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“I was the one trusted to capture him and administer the chains that bind him,” he told us, making only half of us look shocked… and most likely all the ones who skipped Norse class with me and my aunt.

“Yes, and so I hear that doing so cost you your hand when he bit it off,” Sigurd said, grinning at the man like he was a legend, and I guess, to the big Viking, he was.

“Oh, just like you, Luc, look at that, you guys have something in common… hey, did yours just grow back like his did? Wait, did you have to look like Michael Jackson too? Oh, my giddy aunty days, that was some funny shit… do you remember that? I would make these sound effects when he walked by or if he asked something serious, I would answer, ‘sure did, hee-hee,’ or my personal favorite, I would say ‘shamone,’ at the end… honestly, I thought he was going to strangle me,” Pip said, and half of the room looked at her like she was utterly bonkers.

“I am pretty sure he wants to now,” my aunt commented under her breath, whereas Amelia couldn’t stop giggling. Well, that was until Lucius growled down at her and whispered something in her ear that made her blush. It also had her swallowing hard and shutting up pretty quickly.

“I understood very little of that, little Imp, but what I did, makes me think that you are delightfully funny,” Tyr chuckled.

Pip blushed at the compliment and Adam scowled. Something Tyr didn’t take seriously until Sigurd leaned closer and, no doubt, whispered in his ear exactly who Adam was… he must have missed it the first time. I didn’t know Gods could turn so pale.

“I mean no disrespect to you, Abaddon. And to answer your question, yes, my hand grew back, little Imp,” Tyr replied, inclining his head.

“So, the chains I saw, he can’t break free of them?” I asked, getting us back on track and off the idea of Lucius dressed like the famed singer.

“Only his father can break the chains and since he was weakened after his own imprisonment, he needs the souls of others to gain back his strength. Something he has not had access to in the cave where he was exiled. For this is where the myths get it wrong, as it is said that he will only be freed once Ragnarok has begun, but in truth, it is always he who has been destined to start it,” Tyr told me, because clearly, he had something to do with this and seeing as he was also a God, then it wasn’t surprising.

But with this new information it triggered something…

“Wait… what is the word for son and father in your language?” I asked.

“Faeir, is father and Sonr or Nier is son,” Sigurd told me.

“Then it was him,” I muttered.

“Ella?” my uncle asked, making me turn to him and say,

“When I was trying to convince my other self to believe me about Garmr’s true intentions, we snuck into Garmr’s bedroom and hid in hopes of hearing something that would incriminate him.”

“That was clever of you,” my uncle praised.

“Thankfully for me, it paid off, because once there he came in and started speaking with someone who he called Faeir. It had to have been Loki.”

“And what did he say?” Lucius asked.

“That he was nearly strong enough to make a portal and would… oh gods, that he would arrive soon,” I said this last part slowly, looking to everyone who held the same look as I did… unease.

“If we allow this to happen, all will be lost, whether we win the battle or not, it will not matter,” Tyr said, clearly having dealt with Fenrir before… and losing a hand over it.

“Then we cannot allow Loki to gain back the rest of his power,” my uncle said firmly.

“And how are we to prevent that?” Sophia asked, and it was at this point that I said,

“I can.”

Everyone who had been discussing amongst themselves all stopped to look at me. I also felt Jared tense next to me, saying my name in warning.

“Ella.”

“What do you mean, my niece?” Uncle Dom asked.

“Look, I brought Fenrir back, but we all agree that no Fenrir, then no Ragnarok… right?”

“Yes,” Lucius replied first.

“And we all know that a summoner who can give life can also take it away… yes?” Again it wasn’t really a question but more of a statement.

“Ooh, me likey this plan… oh, I mean we don’t likey?” Pip said, adding this part with a wince when Jared growled her way.

“No, we don’t,” he stated firmly. Which was when I stepped back and looked at him.

“I have to do this, I am the whole reason this is happening, Jared.”

“No, we will find another way,” he argued.

“Let her speak, HellBeast, at the very least let us hear what her plan is,” Tyr said in my defense, making Jared grit his teeth before lashing a hand toward Tyr and threatening,

“You stay out of this, it is between me and my woman!”

“But it’s not,” I said, making him frown down at me.

I reached up and cupped his cheek, trying to calm him down while I implored,

“It’s about all of us. It’s about every single person here.

Everyone we care about. My family…” I said, looking in their direction, then looking to Marcus and Jared’s council.

“…your family, your brother, who I know how to save. It’s about my sister and finally giving her a chance at living a life filled with happiness.

But it’s about our life too, Jared. Don’t you see…

? It’s about the life I so desperately want with you but can never have unless we stop this. ”

And it was in this moment that his resolve finally broke, and he pulled me closer, whispering down at me,

“I don’t want to lose you.”

“And you won’t because we will be doing this together… I promise you,” I said, closing my eyes as tears gathered.

I heard his defeated sigh before he finally said,

“Alright, sweetheart, tell us of your plan.”

With those words, I swear there seemed to be a collective sigh of relief leave each person in the room. Which was when I turned to face them all once more and said,

“It’s easy…”

“…We fake a ransom.”