tova chanted for him to approach. Vines dug into my palms, cutting as I climbed, sending a sharp sting through my hands. I pushed myself harder. I just needed to reach first...

The boy cried out. I guessed Trig’s blade found him, and could only hope it struck deep. Tova gasped, and looked over the edge. At that moment, with a surge of strength, I dragged myself to the top of the wall and stood tall.

The glass dome was right above us. If the ground wasn’t stone, they’d have seen me already. To do this, I couldn’t move much, or they would.

“What in the name of the gods are you doing here?”

Tova asked.

“Saving you,”

I replied. “Trig?”

Then I pushed Tova off the wall.