Page 26 of Thorulf

“But something’s different about this one.”Dagr looked beyond the exit then back inside the cave.“Outside is in Helheim. Inside is still Midgard.”

“You’re right.”Thorulf stilled before his gaze shot to the tunnel.“I’m...coming.”

Yet, it wasn’t him who appeared out of the tunnel but a pregnant woman.

“Mother.”There was no missing Thorulf’s emotion at seeing his biological mother again.“Why are we witnessing a memory of her?”

Loki’s gaze went to the entrance.“I suspect because of that.”

Off in the distance, clearly still evading Hel, Jade’s tiny transparent dragon was tooling along, heading their way.

“Oh, wow,”Maya whispered when they witnessed the unexpected. Better yet, got a glimpse of something Thorulf’s mother clearly couldn’t see. She had stopped at the entrance at the very moment tiny Jade was entering.

“I remember that moment,”Jade said slowly, confused.“I remember feeling...”What? Caught off guard by something? Drawn? Maybe even enchanted.“I think I felt...”

Her words trailed off when tiny Jade stopped short as if sensing something. Excitement, or perhaps even anticipation, lit her eyes before, half a breath later, a tiny black transparent dragon shot out of Thorulf’s mother. Caught half in Helheim, half in Midgard, the two drifted to the ground and stared at each other with wide eyes.

“You felt familiar,”Thorulf said softly, remembering the moment as well.“It was as if we shared something indefinable.”

“What, though?”Jade shook her head, feeling the same. It was hard to define the emotions going through her tiny dragon other than a strong sense of kinship and, most definitely, again, excitement. Something seen clearly when her tiny dragon beamed broadly, hopped from foot to foot, as if revving up, then raced at Thorulf with wings spread to embrace him only to pass right through him.

“Aww,”Maya murmured when tiny Jade raced at him a few more times only to hang her head and whimper. Meanwhile, tiny Thorulf, while quite upset himself, was thinking things over. More so, it seemed he had figured something out. Or half of something.

“You were turning solid,”Thorulf exclaimed.

She was too. Every time she stepped foot inside the cave. Something tiny Thorulf pointed out by gesturing back and forth between the two worlds. If she stepped into the cave, she was solid and on Midgard. Step back out, she was transparent and in Helheim again.

“Look at you two go!”Maya chuckled when both tiny dragons, excited by their discovery, jumped and danced around.

While Dagr shared her amusement, he was equally baffled. He looked at Loki.“How is this possible? How can Jade be a memory on Helheim then solid on Midgard when she wasn’t even born yet?”

“I’m not sure.”Loki contemplated the scene. One that had returned to frustration when the two tiny dragons realized they still faced the same problem. They couldn’t touch. Not with Thorulf still transparent.“I can say with confidence, however, that draw you two feel toward one another has to do with a shared connection.”

“What sort of shared connection could they possibly have before they were born?”Vicar narrowed an eye at Loki.“The only thing that runs that powerful is fated mates, which would mean they’d have no use for your Forge.”

“Other things can tie dragons together just as strongly, cousin,”Dagr reminded, rubbing his neck against Maya’s.“Just look at how my mate and I connected. Another world brought us together, not a bond from a previous life.”

“Another world,”Thorulf murmured, thinking about that, shocked when he realized what Loki had been implying.“Or, in our case, another place.”