Vali laughed.

The world stopped spinning, and the salt tang of the ocean faded. I opened my eyes hesitantly, although I didn’t release my death grip around Vali’s shoulders. Grass. I saw green grass, and gray clouds trimmed with delicate, opalescent pink. I blinked, taking in the steep cliffside beside us. The ocean rolled over itself in dark furrows, far below us.

“What the hell?” I whispered.

Vali’s eyes flashed above his tear-stained cheeks. His grip around my waist tightened and he spun us in a circle. “I did it!” he screamed. “I did it, Karen!”

“Did what?”

“We traveled through the aether!”

He pressed his lips against mine, kissing me. He tasted like the salt of the ocean, the salt of tears, and my body responded with a flood of heat and fierce arousal. I’d never needed someone so suddenly or so desperately. I crushed his face to mine, tilting my head as I opened to him. He responded to my sudden need, his hands tightening around my hips. When he pulled away, I gasped, my heart racing.

“I love you,” Vali said.

My eyes stung, and my vision blurred with fresh tears. “Oh, Vali—”

“No, listen.”

He ran his hand along my cheek, forcing me to meet his gaze. “My entire life I’ve tried to use the aether. I was the biggest failure in the Nine Realms because I lacked magic. It was a joke to the rest of the Æsir. I was a joke! But when I thought of losing you to the ocean...”

Vali crushed me to his chest. “You saved my life a second time, beautiful Karen.”

I tried to speak, but my voice came out a strangled sob. Vali’s fingers traced the jagged rip Hrotti left across the front of my jacket and through my clothes. His hand found my skin, sending jolts of electricity dancing across my skin. My body pulsed with need, tightening my stomach. I grabbed the waistband of his pants, shoving them down over his hips as I pressed my lips to his, devouring him with hungry kisses. We sank together into the soft grass, our tongues embracing as our lips crushed together.

Damn, I wanted him! I wanted all of him, right now. He struggled to pull my ski pants down my hips as I pressed my shoulders against the grass, arching my back, offering myself to him. When he finally slid my pants over my ankles, I gasped, digging my fingernails into his shoulders as my hips moved against his, needing to take him into me, needing to destroy the space between us.

Vali’s hand grabbed the side of my jacket, ripping it, my silk turtleneck, and my bra wide open. My skin prickled as cold air danced over my breasts. Vali’s golden eyes flashed in the fading light.

“Don’t you dare stop now,” I gasped. The heat of his erection pressed between my legs and, oh God, I wanted him. No, I needed him, needed his hard length inside me the way I needed to move, to breathe.

“Vali, please,” I whimpered.

His fingers tightened around my ribs, and he pulled us together. We both cried out as he entered me, forcing my hips deep into the grass. For a moment we held still, his cock buried deep within me, my heartbeat drowning out the distant crash of the waves, pleasure searing a path through my body.

“Oh, Karen,” he panted, his breath hot against the curve of my neck. “I’m glad you’re alive.”

“So am I,” I gasped.

His hips began to move against me, releasing waves of heat that crashed through my body. I reached for his neck, losing my fingers in his long hair. Our lips met, and I could no longer speak. So am I, I thought, before my conscious mind dissolved in the rhythm of our bodies moving together.

So am I.

****

“WHERE ARE WE?” I ASKED.

“We’re in Asgard,” Vali said.

We were curled together in the soft grass at the top of the cliffs, his arm around my shoulders, my head resting on his chest. The tide seemed to be retreating, and the stones of the beach where I’d found him glimmered in the faint light far below. An enormous orange moon was slowly rising over the rolling ocean.

“This is where I was a child,” Vali said. “But it’s... strange right now. It’s too empty. There should be people here.”

“There are people here,” I said.

Vali laughed. “Not just us, beautiful Karen. And not exactly people.”

“No, there is someone else here. Didn’t you see him?”

Vali propped himself against the grass and looked at me. “Him? You saw someone?”

I shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. “I talked to someone when I first arrived. He was... I guess he was about my age. He told me to...” I swallowed. He had told me to get Vali’s sword. “He told me to find you. And he only had one eye.”

“Ah. Right.” Vali bent down and kissed me again, slowly and deeply. My body ached under his touch, already hungry for more, and I moaned into his mouth.

He pulled back and shook his head. “No, we’d better get dressed. He’s going to be expecting us.”

“Who?”

“Óðinn,” Vali said. “The All-father.”

“The one who turned you into a wolf?” I whispered.

Vali’s face darkened, and he lowered his voice to a rough whisper. “I’m sure he’s already watching us. Best not to run from him.”

I shivered as Vali shifted away from me to pull on his shirt. We dressed quickly and silently. My silk turtleneck was ripped down the middle, so I tried to wear it backward. I pulled what was left of my jacket over the turtleneck.

“Well, I must look fucking fantastic,” I muttered, running my fingers through my hair. It was still wet from the ocean.

There was just enough moonlight for me to see Vali’s smile.

“What?” I asked. “Is the backward turtleneck that bad?”

“By the Nine Realms, you are beautiful,” he said.

I felt my cheeks blaze as he reached for my hand, pulling me into his arms. He kissed my damp hair as he crushed me to his chest.

“And I think you were right,” he said. His voice was strangely thick.

“Right about what?”

“Perhaps I’m not a monster.” He took a deep breath. “Monsters don’t love.”

My heart clenched as his meaning sank in. I ran my hand along the strong curve of his neck, feeling the flutter of his pulse against my palm. “You were never a monster, Vali. You were just a small part of a larger plan. Óðinn used you to trap your father.”

He sighed, his entire body rippling against mine. “And you saved me.”

“Vali, I just—”

He pressed his finger to my lips. “Shhhh. We should go. We’re being watched.”

I shivered. Vali stepped back but didn’t let go of my hand, so we walked across the grass together, hand in hand, as if we were young lovers going for a stroll under the enormous moon. Once we crested the nearest hill, I realized what I’d seen sparkling on the grass when I first arrived.

Windows. An enormous building sunk into the hillside. Its hundreds of black windows winked in the moonlight. There was something deeply unsettling about that stretch of darkened windows, and my skin prickled with the sudden urge to walk away. Quickly.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s Val-Hall.” Vali smiled at me. “Would you care to accompany me to the hall of the All-father, my love?”

I couldn’t quite force myself to return his smile. “Of course.”

As we approached the massive building, I was able to slowly make out more features of Val-Hall. The windows were dark, but orange torches flared behind a pair of open doors, casting a flickering illumination across a looming staircase. The smell of roasting meat drifted toward us, and my stomach clenched painfully, reminding me I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. In a different world.

The man I’d seen on the beach stood at the top of the staircase, his arms crossed beneath his broad-brimmed hat. His empty eye socket was even more disconcerting this time around, and his expression was stony. He didn’t acknowledge us until we’d climbed the steps to stand next to him.

“All-Father,” Vali said, bowing low before him.

“Lokisen,” Óðinn said. “I thought Níðhöggr broke you.”

Vali frowned. “I—”

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Karen McDonald,” Óðinn said, cutting off Vali completely. “You didn’t bring me what I wanted, woman. But you know what they say. Don’t expect anything from mortal women, and you’ll never be disappointed!”

I stood, frozen, with my mouth hanging open. For some reason, his words made me want to cry.

“I assume you have a reason for bringing us here,” Vali said.

Óðinn laughed. “Oh, I didn’t bring you here. This is just where you washed up. Wreckage on the tide, you and your whore.”

Blood rushed to my cheeks, and I took a deep breath, ready to tell Óðinn exactly what I thought of him and his stupid hall, but he cut me off.

“So, I expect you two are hungry. You need a place to spend the night. And I do happen to have a few ideas which may interest you.”

Vali glanced at me, then back to Óðinn. “We’re willing to listen to your ideas,” he said.

Óðinn clapped his hands together. “Lovely! Well then, do come in.”

We stepped across the threshold and entered Val-Hall. I followed Vali and Óðinn through a vast, echoing room filled with long tables and benches. I could still smell food, although these tables were all empty, and the fireplaces looked dark and cold. The torches cast odd shadows along the walls. It felt like someone, or something, moved in those shadows, and I grasped Vali’s arm a bit harder than was perhaps necessary.

“What happened here?” Vali asked, his voice low.

Óðinn gave a hard, bitter laugh. “Your father happened.”

The hallway narrowed, then opened into a small room. A fire blazed in the corner, and a neat, circular table in the center of the room was set with golden plates which glimmered in the candlelight. A basket of rolls sat in the middle of the table, and my stomach rumbled.

Óðinn sat, then gestured to the table. “Please. Do join me.”

I pulled back a seat and joined Óðinn, reaching for a roll. This had to be a trap of some kind, but I was too damn hungry to care. Vali removed Hrotti’s sheath from his back and leaned the hilt of the sword against the table, within easy reach.

Food filled the golden plates as soon as Vali sat down; piles of ribs, stacks of small, roasted potatoes, and what looked like a purple sort of coleslaw. Heavy wooden goblets appeared soon after the food. I sniffed my goblet before trying a tiny sip of whatever was inside. The drink was amazingly light, with a gentle bite and a hint of carbonation.

“Wow,” I said. “What’s that?”

Vali laughed. “It’s mead.”

“Right. I should’ve guessed.” Our eyes met across the table, and my heart surged against my rib cage. This was almost certainly a trap. But, damn, at least I was trapped with him.

Vali cleared his throat. “You had ideas to discuss?” he said.

“Right,” said Óðinn, wiping his mouth with a thick, ivory napkin. “All business. I appreciate that about you, boy. You are so much like your mother.”

A shadow flickered over Vali’s face.

“You did hear about your mother, didn’t you?” Óðinn said. “Such a tragedy.”

“Yes, I heard,” he said, his voice low and even.

I reached for Vali’s hand under the table and wrapped his fingers in my own, squeezing gently.

“The ideas?” Vali said.

Óðinn scratched the side of his cheek and turned to look absentmindedly around the room. “It’s a nice place, Val-Hall. And, as you can tell, it’s significantly less crowded than it used to be.”

“What did my father do?” Vali asked.

Óðinn cleared his throat, looking from me to Vali. “Listen, boy. You’ve been with the wolves a long time, but this you should remember. There’s a way things began. And there’s a way things need to end.” Óðinn smacked his palms together in front of his face, making me jump in my chair.

“You’re talking about Ragnarök?” Vali asked. His voice was hushed, almost as if he was afraid someone might overhear us.

“Exactly!” Óðinn boomed. “The last great battle. The Ӕsir riding across Vígríðr to meet the Jötunn. The way the Nine Realms were supposed to end, damn it.” He smacked his hand on the table so hard the basket of rolls jumped in the air.

“Excuse me,” I said. “Ragna...what?”

“Ragnarök,” Vali answered. “The battle that ends all Nine Realms.”

I shivered. “The end of the world?”

Vali and Óðinn nodded as if the end of everything was no big deal.

“Wait,” I said, turning to Óðinn. “You wanted the world to end?”

Vali leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “You had a plan.”

Óðinn laughed. It made my skin crawl. “Of course, I had a plan!” he said. “But your idiot father had a plan, too. And now, instead of a nice, clean break and a brand new world, we’ve got a damn mess. The Nine Realms fractured. Níðhöggr awake, my warriors scattered, the Æsir washing up all over the place.”

Óðinn tossed a bone over his shoulder, wiped his hands and mouth on a napkin, and raised an eyebrow at Vali. “Listen, boy. I didn’t invite you here to talk about what happened. We survived. We’re starting over. The Ӕsir are coming back to Asgard, son. The armies are rebuilding.”

Óðinn smiled, and the hairs on the back of my neck prickled. “Vali Lokisen,” he said, “would you like to come home?”

The room was so quiet I could almost hear the constant thudding of my heart.

“Come...home?” Vali’s voice sounded very small, as if it were coming from far away.

“Why not?” Óðinn spread his arms, a magnanimous gesture that seemed to encompass the room, the vast, empty hall, the dark and restless ocean. “I’ll give you the house you grew up in. You remember that place? With the rose bushes?”

“On the beach,” Vali murmured. “Yes, I remember.”

“Well, come back to Asgard, then.” Óðinn’s one eye flickered over me, like an afterthought, and he cleared his throat. “You can even bring your woman.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” I stammered. “You want Vali to come back and, what, help Níðhöggr? Blow up Yellowstone? End the world? Is that it?”

Óðinn didn’t even look at me. “What do you think, boy?” he said.

Vali cleared his throat. “What’s the price?” he said.

I turned to the great hilt resting against the table. Hrotti. The sword Óðinn asked me to bring back. There it is, I thought. There’s your price.

I was so focused on Hrotti that, when Óðinn finally spoke, I was certain I’d misheard. Vali nodded, then turned to me and raised an eyebrow.

“I’m sorry, what?” I asked.

“It’s my father,” said Vali. “Óðinn wants Loki.”

“You want us to bring Loki here?” I asked, still not sure I’d heard him correctly.

“Not at all,” said Óðinn, his blue eye sparkling jovially. “I just want you to kill the bastard.”