She yelped again, a whimper broke my heart. Then her broken body fell to the ground in front of me.
“Here she is, pet.”
Two green, glowing holes danced closer. Flashing emeralds, bright and shining in the gloom beneath the broken tree. Then darkness engulfed me.
Bjørg whined softly and nuzzled my chin, breaking the terrible memory. She’d tried to warn me then. She’d waited for me to find her on the frozen shores of Náströnd, so she could come back to me. I pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head and then carefully set her on top of Gunnarr’s broad shoulder.
If this man was Loki’s enemy…
I met Heimdallr’s steady gaze. “I accept your offer, Heimdallr, and welcome you as my Blood.”
23
HEIMDALLR
Watching from Himinbjörg since the beginning of time, not much could surprise me now. All the realms played out before me while I stood guard above the cliffs of Ásgarðr. Waiting for the day of reckoning. Ragnarök, the war foretold where Loki and I would kill each other.
We’ve come close to the end several times. As the god of mischief and chaos, Loki would like nothing more than to destroy all the worlds. He’d cackle with glee as he watched everything burn and crumble to dust. Even if we ended as well.
A remnant would survive. Life would find a way to go on without the old guardians standing watch, though the worlds would be forever changed. Whether they would be brighter or darker, I couldn’t say. I wasn’t the only eternal watcher, bound to see everything unfold, yet forced to remain mostly powerless to change the slightest outcome.
This seemingly delicate woman standing before me had the power to change everything.
She not only had the power to tear Jörmungandr asunder, but also to surprise me. Delight me. Torment me. Such adelicious torment it would be, when even a single drop of her blood in the Bifröst lit up the realms with sparkling energy.
With her acceptance, I lifted her bleeding wrist to my mouth and sipped on the forbidden wine of hot, fresh, living blood. Queen’s blood, a goddess’ daughter, ripe with shimmering power. I tasted the icy shores of Náströnd and the deepest, darkest pits of the Endless Slough in her blood, but it was the bubbling flow of pure, sweet wellspring I craved.
She watered Yggdrasil with her blood when she escaped Hvergelmir. Now she watered me, and by association, the Bifröst. Uniting two titans of magical energy in a way I alone could never accomplish. My power didn’t lie directly with the mighty world tree, even though the rainbow bridge shimmered among its roots and branches.
Now, her magic rooted in me, spreading Hel’s Darkness like a silent river winding along the rainbow bridge.
Still on my knees, I gently yet firmly pulled her closer, determined to solidify the Blood bond as soon as possible. Selfishly, yes, I wanted the bond, but also just in case Loki lay in wait on the other side of the rainbow. I could have pressed the bear’s bite on my forearm to her lips, but after millennia with very little companionship, I would certainly rather have her fangs in my throat.
Her goddess had given her fangs for a reason. I wanted to feel them buried in my flesh.
The piercing slide of sharp ivory was exquisite. The sensation of her soft mouth on my skin, divine. But more, the knowledge she fed. On me. She drank of me. My power. My essence. My magic. My soul, such that it was. I gathered her close in my arms and stood, cradling the back of her head so she would continue feeding.
Though if I had learned anything about this queen’s tender heart while watching from afar for so long, I knew her fear wouldbe any discomfort endured by her Blood worrying for her safety away from them. “We shall return to your dark alfar and ice giant at once, Your Majesty.”
:Wait,:the bear said.:There were humans at the waterfall. I can’t shift back without… er… showing them my birthday suit.:
I bellowed out a laugh that likely shook the roots of Yggdrasil. “Then you’d best scare the life out of them by staying a polar bear.”
Rainbows streamed around me as I strode back the way she’d come to hasten our return. The bear grumbled and huffed at my pace, so I couldn’t resist teasing him.
“Don’t be left behind, Gunnarr, or you may find yourself wandering around on a distant planet overrun with dinosaurs hungry for a little blubber.”
She started to lift her head, so I tightened my fingers, pressing her mouth back to my throat.:I tease only, Your Majesty. I will never leave a single precious hair from your head behind, let alone one of your loves.:
A soft sound escaped her lips, her smile curving against my flesh.:Thank you, though I never would have accepted you as Blood if I thought you might abandon anyone.:
She did not know what her words meant to me. With the Bifröst now at her fingertips, she no longer neededmeto open the way to the golden halls of the gods themselves. She could have taken my power and ordered me to remain a sentinel at the edge of the skies. A risk I was willing to take, because I knew power simply for the sake of possessing more was not her goal.
Which was exactly why I had been unable to resist offering her my assistance. I wanted to be a part of her world. Not Miðgarðr, butherworld. Her House. Her Blood. Her love.
Her laughter sparkled through my mind brighter than any frequency of light I could achieve.:I don’t think I should drink any more of your blood.:
Though I noted she did not lift her mouth. I pressed my lips to her temple.:Why is that, Your Majesty?:
