Page 24 of Between Broomsticks and Beating Wings
She stared at me blankly, like she didn’t intend on apologizing, but I could see a hint of amusement dancing at the corners of her lips.
“Come on, seeress. Let me show you where the bedchamber is.” Rune didn’t turn back to look at me before she made her way out of the kitchen and down the hall. She stopped in front of a polished wooden door, and only then did she take a second to glance over her shoulder at me.
She’d called me seeress again, and something about the way she watched me had me unsettled to my very core. This woman harbored secrets close to her chest, and she was old enough to know how to safeguard them. One way or another, I would uncover what she was hiding. Who knew? Maybe all it would take was one night with my head upon a pillow. In the morning, I could understand so much more of this valkyrie, of this place.
“Goodnight then,” I said, brushing past her and claiming the chamber as my own. When she walked in after me and began fiddling with flint to light the candles sitting atop a wooden hutch, I stared at her and said, “I’m capable of lighting my own candles.”
“I should hope so,” Rune chuckled.
“Then why are you still here?” I asked. It came out more abrasive than I’d meant it, but this immortal creature had kidnapped me, thrown me from a window, and taken me to yet another mysterious location against my will. She wouldnotbe sharing this bedchamber with me. Who knew what kind of mischief she’d get up to as I slept?
“Unless you want me to sleep on the floor of the main room, this is where I’ll be.”
“This is not where you’ll be,” I said, my eyes darting to the singular bed sitting in the middle of the quaint room. “Do you even need to sleep?”
She released an irritated sigh, setting down the flint. “I’m alive, so of course I sleep. I may not need to sleep much, but I still need it. And I’mtired,”she said.“So please, let’s not make a thing of it. It’s a bed, not a marriage proposal.”
A marriage proposal? Who said anything about marriage?
“The other side of the bed is reserved for Tove,” I said, not willing to part with him for the night, not after everything.
“No, theflooris reserved for Tove.” The valkyrie pushed her silvery white braids over her shoulder, her eyes flicking over my own. It was a power move, I could see it as clear as day. I’d been paying enough attention to realize she’d been able to get what she wanted when she subconsciously reminded people her hair was fully bleached, a sign of age, of power. If I had cared about the valkyrie’s hair traditions, maybe I would’ve been intimidated. Unfortunately for her, I was more than happy with my strawberry blonde hair and twenty-seven years of life. Herage wouldn’t force me to convince my companion to sleep on the floor.
I strutted over to the bed, yanking the covers back and stubbornly climbing inside. As soon as my head hit the pillow, Tove came trotting over. He hopped up and made himself comfortable on the pillow next to me—the pillow this valkyrie was trying to claim as her own. I cared little about whether she wanted to sleep on this mattress with me. I’d shared a bed most of my life and was more than used to it. But since my family was taken from me, the second half of the bed was reserved solely for my orange demon.
“Mortal, listen to me,” she said. “You can move that cat, or I will use him as a pillow. One way or another, I will sleep in that bed.”
“I’d like to see you try to make Tove do anything,” I mumbled under my breath, turning on my side and pulling the quilt up around me.
She began stripping out of her armor, placing the shining golden metal on a chair in the corner of the room. The pieces clinked as she went, but I tried to ignore her noise in favor of sleep.
“How can you blame me for what’s happened yet refuse to go back? You have everything you’ve ever wanted here, yet I’m to blame for ruining your life. Explain that to me.”
I knew she couldn’t see me, but I still tried to control my features. I took a long breath before I pushed the quilt back down and sat up. I wouldn’t cower under the covers when I spoke my mind.
“I owe you nothing. Not an explanation, not a spot in bed next to me. Nothing,” I said calmly. She may have supplied me food and healing supplies, but not actively trying to kill me earned her little.
“Fine,” the valkyrie grumbled. “Have a nice sleep next to your dead cat.” She removed her breastplate and placed it on the chair before stalking away, leaving Tove and I alone with her armor.
Did a tiny part of me feel bad she’d brought me out here to avoid Odin’s detection, only to have me banish her to the floor in the next room? Of course not. I’m from a family of vikings, and I’m wand-wed. I have no time for such foolish grievances.
Would I be tempted to sneak out of bed in the middle of the night and share one of my many blankets with her? Maybe. But I wouldn’t. I’d shown this woman too much weakness already, and if I wanted to make it out of this situation alive, or at least unscathed, I needed to navigate cleverly. Whether or not I’d still be alive was debatable, but at this rate, I wasn’t sure how much that bothered me. Whatdidbother me, though, was the thought of spending eternity stuck in some underworld prison, away from my family. I couldn’t let this attendant of Odin ruin my life, or my death, for that matter.
“Just you and me, Tove,” I whispered, settling back down in bed. He purred loudly, making himself comfortable on the squishy pillow next to mine. I swear, the beds and everything on top of them were the best things in all of Asgard.
I stared off into the corner of the room, the valkyrie’s breastplate catching my attention. Something about the groove in it itched at my mind. I’d seen the woman mindlessly stroking her thumb over it, and I had a feeling that one little mark was going to torment me until I uncovered its origin.
I laid my head upon the soft pillow, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on when my reality twisted into a string of nonsensical visions.
There was stone and moss everywhere. The rocks grew distended and distorted, and I feared they would hold me prisoner within their depths if I didn’t watch my step. How could I feel so huge, yet completely insignificant all in onemoment? Hands gripped me, soft yet guiding, and we followed a light that beamed down from the heavens.
The visions flashed through my eyes in a series of images and sensations, and they were as disjointed as the rest. I longed for the days when they showed me exactly what I needed to see, and my future unraveled just as so.
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE WORLD TREE
Rune
