“You’re doing this to yourself as you have in the past. Breathe through and calm as you should.” Suddenly, I’m no longer surrounded by darkness, and my godmother comes into the light.
Beauty radiates off her in waves. Her shimmering, slick black hair drapes over her shoulders and down her back. The dress she’s wearing is one designed solely for her in black with red glimmering everywhere. It’s strange that she could look sobeautifully young and yet is far older than I dare ask she is. It’s baffling, really. This woman is my godmother, and yet we look as though we could be siblings instead.
I take a breath and then another one.
“What am I doing here?” I ask.
“I felt your panic and brought you here to help you through it.” She pauses and smiles, deviously. “Though, it might not have been a good idea. Seems you’ve caught the attention of the man meant to be yours, decreed by the Norns.”
The Norns are what the Norse fate goddesses were called.
“I didn’t do anything,” I snap, not wanting to talk about this.
“You didn’t have to.” Hel chuckles, waving nonchalantly. “We’ll move this along and join them again in just a moment.”
“Just take me back to the house I’m renting.” Since I’m no longer there, I can get her to take me where I need to go. “Better yet, take me to my car. I need to get it back.”
“Child, you are blind to what is going on.” The annoyed huff is telling that she’s close to snapping at me. Granted, it doesn’t take much to cause Hel to lose her temper, but I’m not typically on the bad side of her harsh tongue. “You need to open your eyes and see what I’ve done in sending you there instead of simply making you come with me in the first place. It’s the reason I waited to tell Leon when you refused to give him the full details of what’s been going on with you.”
She steps closer, her hand coming to curl the apple of my cheek. “You are immortal now. I’ve gifted you a power, but this does not make you invisible. You may not die, however, you can be hurt in other ways.”I open my mouth to speak, only for Hel to cover my mouth with her fingers. “The Norns deemed the other half of your soul to be this man. Listen to that connection. Do not go against it. It’s a gift that isn’t given to all. You are not your parents. You will not lose each other. As much as your parentsloved one another, they were not the other halves of each other. You and this man are.”
“I don’t want to talk about this,” I whisper.
“I know, but you needed a minute away from all who were going to witness your panic attack, and I could not allow this to happen.”
“Why?” I didn’t need to ask.
“You already know.”
I did know. Because when I get overwhelmed, panic seeps in, I lose control, and the gift that Hel gave me grows stronger than I can handle at one time.
“As much as I like to see you learn to control your gifts, child, I didn’t want Freya’s grandchildren at risk.”
“Wait, Evelin is carrying Freya’s grandchildren, as in more than one?” I stare at Hel in shock.
“Yes,” Hel confirms with a nod. “Your new friend is carrying twin boys but doesn’t know it. They wanted to be surprised, so the only thing they know is she’s healthy.”
I don’t think I could do that. I’d want to know. I’d want to be able to see a doctor.
“We should get you back, child,” Hel announces, removing her hand from my face before taking my left. “Remember, everything has a reason. Rankin is worthy of you as his other half. He’s a warrior. A protector. He’ll see you through it and handle you with care. You merely need to open yourself up to him.”
“You know you’re supposed to be the Goddess of Death, right?” I point out making her laugh.
“I am this, but I also see when life is blooming within,” she states, smiling. “Now come, we will get you back to your Rankin before he loses his mind.”
Rankin.
Heat.
Both suit the man she speaks of.
But I’m not sure if what she says is true. Can I trust that he won’t hurt me?
ELEVEN
HEAT
The sound of my little sister’s screams are not something I ever want to hear again. They plague me enough as it is, and hearing her screaming for Fire and me from the other room didn’t help.
