I just don’t expect someone else to defy him first.
No, Hyperion says. We will not return.
Odin turns toward his older son slowly. Why would you defy me, Doom of the Blessed?
You must be kidding me. I knew Odin was bad, but he calls his son the ‘doom’ of their people? He should be up for some kind of award for worst father ever.
I released the vanir, Hyperion says. Or rather, Liz released the vanir to save my life, and I won’t leave the humans to deal with the consequences of her brave act alone. I’ll fight the vanir to defend the humans until my last breath.
Fine, then we’ll leave you, Odin says.
Cold.
I will also stay, Azar says. As will Liz. I won’t risk her. I do care about her safety and wellness. So if you want her to accompany you back home, you’ll have to kill me.
Odin laughs. I’m surprised Thunar hasn’t already. He shakes his head. What kept you from ending him when you discovered all of this rebellion? Odin’s looking at his oldest son.
Thunar’s eyes widen as he meets his father’s eye. The salvation of our people? I feared your anger. He has always been your favorite.
You were my son thousands of years before his egg was laid, Odin says.
From the moment you mated with Freya, your devotion to me died. Thunar tosses his head. You spared me only at her request. Besides, I’m not sure the heart will be enough to save us if we leave. Even here, even near the heart, our people cannot consume and process any fuel unless bonded to an earth child.
And you? Odin asks. Have you bonded one?
Thunar pauses, his face thoughtful. It’s not an expression I’ve seen on him often. I have, but I might not have needed to. His head snaps toward me. She can call on the magic of the heart and give the blessed the ability you and Freya had, to shift into human form.
Odin’s smile is broad. And when I could shift, I didn’t need to be bonded.
Freya persisted in maintaining her bond to that one, Thunar says. But yes, at the time, it freed you from the necessity.
“Without a bond, the blessed will die, even here,” I say. “But we have been working with a very large nation to try and identify bright humans with whom you might bond now that you’re back.”
Odin’s laughter is bitter. I have no intention of being bound to another earth child. Weakness and pandering, that’s what I got from it. He snarls. You will give me this power to shift forms so I don’t need a bonded. You’ll give it to all my people.
“I can’t do that,” I say. “It’s not that simple. Each time I’ve done it, I had to pull on the magic of the heart and on my own strength, and I’ve never done it for more than a handful of blessed.”
Are you afraid for your own safety? Odin flaps his wings, sending me a dozen yards back. I don’t share that concern.
“I’m telling you no,” I say. “We have another solution. We have humans we can bring to bond to each of you, and then you’ll be able to eat and process fuel and help us defeat the vanir before they can devastate more humans. Once that’s done, I’ll cut the heart from my own chest and send you anywhere you want.”
Are you bargaining with me, little one? Odin laughs. I don’t bargain, certainly not with you. He turns to Thunar. You’ve been here. Find her weak spot, and apply pressure.
My weak spot? I dive closer to Azar, and I’m not sure whether it’s to feel safe, or to keep him safe. But that’s not what Thunar had in mind. He leaps into the air, but he doesn’t head toward me at all. No, he dips down and plucks an earth blessed out of the gathered group.
Rufus.
Then he circles around, and lands in front of me. Do as my father says, or I’ll kill him.
“I told you already,” I say. “It’s not that simple. I can’t just make every blessed here able to shift into a human form.”
Odin reaches out and rips Rufus’ head off, blood spraying all over the ground. How about now? How complicated is it now?
I fall straight down, my wings not working, my lungs giving out. Rufus—my flustery, fluffy-topped, mess of an earth blessed friend. Sammy’s good friend. A million Candy Land games, and time playing with Fluff Dog. Christmas morning, with him smiling over a plate of eggs. And now. . .
Like it was nothing, he’s just gone.
No, not gone. Dead.
