“Aslaug is keeping him busy. Do you have a plan?” She ignores my anger.
“Rasha.”
“I have the bow, remember.” She places her hand in mine for amoment and squeezes. “Usually we hunt from both sides and box the animal in. With the cold running water, we should have the advantage.”
Exhaling a ragged breath, I nod and leave her to maneuver to the other side of the aggravated Fenrir. When Aslaug sees me making a run for it, she jumps off his back, leaving blood trails and bite marks covering his face.
“Good girl,” I tell the cat as we prepare to tackle the huge hairy wolf. “Try avoiding its mouth,” I add, as if she doesn’t already know. We run up a set of boulders, jumping with every last hidden bit of power left in my bones. Willing strength beyond my mortal body, I collide with his oily fur. The power of the two of us sends him down to the forest floor with a seismic quake, making the icy ground split on all sides.
“Fen, who sent you?” I groan as he rolls over, snapping his jaws when he tries to rip me off his body. Snarling and growling ensues, and I wiggle free to run further down to the water where I hope to the fucking fates Rasha is able to conjure an arrow.
Leaping, he almost closes his jaws around Aslaug as I hurl an axe into his chest. The hit distracts him enough that she is able to scurry up a tree, but Fenrir’s fur is too dense for the blade to do any sizable damage.
Running back to the sound of the rushing river, he rams his ugly snout into my back, tossing me in the air. I hear my ribs crack as I hit the ground and roll away before he can sink his teeth into me. Fenrir growls, drool flying everywhere, but I grit my jaw and aim another axe at his eye.
Blinking back blood when the axe hits its mark, I hiss, “Go home before you regret this.” Fenrir closes his wounded eye. Forgetting about Rasha, he hauls his angry ass through the thick trees to try to chomp on me.
“Here, boy,” Rasha whistles. I use the slight turn of his head to run underneath and drive my seax knife into his belly. His ear-piercing howl deafens me, and I don’t see his head whip around. Razor sharp canines sink into my shoulder and deep into my back.
Rasha’s screaming pumps adrenaline straight into my heart.Aslaug appears from nowhere and latches her strong jaw onto Fenrir’s back leg. His teeth release me to change opponents, and I get to my feet, shutting out the agonizing pain to run to my cat.
“Fenrir, is this what you came for?” Rasha’s voice is louder than it should be, silencing every sound in the forest. She’s climbed up a wet rock in the middle of the river. The crazed wolf turns to see a formidable huntress wielding Skadi’s silver bow aimed at his chest. Fenrir bolts for her. His open jaw drips blood and drool while his oily, black fur catches on the thick pine trees.
My heart feels like it is going to burst into flames, so I clutch my chest, dropping to my knees as the bond is overwrought with her determination. His massive paws hit the ground, too fast for me to intervene, and he leaps over the water to eat her.
The fibers of my mortal body are pulled to my limit. Holding my bleeding shoulder, I pray to my mother for the first time in a hundred years for her to protect Rasha. My joints and ligaments stretch beyond their capability in a blast of light, and I lift my head to see a long, silver arrow flying through the blue sky. Swirling snow circles behind as it sinks deep into Fenrir’s chest.
With a yelp, the wolf crashes into the river and is swept away by the gushing water and ice blocks flowing downstream. When I try to stand, my vision darkens, and I grasp my knee for support. My shoulder is bleeding uncontrollably from Fenrir’s immortal fangs when I lift my hand away.
“Shaw? Shaw, where the fuck are you?” She’s yelling for me, but I can’t seem to form words. Aslaug bounds over, her big amber eyes full of concern as she pushes her body under my arm. Rasha’s footsteps are not far behind.
“Shit, Shaw, you’ve been bitten.” She crashes to her knees at my side and pulls my shirt off my torn up back.
“You conjured an arrow,” I weakly say into her hair. Threading the shirt under my arm, Rasha does her best to cover the deep bite wounds, pulling the sleeves of the tunic to make a knot.
“I did,” she breathes. Gripping her hips in preparation, I succumb to blinding pain as she yanks the makeshift bandage tight. I focus on her thundering heartbeat and how my fingers aretouching her, leaning into her sweat-licked skin. “Shaw, stay with me. We need to get to the cabin. Tell me what to do?” Her panic brings life back into my eyes.
“I can walk.” I grind my jaw and stand but stumble into her. Aslaug helps to stabilize us. We make it to the easiest part of the steep mountain path back to the cabin.
“Where will his body go?” she asks, and I look over our shoulders to the rolling river. Fenrir’s body is gone.
“He cannot die. You, my lady, opened the channel when you used the bow, so Fenrir will return.” Vidarr’s voice makes Rasha turn. Her quick movements knock me off balance, and I hit the rough bark of a tree.
“You took one for the realm, I see.” Vidarr strolls over to me, lifting the bandages as I wince.
“Where were you?” I glare at my younger brother as he presses his hand into my chest. Grunting at the collision of my bond against Rasha and Vidarr’s power, I start to feel my blood cease to trickle from the bite wounds, and my ribs crack back into place.
“What are you doing!” Rasha’s here, pushing against Vidarr. I do love her fearlessness. My glare changes to smirk at my brother who gives me a final pulse of power and releases me.
“I’m healing him,” he says, leaving an edge to his voice that doesn’t phase Rasha one bit.
“How do I know you didn’t send that beast?” She assaults his character. I laugh, bringing fresh air into my smashed lungs to reinvigorate my body.
“Why would I do that?” he asks. She steps between us, covering me with her arms. Aslaug runs to Vidarr, pushing her nose into his hands and sniffing around his long, soft coat for evidence of the rest of our family. Vidarr feels her all over for scratches and wounds, gazing up at Rasha. “I want my brother to come home. Though right now I am in the minority, which is why I couldn’t intervene when Fenrir appeared. If they knew I was walking between the Vanheim, we would all be worse off.”
“What do you mean? In my experience, brothers will do anything to get ahead,” she says. Vidarr slides his stare beyond herto me. I shrug and find my footing, looping an arm around Rasha’s waist to bring her ear to my mouth.
“I have more fear of Vidarr falling for your beauty than I do of him trying to kill me,” I murmur, and she shivers against my chest.
