“Gods no, Solveig. The queens would never forgive me. I just don’t want you running off to Asgard with half-truths and assumptions,” Ragnvald said calmly. Solveig said nothing, her attention returning to Laeknir, who refused to look away from her. “Maybe you’d like to go first,” the King of Hel nudged when she said nothing.
Solveig let out an irreverent snort.
“Come now, there must be something you’d like to share,” Ragnvald insisted.
“You told me the story of the love you found in Hel,” Solveig said, speaking only to Laeknir. “Is she the reason thousands of Vanir gave their lives? She’s why their blood now soaks the ground of our home?”
“Yes,” came his quiet reply.
“Since when is one life worth those of an entire people?”
He did not answer.
“You truly value her soul at the cost of countless others?”
“Yes,” Laeknir whispered again, head bowed.
“How romantic,” Ragnvald drawled.
“Selfish,” Solveig corrected, and Laeknir’s eyes snapped to hers.
“She’s my Hjarta. You don’t get to judge me for that which you do not understand.”
Solveig shook her head, trying and failing to wrap her head around this. This was Laeknir. “She’s dead.”
“She’s in Hel,” he whispered, and understanding dawned. He’d made a deal with Ragnvald. The King of Helheim had exiled him from his love and this was how he was getting back to her.
“I understand that one life, regardless of whose it is, is not worth betraying an entire world for.”
“That is because you are not capable of the kind of bond it takes to love someone with your entire soul,” he accused. Solveig flinched at the venom and disgust in his tone. “You could have, with Latham, but you turned your back on him.” This didn’t make any sense, Laeknir had never liked Latham.
“You turned your back on us!” Solveig cried. “I gave up my very soul to protect you, him, our people!”
“And look where that got you,” he replied sadly. Solveig shook her head again, tearing her gaze away from Laeknir, meeting Ragnvald’s amused but questioning stare.
What else did she have to lose?
“Idavoll Fae tortured me for months, though I’m sure you already know that since it was you who gave the order to capture my people looking for traitors. A pretence for what purpose, Ragnvald?”
The prince whipped his head to her, but she kept her focus on the pretender king. He only smiled, not an ounce of remorse found anywhere in his expression.
“I’m quite impressed with the resilience of your people. Well, most of your people,” he said with a sidelong glance at Laeknir.
Pride swelled in her chest as she thought through each of the one hundred soldiers who’d given their lives protecting their people. The emotion was quickly followed by a wave of rage as she registered how useless it had all been with Laeknir feeding the information they were after anyway.
“Your puppet here didn’t give you everything you needed? You had to take our lives too?” she snapped, head jerking to the healer.
“Ah, you see, it was a delicate balancing act. I couldn’t let your legion grow stronger, and I couldn’t draw suspicion to my spy. I couldn’t let you gain power and momentum. I already had the information I needed—you only needed to remain weak and out of Asgard.
“You were never meant to be captured, that was all your doing. Though it’s been entertaining, especially after your return. Hearing how you cried like a weak mortal gave me quite a sense of accomplishment. I finally broke you.” Solveig froze as Ragnvald went on.
“It did get dreadfully boring, after a while, to hear how you cowered in the cave and waited for—what did you call them again? Oh yes, Water, Thick, and Stick. Terribly unclever if you ask me. Am I forgetting one? Ah yes,Fear.” Ragnvald’s eyes twinkled with mischief.
“How you went on and on about the figure who haunts your nightmares. It’s sad, really, that you let yourself be so caught up in this version of a male that you couldn’t see what was right in front of you.”
He tsked his tongue, switching his focus to his grandson, leaving Solveig to wrap her mind around the depth of Laeknir’s betrayal.
Three betrayals. One ends in death, one in Valhalla, and the other in Hel.
