22
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Nothing happened as my blood made contact with the water. I was a little disappointed. I’d half expected it to bubble or, at the very least, make a cool sizzling sound.
Once it was done, I faced Hel. She betrayed nothing. It was hard to know if I’d made the right decision.
Beside her, Baldur’s form began to solidify.
I rushed toward him, Fen right behind me. Hel commanded, “Not so fast, Brother. You and I will take a walk together as the siblings reunite.”
Fen gave me a look. “I’ll be fine,” I reassured him.
He leaned over and gave me a lingering kiss, murmuring, “I’m certain my sister and I will have an enlightening conversation. Enjoy your time with your brother.”
I nodded. As they left, I rushed up to Baldur’s throne.
He was almost fully corporeal.
His face broke out into a wide grin when he noticed me. “Phoebe! What are you doing here?” After he spoke, he shook himself as he glanced around. “I am still here, aren’t I? It wasn’t a dream? I lose time in this place. One moment, I know what’s going on. The next, everything is fuzzy.”
I reached out to embrace him, and he hugged me heartily, though he didn’t try to stand. I wasn’t sure if he could. His eyes were still clouded. “Yes, you’re still here,” I said.
“How much time has passed?” he asked.
“Not much,” I answered. “I have good news. Fen and I have a plan to get you out of here.”
He grinned. “I didn’t think such a thing was possible. Where’s the woman?” His head swiveled as he looked around the space. “The one with the”—he brought a hand up to indicate the side of his face—“facial scarring.”
Scarring? Was he serious? Half her face was missing.
I drew his hand into mine and bent over so we were eye to eye. “She left with Fen. Do you know her name?”
He looked a little confused, then he leaned in to whisper, “I’m in Helheim, correct?”
“Yes, you are.” I nodded.
His expression was happy, even given the circumstances. Even in Helheim, the god of light couldn’t help but shine brightly. “I lose time. I’m sorry.”
“There’s no reason to be sorry. It’s not your fault,” I said. “Have you interacted much with Hel?” Surely he had. “The woman with the…facial scars.”
“Briefly…I believe.” That meant they hadn’t talked a lot, which was good.
“It won’t matter soon anyway. As I said, we have a plan to get you out of here. But I needed to talk to you first and make sure it’s what you want. I want to respect your wishes.” He stared at me, his eyes not completely focused. “Baldur, you have to tell me, do you want to leave this place?”
“Oh, yes,” he answered readily. “Staying here is a pretty dismal option, is it not? Will I get my body back? Or will I be invisible forever?”
“Um.” I didn’t really have an answer for him. I assumed he’d be corporeal. “I think you’ll get your body back, but I’m not sure exactly. I’m fairly certain Hel knows exactly what she’s doing and can wield a lot more power than she’s letting on. We’re going to run out of time together soon, and I have a lot to tell you.”
“Phoebe”—he squeezed my hand—“I just want you to know that I appreciate all of this. I want to hear everything, but I have to let you know, in full honesty, I may not remember much. When my body disappears, everything gets fuzzy. This place plays with my mind.”
“I understand,” I told him, patting him on the shoulder. “If you don’t remember, I promise I’ll be here to remind you. The first thing I have to tell you is that I’ve misplaced something very valuable, but once I find it, we’ll be working tirelessly to convince Hel that another wants to come and take your place.” I had no choice but to level with Baldur and let him know his half brother was going to be the one to fill in. I didn’t really want to, but there was no getting around it.
“Who would come here in my stead?” Baldur’s concern was sincere. This would be a crappy place to call home for most.
“The demigod Vali,” I answered. “Our half brother.”
Baldur’s expression was aghast. “That can’t be! Vali cannot come here in my place. He’s a gentle soul, though many are afraid of him because of his size and strength. He is misunderstood. Sentencing him here would surely kill him.”
I stood, wringing my hands. I had to convince him otherwise. Our lives depended on it. “You’re going to have to trust me on this,” I said. “Vali wants to come here. It’s his destiny to save you. He loves you. He told me himself that you’ve always been kind to him.” Baldur appeared like he was going to argue with me, so I rushed on. “There’s more. Since he was a little boy, he’s dreamed of Helheim. He’s yearned for this place. I’ve met with him, and he’s agreed to come—willingly. We just have to convince Hel that she would prefer Vali over you so she will let you go.”
“He really wants to come here? You’re certain?” Deep furrows lined Baldur’s forehead.
“Yes,” I answered. “I promise I’m not lying to you. Vali and I had a face-to-face conversation. I’ve seen some of his earliest memories. This is what he wants. I swear it. He’s meant to do this.”
I heard voices. Fen and Hel were on their way back already.
Baldur began to fade. “No!” I took hold of his hand in an effort to root him in place. “Stay with me for a few more minutes. We aren’t finished.”
“I will try to stay cognizant as long as possible,” Baldur agreed, nodding.
In a rush, I said, “I’m not sure how all this will play out. Hel has to give permission for Vali to come here. Try to encourage her to do so when you talk to her next.”
“I will do my best.” He was almost fully incorporeal, but we were still able to communicate. “I must ask, was my mother very angry?”
“Yes. She was beyond inconsolable.”
“I take it that’s why you’re here.” His voice faded to a stilted whisper, a smile still on his lips.
“That’s correct,” I said. “She would have nothing less than exile. She even sent me here before my trial was completely over.”
“That sounds like her.”
And just like that, he was gone.
In his ghostly form, he no longer recognized me standing before him. I waved my hands in front of his face, hoping to get a reaction, to no avail.
“That won’t work.” Hel’s tone was angry. Her chat with Fen must’ve not gone well.
I stepped away from Baldur. Opting for magnanimous, which might work better, I bowed my head. “Thank you for letting me speak with him. I appreciate it.”
“It had nothing to do with me. You paid the price,” Hel said.
Fen’s face was set. He reached for my hand. “We agreed I would take you back to my room with me. We will stay there until further notice.”
I raised my eyebrows, glancing between the two. “Okay.” I couldn’t exactly say we needed to head to the labor camp to search for the jewel.
“We will retire now,” Fen told his sister.
She nodded just as another burst of flames erupted on the river. I glanced behind me. There were quite a few fiery souls in need of attention.
“I must get back to work,” Hel answered indifferently. “The beasts will escort you.” On command, the beasts, who had backed away while they were gone, came forward, snarling and snapping.
She headed toward the river as Fen began to lead me away.
I knew better than to question him right away, but the intensity in his movements was alarming.
Something had happened on their walk.
It didn’t take us long to arrive at Fen’s cell. I wasn’t sure how the beasts were going to lock it up, since they didn’t have opposable thumbs, but I didn’t care.
Fen herded me into the room at almost a full jog.
He slammed the door, and I turned to face him, breathless. “What’s going on?”
Running a hand through his hair, he began, “She’s toying with us. This is all a game to her. She intends to kill us.”
I backed up against the wall. “Did she say that for certain?”
“She didn’t have to,” he replied. “What she said for certain was that she couldn’t let our presence here get out to other realms, or in her words, ‘Bodies of all kinds would find their way here.’ She is not willing to allow her realm to be a refuge or place for those who are ‘alive.’ So she will kill us, likely sooner rather than later.”
“Well, I’m glad she tipped her hand,” I said. “At least now we know her intentions. The only chance we have to gain the advantage is to get the stone back and use it to bribe her. If we give her something she wants more than keeping us here, we win.”
Fen’s expression took on an even darker cast. “She told me that if we leave this room, she will punish us severely.”
“Did she ask how I escaped before?”
“She indicated that she knew you would escape—even going so far as to say that she thought you would have done it sooner. Apparently, it was a test.”
Puzzling. Like everything else around here.
“Did I pass or fail?”
“She didn’t say.” Fen paced in front of me. “My sister showed me a glimpse of her true self.” Fen never, ever looked scared, but he was coming close now. It made my blood run cold. I’d never seen Fen so much as quake once in the face of danger. “We have underestimated her. She’s vile and full of hatred. She means to do us harm, and I believe she will do so.”
“I’ve felt something was off with her the entire time. She’s devoid of any feeling. I’m not sure she’s even capable of empathy.” Having half of her face missing didn’t exactly help in the emotional understanding department. “We’re just going to have to work quickly to convince her that having Vali here is necessary, and once he is, she has to let us all go.” It sounded impossible out loud. “For any chance of success, we first have to find the stone, because without it, we have no leverage whatsoever. I don’t think I can get Vali here without it.”
“If we leave this sanctuary, we pay the price,” Fen said.
“It sounds like we’re going to pay the ultimate price no matter what, so we can’t let her threats stop us. If I can get through Surtr’s torture, I can withstand whatever Hel has to dish out.”
I hoped.
“There is no solay here to heal you.” His voice was soft as he leaned down and brushed his lips against mine.
“That’s true, but I will find a way to endure. Lest you forget, I can create cillars. Yggdrasil can heal me. In fact, I’m feeling incredibly vibrant from my recent ride.” To illustrate that fact, I shot energy to my fingertips and ran them along his pecs. Sparks leaped at the connecting points, and Fen growled deliciously. “I’m not as weak and frail as I was when we first met. I’ve come a long way. We can do this. We have to. If we don’t, we’re either stuck here for eternity, or we’re dead. I don’t see a lot of other options open to us.”
“You’re right. We have to do it,” he said. “But I don’t like putting you in harm’s way.”
“You’d swaddle me in bubble wrap if you thought that would keep me safe,” I joked.
He grinned. “That I would.” He leaned down again. His lips were silky and sweet. There was nothing I wanted more than to get lost in his kisses.
Reluctantly, I pressed my palm against his chest and pushed back. “As much as I want to do this right now, we have to find the stone.”
“You are irresistible to me, Valkyrie.” His tone was husky, making my toes curl. “We have spent too many days apart.”
Didn’t I know it.
“You’re irresistible to me, as well. If all goes well, we’ll have many, many days together in our future. That’s what we’re working toward.”
He snarled aggressively. “I will not see you harmed.”
“You won’t,” I promised. “We’ll take a cillar I used before, get the stone from the spirit, and arrive back before Hel notices we’re gone. When she finally comes to find us, we’ll convince her that Vali will make her a perfect mate, make a deal she can’t refuse, and head for home.”
“Ah, shieldmaiden, you have a way of making things sound much more pleasant than they are.” He chuckled.
“It’s a special talent of mine.” I ran my hands over the wall. “I came through around here, didn’t I?”