Fire Struck (The Fae Universe #11)

Chapter 5

5

A lruna had always enjoyed Midsummer. It had always been a loud and joyous affair, and with the Fae, it was even more extravagant. It made her heart glad to see her son and his beautiful mate so happy. It was all she had ever wanted for Arne. She had walked away from her own mate in order to secure a happy future for him.

Alruna swallowed hard and pushed down the longing for Vili. It would never go away. Now that she had seen him again, the connection was alive and awake in a way it hadn't been for decades. She looked at the party around her, at Arne and Layla laughing together with their friends.

How could you have passed this up? Alruna had often wondered what had happened to her mate to make him turn away from them. To desire power more than what they were building together. He had pretended to be a dark elf because he didn't want her to judge him for being Havi's brother. That part she could understand. In ages past, the Aesir had made war on all the worlds.

But then he sided with Morrigan and became her creature, all because he wanted enough power to start a war with his brother.

No matter how many years passed, Alruna could never understand what had created the change in him. She had left him to protect Arne, and it was still the hardest thing she had ever done. Her hair had gone white from being separated from her mate, and it still hurt, but it was a hurt she had grown used to like a war wound that still ached on cold nights.

Magic hummed in the air like a warm breeze, and Alruna was torn out of her reverie. She knew that magic. She moved quickly through the crowds, following the call to the tree's edge. Sure enough, Havi was waiting for her. No one seemed to realize he was there. She spotted Freya talking to Linnea. So maybe it was a private visit.

"Happy Midsummer, Havi," she greeted as calmly as she could. "I trust this is a friendly visit?"

Havi smiled, and for a moment, he looked like his brother, and her heart ached. "Alruna, my sister, it is nice to see you under better circumstances than a battlefield."

"What is wrong? Why are you here?" she asked. She was a queen, and perhaps she shouldn't be demanding anything of the king of the gods, but she didn't like the anxiety that was now coursing through her veins. Her magic was on alert, and that was never a good sign.

"I owe you answers and apologies. I can't give them to you here, so I'm asking you to come with me," Havi said. A snort of a horse brought Alruna up short. Slepnir was waiting for them which only meant one thing.

"We have to go to Asgard for these answers?"

"We do, but I will bring you back as soon as our business is done. Or you might hate me so much you don't wish to. In that case I offer you this," Havi said and gave her a golden stone as long and thin as her finger. It would open up a way to the World Tree and lead her straight home.

Alruna tucked the stone into the pocket of her pants. "Very well. I will come with you." She had no idea what was going on, but if Havi had come as a personal escort, it was serious. He mounted the stallion and held out a hand to lift her up behind him.

"Thank you for trusting me," he said.

Alruna snorted. "I wouldn't go that far."

"So wise and so beautiful," Havi said with a rumbling laugh.

"Save your charms for someone they might work on." Alruna hung onto the back of his saddle as Slepnir started to run. The horse could travel worlds without having to visit the World Tree first. She knew what was coming and mentally prepared for the nausea. When the world started to blur around them, she clenched her eyes and waited for it to be over.

When Alruna opened her eyes again, they were roaming the golden fields of Asgard. Ahead of them wasn't Havi's hall that she expected but another. It was built of a pale golden wood that shone brightly, and above the door was carved a massive sun.

"What is this place?" she asked when they pulled to a halt.

"This is Breidablik, the home of Baldur." Havi helped her down before dismounting.

Alruna swallowed the lump in her throat. Baldur had been slain by an arrow made of mistletoe, and Loki had been behind it. At least, that was what the stories said.

"I'm confused as to why you have brought me here, Havi. Seems like a strange place if you want to kill me," Alruna commented.

"You will see." Havi went to the back of the hall and lifted a wooden door for her. "After you."

Alruna's magic warmed her fingertips, ready to drag her out of there. It made sense that Havi had given her the stone straight away. It was to reassure her that she wasn't being kidnapped.

Alruna went down a set of stone stairs, the passageway lit with enchanted stones. Her heart began to race, which made no sense. Havi had never shown any animosity toward her. At the bottom of the stairs, there were rows of cells, their bars carved with warding runes. All were empty, save one.

"Hello, Runa, thank you for coming," Vili said from where he sat on a comfortable-looking bed.

"Havi didn't tell me you would be here, or I wouldn't have," she said. Now she knew why the treacherous organ in her chest was fluttering like a bird.

"I thought you would have come and visited me by now," Vili said.

Alruna turned on her brother-in-law. "Why am I here? What is this about."

"This is an explanation," Havi said and crossed his arms. " And...an apology."

"For what? What have you done now, Vili?" she demanded, tears already clogging her throat.

Vili chuckled. "My beautiful mate, for once, I have done nothing. Won't you look at me?"

"If I look at you, I will kill you," she growled.

"No, you won't. Look at me, Runa."

"You lost the right to call me that," she replied, but she still turned to face him. His golden eyes moved over her like they were drinking in the sight of her. The rune mark was missing from his brow, and he looked...good. Painfully, beautifully good. The longing that went through her made Alruna want to carve her eyes out.

"I know I've lost the right to many things, but you are still Runa to me," Vili said, not looking away from her. "Tell her, Havi. She won't believe it coming from me."

"Won't you sit, Alruna?" Havi gestured to where two chairs and a small table had appeared with mugs of ale.

"I don't want to sit. I want someone to start talking," she said, crossing her arms.

Vili chuckled, and the sound danced in her ears. Curse him to the darkest of Hel's realms. "I told you she would be mad."

"Fine. Stand. I don't care," Havi grumbled and took his own seat. "But it's quite a story, so prepare yourself."

"So be brief." Alruna made a hurry-up gesture at him. She didn't want to be here in the past; she wanted to be with her son, enjoying Midsummer.

"Long ago, the Norns, Freya, and I all had the same vision. A terrible darkness was going to come and destroy the world. It would eat the sun, the moon, and the stars, and the world would die in ice and darkness," Havi began.

"Ragnarok. I've heard the tales more than once."

"This version is the one that's true," Havi said, and Alruna bit her tongue. "Troubled by the visions, we sought pathways to avoid that fate. Loki was always a master of magic, and he was the one who came up with a plan. When he told it to us, I nearly cut off his head. But then, when we all looked into the future again, we saw that it was the only way to defeat the devouring darkness."

Havi had a long drink of his ale. Alruna had never seen him look as vulnerable as he did at that moment.

"My son Baldur was the light and sun that would be strong enough to defeat it. But not as he was. He had to willingly sacrifice himself in order to become a dying and rising god. Only by rising when the darkness was at its peak would he be strong enough."

Alruna had heard many a myth about the power of dying and rising gods—Osiris, Dionysus, the Christ, Tammuz, Attis, Baal…and Baldur. They were stories that were tied to agriculture and seasonal changes. They would be born in a time of darkness to bring back light and spring. The cold ice growing in her stomach told Alruna that this was going to be no folk tale.

"Unfortunately, Baldur wasn't the only one who would go into the earth. I had to openly punish Loki and lock him and his own son Fenris away," Havi continued. "My own brother had to turn on me, and I would be forced to become a villain."

"The rune mark on Vili's forehead. Why is it gone?" Alruna asked, almost too afraid of the answer.

"It was a binding spell to make sure that he played his part. He had to submit to it willingly, and he did. We didn't see you or Arne in the vision or how the rune mark would force Vili to side with Morrigan," Havi said.

Power pulsed through Alruna's veins. She placed her hands on the table and leaned forward. "You are telling me that all of his warmongering, the way he turned on me and our baby— everything horrible he has done was because of a spell you put on him?"

Havi looked up at her. "Yes."

Alruna knocked the table aside, her magic smashing it to splinters. "You fucking monster. You almost got my son killed because of your machinations!"

"And my son was killed, Alruna! All to save the world, save everyone's sons. No one could know. Frigg walked willingly into Nifelheim and never returned because of the loss of Baldur. I couldn't even tell my own wife, lest it change the future," Havi said, his golden eyes flashing hot with pain. "I have lived with this for centuries upon centuries. When I saw that Vili's part was over, and it was confirmed by Freya and the Norns that it would change no outcome, I released Vili from the binding spell. And I have brought you here to say that I am sorry."

Alruna's hand struck him hard across the face before she could stop. He caught it before she could do it again.

"You only get one, Alruna," Havi growled.

Alruna was so furious that she burst into tears. "He almost killed my baby, Havi. Your stupid spell robbed me of my mate."

"As he said, we never saw you coming, Runa," Vili whispered softly. He was close to the bars now, so close she could have reached in and touched him. "You, being my mate, was never a part of the magic. My love was never a lie."

"It still became collateral damage," she said, her fury turning on him. "What is happening now? When is the darkness meant to come?"

"If the visions remain steady? A few years at the latest. Fenris will awaken, and he, in turn, will find his father, and Loki will rise. With his help, the spell of death over Baldur will be broken, and with him, the darkness will be defeated," Havi said and rose to his feet. "You are entitled to your anger and to hate me, but I am still deeply sorry for what you have been through, Alruna."

Havi nodded to his brother and left them alone, Alruna still furious and heart shattered. None of it made sense, and yet all of it did. Every story always had Loki and Fenris as villains, and yet they had willingly been bound for centuries, all to save the world. Alruna didn't know what to believe anymore.

"Runa, please, stay with me a little while," Vili begged and reached for her through the bars of the door. It creaked open a crack.

"You're not even a prisoner, are you?" she demanded.

Vili pushed open the door. "No. But I thought it might make you feel…safer."

"Oh, it's not me that is in danger right now," she said, the urge to strike him so strong her hands shook.

Vili saw the rage, and he still stepped forward. "Do what you will. I deserve it for all the hurt I caused you. Spell or no spell. I'm sorry for it all. You deserve better than me, my mate, my wife, my heart…"

"Stop. Just stop it… I can't do this again," she begged, tears streaking her cheeks.

When Vili's arms came around her, she didn't push him away. She pressed her face to his neck and sobbed.