"Thought not."
"Thor, this is your one true shot at finding the person who makes you happy. Someone meant for you. To make you whole. To give you the life you both deserve. Together. Are you willing to give that up for both of you? You aren’t the only one hurting. A relationship goes two ways. Meaning, you are her fated mate as much as she is yours. What will it do to her if you don’t get over it?"
Thor tossed a sliver of the Bifröst into the void. "Even Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr love her."
Heimdall chuckled. "Well, if you don't want to listen to me, listen to them. Those goats haven't been wrong about anyone."
"They only tolerate me," he said.
Heimdall stood. "Like I said, never wrong."
Thor laughed.
Heimdall smiled and walked several feet along the Bifröst before disappearing.
Thor stared out at the blackness. Maybe it was time he forgot about Surtr, Ragnarök, and everything else and moved forward. It'd been over a thousand years. Didn’t he deserve happiness? Better yet, didn’t Elle?
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Thor dropped into the upper hallway of the Raven Weaver, a few doors down from Elle's apartment. He stared down the hall for several minutes, trying to formulate what he would say. Apologies were a given. And let her tell him her story. He was still conflicted over who she was, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to forgive her, or his family, so quickly for deceiving him, but one thing was for sure- he couldn’t lose Elle.
Thor took a deep breath and walked to Elle's door. He lifted his hand to knock, but it stood ajar. The hairs raised on his arm. He knocked, and the door creaked open a few inches. No sound floated out of the darkness. He knocked again, and the door opened wider.
"Elle?" Thor waited. "Elle, it's Thor."
No reply.
He wondered for a moment if she'd gone down to the bar.
Thor stepped into the apartment. "Elle?"
He walked to the lamp and turned it on. His stomach dropped like he'd eaten a boulder. The table and chairs had been flipped. The couch pillows scattered across the floor, and Elle's high heels lay on either side of the kitchen area.
"Elle!" Thor tore through the apartment to the bedroom. The bed remained as disheveled as when he'd left.
"Elle!" He ran into the bathroom.
Nothing.
Thor rushed back to the hallway and down the stairs to the Raven Weaver. He stopped at the bottom and scanned the bar. He caught Heimdall speaking to Val and Loki and headed for them.
"Have you seen Elle?" he demanded.
Val jumped to her feet. "She's upstairs."
Thor shook his head. "Her apartment looks like there's been a fight."
Val fled quicker than Thor thought possible. Loki followed after.
"Can you see her?" he asked Heimdall.
Heimdall's eyes glazed over and turned white. They moved rapidly back and forth and then cleared. "She is on Muspelheim."
Shit.
Thor grabbed Mjölnir, but Heimdall laid his hand on Thor's arm. "Not here."
Thor glanced around at the mortals and headed for the portal.
