“Why was I looking for you? Should I not have been?”
My jaw clenched. That wasn’t an answer. It was a dodge. “Never mind. Forget I said anything.”
What did I expect him to say? He was looking for me because he cared? Because every time he left, he couldn’t wait to return?
“Astrid, do you want me to leave?”
“No.” Again the words came quickly, and this time quiet. I didn’t want him to leave. Ever again.
A bright flash lit up the sky, and then a booming crack. I shrieked and jumped back, right into Týr’s hard body. He wrapped an arm around me, and instantly I felt safe and warm.
“Let’s get out of this before the storm gets worse,” Týr said.
I didn’t want to go home, where my family would be to say something I didn’t want them to. This place was better—even with the storm, it was far more peaceful. I could forget reality existed for a little longer here. “I’m staying a bit longer. But you can go if you want.”
It hurt to say those words. It cracked the little fantasy world I was in, but I had to say them.
Týr’s grip tightened, and he pulled us back into the tree more. “No, I will stay with you.”
Warmth bloomed in my chest. Those were words I liked hearing.
We sat between the roots of the tree. The rain continued to come down, and soon the tree struggled to protect us. Týr threw his cloak over my head to shield me. His thoughtfulness made me smile. And it brought a thought to mind. Can I protect us from this?
My mother had taught me all sorts of spells. They didn’t have incantations, or require special items. It was a thought in my mind’s eye. I had to picture what I wanted and tap into my magic to make it reality. That made things difficult when I didn’t see something like she did. But could I make something that kept the rain at bay?
I pictured how the rain rolled off rooves and pictured it doing that. Not one that I could see with my eyes, so as not to ruin the beautiful scenery, but still a roof of some kind.
My magic built inside me and then expanded out. A brief shimmer caught my eyes and then, the rain stopped falling on us.
I leaned forward and high above, just as I’d pictured, the water rolled to either side of us, creating a watery curtain against the invisible force. A broad smile tugged at my cheeks and excitement burst through me. “I did it!”
Týr held out his hand, searching for water. “This is impressive, Astrid.”
My joy and pride doubled.
A bright flash and an even louder crack of thunder. I shrieked again and ducked back against the tree trunk. “Thor must be angry today.”
“He is,” Týr said. His eyes scanned the sky. “No doubt furious he can’t find me or Baldr.”
I was hesitant to inquire, but did anyway. “Did something happen?”
He made a thoughtful sound. “Yeah.”
“Do you… want to talk about it?” I doubted he would, but I made the offer nonetheless.
Not surprisingly, he remained quiet. A deeper piece of me wilted under the rejection, and I wished it hadn’t. I didn’t belong in the lives of gods. It was why I did my best not to inconvenience him with my insignificant mortal problems as much as possible.
“I don’t know how to put it into words just yet,” Týr said quietly. His response surprised me. I didn’t expect him to want to talk about it. “Why are you angry with your brother?”
I pulled my knees up to my chest and shrugged. “We just got into a small fight. Tension has been high lately, so it was bound to happen.”
“Because of the baby coming?” Týr guessed.
“Leif has been annoying through the whole thing, but he means well. He’s just worried. But because we’re in the last month of Frida’s pregnancy, he’s gotten a bit worse.” I shook my head. “Mother said it’s normal for first-time fathers to do this, but honestly I think he’s just being a little too dramatic.”
Týr let out a laughing snort. “Is this all that’s caused the tension, or is there something else?”
I chewed my lip. There was something else, something that had me out of sorts that Leif didn’t know about. “No, there’s something that’s been bothering me…”
