Page 78 of The Magic of Vanaheim

“Poor thing,” Svanhild purred as she watched the tears pouring down Håkon’s face, something like greed gleaming in her eyes. “Let it all out. Let me drink your grief.”

Sobbing helplessly, Håkon tried to rein in his emotions. He loathed to give Svanhild what she wanted, but his despair wasall-consuming. Leaning forward as much as the ropes would allow, he tried to reach Talvi. But he wasn’t even allowed one last touch of skin. Talvi was just out of his reach.

Svanhild pointedIsbaniat him, and Håkon felt dizzy, the essence of his life being sucked away from him. Not even his tattoos seemed able to eat herseiðr. Like he was in a trance, Håkon watched his own sword, Talvi’s precious gift, glow with an eerie green light. This was all Håkon’s fault. He was a bad omen. Bad luck.

And now Talvi was dead because of him.

A distant roar resounded through the temple, growing louder by the second. Håkon tore his gaze away from Talvi’s face, pale inHel’scold embrace. Something like uncertainty showed in Svanhild’s features, and she droppedIsbaniwith a surprised sound as it began to glow brighter. The blade clattered to the ground and the shape of a mighty polar bear appeared between them, its large paws dipping into the pool of Talvi’s blood.

Håkon slumped in defeat. He knew the beast. He’d killed it on a sacred quest as a young warrior, and Talvi had overcome it in the fertility ritual, making the spirit his own as much as it was Håkon’s. Now it had abandoned them.

The bear growled, its muzzle touching Håkon’s brow almost gently. He could feel its hot breath. Then it turned, facing Svanhild.

“How—?”

Roaring, the bear struck her with its paw and snapped at her. Svanhild shrieked. She stumbled backwards, and Håkon saw that the beast’s snout was smeared with blood.

“Get up! Help me!” Svanhild shouted, pointing her staff at Brogar’s corpse, making it rise up like a puppet on strings. But it took the bear only seconds to rip the undead to shreds before it chased Svanhild into the night.

Snow began to fall, the cold flakes tumbling silently through the gaps in the roof. Silence enveloped the temple, Svanhild and the bear gone like the ghosts of fallen warriors. Håkon couldn’t stop crying. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, but he didn’t care. He would’ve preferred it if Svanhild had killed him. But he wouldn’t live without Talvi. Maybe it was a fitting punishment that he would just perish out here like a dog, chained up and forgotten. After the ill fortune he’d brought upon Talvi, he didn’t deserve any better.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he whispered again and again, crumpling to the ground as close to Talvi as he could get. His senses slowly left him while the night was blanketed in snow.

twenty-one

Wintersoul

?alvi

Waking from a deep slumber, Talvi stretched languidly. He felt great, more powerful and alive than he could remember. But as he sat up, he looked around in confusion. He’d thought he was in his own chambers with Håkon, but he found himself in a dilapidated hall or maybe an abandoned temple, everything covered by a light blanket of snow.

Håkon!

Looking around frantically, Talvi’s gaze fell upon his husband, and his heart stopped. Håkon lay just a few inches away from him, bound to a post and gagged. His hair was fanned around his head like a halo, his face smeared with tear tracks.

“Håkon,” Talvi whispered.

His memories were hazy, and Talvi wasn’t sure what exactly had happened. But his only concern was his husband right now. Carefully, he loosened the gag, brushing gentle hands down Håkon’s chest. Håkon’s breathing was uneven, his body wracked by sobs even in his unconscious state, but he was alive and Talvi couldn’t make out any major injuries. He undid the restraintsnext, gritting his teeth as he saw Håkon’s chafed wrists. He must’ve tried desperately to free himself.

“Dróttning?”

Håkon stirred and groaned, but he didn’t wake. Talvi needed to bring him home. His brave husband might be aJotunn,but even his body had limits when it came to withstanding the cold, and Håkon was only clad in a flimsy shirt and leather breeches.

When Talvi stood up, his armor cut uncomfortably into his chest. Looking down at himself, he noticed that the leather was torn and frayed right above his heart, as if it had been pierced by a sword. But the skin beneath the tear was unscathed. Odd…

Lying on the ground next to a warrior’s corpse, he foundIsbaniand his own sword. Talvi nudged the dead body with his foot. Was that Brogar? Had they fought? The body showed the wounds of a sword fight, but the head looked like it had been crushed in by a paw strike. And to make things even stranger, the desolate place simmered withseiðrunder the thin fabric of the worlds. He needed to get Håkon out of there.

Picking up his husband was easier than ever before. Securely, he cradled Håkon against his chest.

Hurrying out of the temple, Talvi whistled for his horse. Farandi whinnied and trotted out of the forest toward him. Placing Håkon on his horse’s back, Talvi mounted up behind him. He watched the increasingly heavy snowfall with concern. Wrapping his coat around Håkon’s shoulders, Talvi was pleased to see that Håkon leaned against him, nestling his head against his shoulder.

“Everything will be fine,dróttning. Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”

“Talvi,” Håkon murmured but didn’t wake. He seemed to be completely exhausted, as if somebody had tried to drain his strength, his very essence.

The path through the forest was narrow, and the snow silenced Farandi’s hoofbeats. Talvi didn’t remember how he had gottenhere. And to make things even more confusing, something about the forest seemed off. It was as if they weren’t traveling the familiar landscape of Vanaheim, but some unknown territory. Talvi could practically smell a strangeseiðrin the air. It reminded him of Svanhild, and yet it felt different.

Time flowed sluggishly past them, and Talvi saw strange lights like stars and whole galaxies shining in the darkness between the trees. The temperature dropped, forcing Talvi to wrap hisseiðrlike a cloak around them to shield them from the bone-chilling cold. He found it surprisingly easy, even though the frost around felt deadly. Was this the path his mothers had been lured down? Had they lost their way among the stars? And how was Talvi supposed to bring Håkon safely back home?