The heartstone falls loose.
I lunge forward to catch it, but Freya’s faster.At the same moment that her hands, working for the first time, catch the heartstone, my swords also plunge downward.Miraculously, instead of being nothing but bare hilts, they each have blades, now burning crimson, like the sun.
New and different than before, just like Freya and me.
Earth-blessed.
Strangely, when I snatch them so the blades don’t strike the ground, the hilts aren’t even hot.The blades themselves cool quickly, fading from bright red to golden, to silver.
“We can’t stay here.”Freya sounds panicked, and I don’t blame her.We just stole her father’s treasure, and now, she’s weak—weaker even than I am.
“Where will we go and how will we get there?”
“We certainly can’t stay here,” she says.“And you betrayed your people.Will they welcome us?”
I doubt it, but with the heartstone and no evil vanir with me, at least not as far as they can see...“It probably depends on what we take with us.”
It’s our best chance.
Her ability to talk to me the same way as before surprises me.When I feel for it...our bond is still there.I’m not sure what it means.
“We need to go,” I say.
“The only way out is up,” Freya says.
But when I look up...I have no idea how we could possibly get through there.
“She gave you wings,” Freya says.“Use them.”
I try.About four pumps later, I slam into the wall, knocking icicles to the ground.The shattering sounds echo loudly.
“We’re going to die,” Freya says.
I groan, but I pick myself up, and after a moment to recover, I try again.This time, I make it almost twenty paces before lurching sideways and crashing into the wall again.The room I found so uniquely beautiful has transformed into a total nightmare, full of erratic, low ceilings and sharp icicles.
“I hate this place,” I say.“You’d think these wings might have come with a set of instructions!”I look around futilely.“You gave Freya clothes and the ability to speak.What do I get?Not even a padded jacket.”
Blood’s running down my arm from a gash where a sharp icicle sliced me open.There are two more lacerations on my legs and one on my back that hurts at least as much as my arm, maybe more.
“Gyda,” Freya says.“If you can’t fly us out of here soon, we’re going to die.My father left to deal with a group of humans they stole from the æsir, but that takes almost no time, and?—”
But it’s already too late.
Judging by the roar, Daddy’s back, and he sounds really angry.
19
Liz
It’s happening every time I go to sleep now.
When I wake up, I’m not even a bit rested, and my heart’s racing.“She’s going to die.They’re both going to die.”
Are you alright?
Axel must be close—his voice isn’t distant at all.“Did you wait all night?”I can’t quite help my smile.“How pathetic.”
I know.It really is, but at least I’m not the only one.Asteria’s smiling like a complete imbecile at your sister right now because she thinks we’re all busy with other things.
