:Is he Blood?:Dörr asked.
:I don’t know. Maybe? I was only able to connect to him for a brief moment.:
:I worry you will be unprotected on the other side, unless Lokken and Gunnarr can pass.:
:I’m afraid I won’t be able to touch Bifröst,:Lokken said.:I’m descended from jötnar, the enemies of the Aesir. Which leaves you, Gunnarr.:
:Me?:Gunnarr gulped.
:The fox is unaffected by the rainbow,:Lokken said.:Unless you have jötnar or dark alfar blood too, you should be unaffected. In theory, at least.:
I thought Gunnarr was nervous about being the only Blood to go with me. But then he whooped.
:Hot damn! Finally something I can do other than eat!:
:Test it first,:Dörr told him.:Put your arm into the rainbow and make sure you don’t turn into a statue like Myrk.:
I couldn’t see through the splashing water, but I watched through the bond. I felt a tingling warmth on Gunnarr’s skin. It reminded me of lying on my back in the spring wildflowers andgrass as a girl, feeling the sunlight warm my skin, soaking into my bones.
:I’m good to go,:Gunnarr said.:I can still move.:
Dörr carefully moved closer between Myrk and Gunnarr, though he didn’t immediately pass me to the other Blood. Blinking furiously, I still couldn’t see his face more than a hint of darkness flickering through the droplets. To reassure him, I reached up and cupped his cheek.:All will be well, my Darkest. I’ll be careful.:
:If any harm comes to you, and I’m unable to respond…:A deep grinding echoed through the bond, as if he crushed boulders between his teeth.:The humans will marvel at how three giant stone gargoyles suddenly appeared in their waterfall.:
:I don’t know how long the Bifröst will hold,:I warned them.:Myrk should be released once the rainbow disappears.:
:How will you return?:Lokken asked.
:If the man on the other side can’t open the way, I’ll return to Yggdrasil and come through using my own power. I’ll call to you as soon as I’m back if I can’t come straight here.:
:Do you trust this man?:Anguish thickened Dörr’s voice and his bond. He hated not being able to go with me.:What if he’s Loki in disguise?:
:I will know. My power has been released this time, so I can defend myself. My magic will warn me if he can’t be trusted.:
Though to be sure, perhaps it would be best to have my blood at the ready so I wouldn’t lose any time calling forth my power. I bit my left wrist and held out my other hand for Bjørg. She leaped onto my chest, and I curled my arm around her. Dörr gently passed me over to Gunnarr without a word, though his bond rumbled with the dread threat of a million-ton avalanche if any harm came to me.
:Ready?:Gunnarr asked.
I pressed my bleeding wrist against the back of my other hand to stem the blood flow until I needed it.:Yes.:
Cradling me against his chest, he stepped into the rainbow.
22
HELAYNA
Droplets of water hung suspended like crystal prisms, casting sparkling colorful light all around us. The pounding thunder of the waterfall muted into tinkling chimes and harpsichord strings. Rather than ground or even water, the floor beneath Gunnarr’s feet shimmered like pearly ice, reflecting all the rainbow lights.
“Whoa,” he whispered reverently.
Bjørg growled softly, a warning though she didn’t bare her teeth. I looked around, bracing for an attack.
Gunnarr tightened his hold on me. “What is it?”
“I don’t?—”
The soft rainbow lights pulsed. It felt like something reached into my core and tugged, pulling us forward in a blur. A giant sucking on a straw, dragging us without moving. Brilliant streams of color blurred around us as if we were traveling the speed of light. When we stopped, Gunnarr staggered, caught off balance. Though he never lost his grip on me.
