Chapter 49 Bjorn
Steinunn’s finale showed Harald’s confession to me in the prison beneath Grindill, cries of disgust and fury escaping the crowd’s lips as they came to understand that Snorri had not only been murdered but consumed by Harald. That the man on the dais was not their king, but the child of Loki himself.
The vision spooled out before me, and I watched Harald lean against the bars of my cell, seeing my own face sick with disgust. “I am everyone and everything,” Harald said with a grin. “And nothing and no one. As Nameless as my Nameless, cast aside the moment my mother realized what blood flowed in my veins. Unloved and unwanted because of what I was, and so I made myself into someone new. Over and over again, learning from my mistakes and discovering pieces of lore until I had mastered my art. Harald is my masterpiece, your mother a close second, but Snorri…” He sighed happily. “All of Skaland will sing my name even as they dance to the beat of my drum.”
The vision focused on his laughing face, then faded with Steinunn’s voice as her magic released us from its thrall.
Into a cloud of choking smoke.
Grindill was aflame.
For a heartbeat, no one reacted. Every face in the crowd was tight with horror, none more so than the Unfated, the truth of their tragedies now revealed, and all united in their expressions of disgust. Grief. Pain. Emotions swiftly replaced by anger, eyes sharpening as they searched the dais for the creature who’d torn apart their lives.
But Harald was gone.
“Fire!” someone screamed. “Fire!”
Everything turned to chaos.
“Where is he?” Gyda roared, the smith showing no care for the choking smoke as she drew her blades.
Everyone who’d gathered to watch my execution was crying out in panic, terrified by the clouds of smoke and uncertain which direction to flee.
I tried to pull my hands from the steel gauntlets fixed to the posts, shouting around my gag for someone to freeme.
It was Leif who approached, pulling the gag from my mouth. “Father is dead, then?”
Steinunn had purposefully excluded what had happened on the island from her song lest my actions inspire any watchers to take inopportune vengeance. Yet Leif added, “You killed him, didn’t you? Because you believed he attacked your mother and caused her death. But it was Harald, wearing Father’s face.”
It was neither the time nor place for this conversation, but I refused to lie to him anymore. “Yes.”
“I want to hate you for killing him.” Tears ran down Leif’s cheeks. “I want to hate you for being tricked by Harald all these years and doing the things you did, and yet how can I judge you when he had me just as fooled? I never questioned why he wanted me waiting to command Freya using the oath when she surrendered—he made me feel like it was an honor.”
“He’s a child of Loki.” I spat the foul taste of the gag onto the platform. “He tricked us all and we will have his blood for it.”
Leif gave a sharp shake of his head, then unfastened the straps holding my fists in the metal gauntlets. “It is clear to me now where the blame lies.”
I pulled my fists free. “I’ll hunt him down. But you need to get everyone out of Grindill. Freya is not the enemy here, nor her army. They are your allies.” I clasped his shoulder, and beyond, I saw Ylva watching. “Make Snorri proud.”
Stepping away from my brother, I shouted at the Unfated on the platform. “Harald has manipulated us all and must be stopped, but it will not be an easy hunt. He can take any face, any form, and he has Tora bound against her will with oaths. She will fight to the death to protect him, but not by choice.”
Their eyes blazed with fury, but their wrath was no longer directed atme.
“Those of you who cannot fight, lead the people out of Grindill before it burns,” I shouted, only for a Skalander warrior to approach, his eyes the glowing green of the draug.
“This is an attack on Harald, not on the people of Grindill.” His voice was like knives to my ears. “We will help you flee even as we hunt him down!”
Ylva was the first to react. Her voice reached above the tumult, filling the ears of all. “The enemy is within Grindill, not without! Leave through the gates! No harm will come to you from Freya Born-in-Fire or her army!”
The crowd mercifully obeyed her, following the draug toward safety.
“Those who can fight, we must hunt down the child of Loki!” I shouted, and the Unfated moved aroundme.
“How do we find him if he can take the form of anyone?” Gyda demanded. “He could have disguised himself as a crone and be fleeing with the masses as we speak. Once outside the gates, we’ll never be able to find him again.”
“Look for Tora.” I scanned the fleeing crowd for her tall form. “He’s a coward. He’ll keep her to protect him. Go!”
We dispersed in all directions, everyone with murder in their eyes.
And weapons gifted by their gods in hand.
“Tyr,” I growled, and my axe burned bright. The smoke had grown so thick it was difficult to see, but I pressed on through the crowd. It was possible he was hiding in one of the homes, but instinct told me that Harald would escape while he had the chance.
Through the smoke, the crowd was slowing ahead. I wiped away stinging tears and saw that Freya’s draug were holding them back and allowing them through only a few at a time. I understood immediately when I saw Skoll standing among them. The wolf was sniffing everyone who passed, and while Harald could lie with his form, I was willing to bet he could not alter his smell.
“Clever, Freya.” I searched for her among the draug, but she was nowhere in sight. Part of me wanted to seek her out, ensure she was safe, but Harald had to be my priority. Cutting down an alley, I scanned the crowd gathered around the other gate, which was controlled by Hati and the draug.
But there was no sign of Tora or Harald.
I cursed, then coughed on the thickening smoke as I picked my way through the fortress. Searching.
Only to see a familiar tall figure duck down a narrow path between buildings.
My chest tightened because the last thing I wanted to do was hurt Tora, but there might be no other way.
I broke into a run, great wafts of black smoke drawing coughs every few steps. Rounding a bend, I slid to a stop at the sight of Tora and an unfamiliar man dressed in a gray tunic trapped at a dead end.
I did not hesitate.
My axe flipped through the air, end over end, embedding in the back of the man’s head. He dropped like a stone, but as he did, a blow struck me and I staggered back.
Pain lanced down my arm, and my gaze latched onto Skade’s arrow, which was embedded in my right shoulder.
A trap.
The arrow disappeared, and blood welled to a stream down my arm. Tora stared at me with miserable eyes as Skade jumped down from the rooftop to land with catlike grace next to the dead man. “Don’t feel too badly, Bjorn,” she said, nudging the dead man with her foot. “The Nameless all have done things that earned them inglorious deaths. They serve a purpose, but I’ve always hated them.”
“Where is he?” I recalled my axe to me, holding it in my left hand. Well aware that I was at a heavy disadvantage against her. Especially if Tora had been ordered to help.
“You’ll not catch him.” Skade’s smirk grew. “He’s far too clever for that.”
“Freya will catch him.” I moved toward her but she raised her bow, glowing arrow leveled at my chest. “He can wear whatever face he likes—Skoll and Hati still know the stench of arsehole when it hits their noses.”
Skade lifted one shoulder. “Your woman does better thinking when you are not around, I’ll grant her that. But Freya is not clever enough to outwit him.”
Through the smoke, I caught sight of a shadow crawling down the side of the building. Inhuman and strange, yet familiar to me. Lifting my axe, I took another step closer, keeping Skade’s attention on me. Tora caught sight of the shadow but said nothing.
“Why are you loyal to him, Skade?” I asked. “Tora has been forced, and the rest of us duped, but you support him of your own free will.”
“Because I am his trueborn child.” She bared her teeth. “I am his daughter and the heir to all that he has built. I suffered his favoritism of you because I knew the truth. Knew it was but a ploy to take control of Skaland so that he might be king of all the north.”
“You are not his child. You cannot be.”
Gyda’s voice filled my ears, and I turned my head to see the smith behindme.
“I remember when you were born, Skade,” she said. “Perhaps Harald of Hrafnheim was your father, but he fled his father’s fists while you were still in your mother’s belly. Which means the creature you serve shares no blood with you. He killed your Harald, girl. Took his face and his life, and then tricked you the same as the rest of us.”
“Lies!” Skade shrieked. “My mother told me Harald was my father before she abandoned me, and he told me that she spoke true. He claimed me as his trueborn heir!”
“Steinunn’s magic can only show the truth, and I know your mother was pregnant when my friend fled Hrafnheim and the creature who came back was not him,” Gyda answered. “The man you claim as father is dead, and you serve an imposter. You have been deceived.”
“No!” Skade lifted her bow, arrow trained on Gyda’s heart.
But Geir was faster.
With a draug’s preternatural speed, he hurled himself off the side of the building and slammed into Skade, twisting her head as she fell.
The snap of her neck was as loud as thunder.
“For my mother,” Geir hissed, looking into her eyes as the light in them dimmed. “I hope Nidhogg consumes your soul.”
Silence fell, broken only by the crackle of flames as Grindill was consumed aroundus.
“Tora, where is Harald?” I demanded. “Can you tell me?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know, Bjorn. Truly.”
A string of curses tore from my lips. “Geir, where is Freya?”
“I was looking for her when I came upon you.” Geir rose to his feet. “She raced in to rescue you.”
“Have the wolves found Harald?”
Geir shook his head.
“Keep hunting. Have the draug track down all the Nameless they can and kill them. You’ll know them by the brands on their tongues. They are bound to his will. I’m going to find Freya.” I broke into a run, weaving my way to the gates only to collide with Guthrum.
“I’m sorry.” My friend’s face was wet with tears. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”
As though any of that mattered now.
Grabbing his shoulders, I forced him to meet my stare. “Freya is missing. I need Kaja’s help to find her.”