Chapter 4
4
L innea sat by one of the bonfires with a basket at her feet. She watched the party around her while stitching together small red bags and filling them with dry herbs and flowers. They were charm bags, and if put under a pillow, the person would dream about their one true love. At least, that was what the tradition said.
Linnea adjusted the flower crown on her sunny blonde braids and returned to work. It had been years since she was kidnapped, and yet, large gatherings still made her uneasy. She was okay if she stayed a little out of the way and no one shouted too much near her. The wolves were always loud, and when they were partying, they were worse. They were still a little afraid of her, which she didn't mind.
"It's a good thing," her mentor, Gudrun, always told her. "A good volva always has to have a little mystique about her. The pack needs to know you do not favor anyone above another. They come to you for help and advice and expect it to be unbiased."
Linnea had always been wary of the wolves despite being one. The pack had come a long way in the years she was away, but that didn't erase how they completely turned a blind eye when her father had been beating the shit out of his family.
Do not think of it now. He is dead, and you are still alive .
That thought always comforted her. The wolves that had kidnapped her and had tried to sacrifice her to Fenris, the wolf god, had also died. Linnea was less comforted by that thought. No matter how many months passed, she still wasn't over that. She still dreamed of the great wolf asleep in the earth. Alone in a black void of nothing.
Sometimes, in the dreams, she would sit by his large paws and sing to him, knowing that they had disturbed him unnecessarily. Linnea's stitch slipped, and she hissed as the needle went into the pad of her thumb.
"Shit," she muttered and put the bleeding thumb to her lips.
"Are you okay?" a woman asked.
Linnea looked up and almost tipped backward off the bench chair she was sitting on. Freya was sitting on the other side of her basket, wearing a red linen summer dress, her hair in a braided crown.
Linnea knew it was Freya, not only because someone had taken a photo of her on their phones when she had arrived at the battle with Vili, but because Linnea had met with her during her dream walking. All the volv? were Freya's, and Linnea was to never forget it.
"Lady Freya," Linnea stammered and lowered her head.
"None of that, child. I am here just as Freya tonight," the goddess replied. Her eyes were as golden as her necklace Brísingamen hanging around her throat.
"You honor us with your presence," Linnea replied because it never hurt to be polite to a deity. Especially a goddess of war.
"You honor me by lighting the fires and sewing love charms," Freya replied and lifted a cup of mead to her mouth. "Besides, there are things we need to talk about, my little volva."
Linnea put her sewing down. "What is wrong?"
"Nothing yet, but tonight is a good night to talk with family and tell some truths," Freya replied and nodded toward the far side of the field. Linnea caught sight of another god walking amongst them. Alruna was talking with a tall god, with an eye patch over one eye.
"Odin is here too?" she squeaked.
Freya laughed softly. "Havi is visiting. He needs to discuss some matters with Alruna."
Havi was indeed leading the queen of the elves away, his long black and silver braid over one broad shoulder. Whoever thought Havi looked like Gandalf would be in for a rude surprise. He was a war god, too, and was built like one. All the stories of him seducing giantesses and fair maidens suddenly made a lot more sense. Linnea wisely didn't mention how Freya's eyes followed the king of the gods either.
"Why am I suddenly worried?" she asked instead.
Freya grinned. "It's because your intuition is strong and you are smart. Tell me, do you still dream of Fenris Lokisson?"
Linnea choked on her mead. "How... How did you know that?"
"Call it a wild guess." Freya's expression went serious, and a whisper of fear danced up Linnea's spine. "Does he still sleep?"
"Yes...but it's not like anyone has gone back down there to check. I mean, I dream of him, and he's still asleep in them," Linnea babbled.
"What do you do in these dreams?" the goddess asked.
Linnea's cheeks went hot. "I...sing to him. I know we disturbed him, and I feel awful about that. So I sing him lullabies."
Freya smiled. "You sing lullabies to the wolf who will eat the world?"
"You asked," Linnea huffed. "And he hasn't eaten the world yet. It's just a dumb title that men came up with. All he's done is be captured and locked up so far."
"So far," Freya reiterated. "He is more important than you could possibly know, Linnea. He needs to sleep for at least another year. There are things coming into play that we have been waiting for centuries to come about."
"Wait, but we stopped Ragnarok. Didn't we?"
"No, you only postponed it." Freya took Linnea's hand, and hot golden power thrummed through her palm. "Listen to me carefully now. You must keep singing to Fenris. He cannot wake yet. The time is coming, and soon, but if he wakes too early or too late, all will be lost."
Linnea frowned. "You want him to wake up in a year? What is this about? He's meant to destroy the world, isn't he?"
"Not exactly. Though, it is a story that has been told. Just like it's been told that Loki will be the doom of us all. They are just stories. The truth is far more complicated, and I can't tell you what it is." Freya squeezed Linnea's hand. "You have a part to play in all this, my volva. You comfort Fenris. Keep him asleep for now, and all will work out as it should."
"Can you promise me that?" Linnea asked.
Freya stared into the fire. "No. Such things only the Norns could tell you. This is bigger than all of us, and it will decide all our wyrds."
"But I'm no one. I don't even know if my dreams are real. I can't turn into a wolf form. I can't be responsible for Fenris!" Linnea argued, her heartbeat thrumming in her ears.
"Your dreams are real. You can turn into a wolf, and you are Fenris's guardian. This is your wyrd, Linnea. It is time for you to stop hiding and face it," Freya said. She let go of Linnea's hand and stood. "This is who you are, child. No more hiding. Learn your magic. Trust your heart. Protect the Great Wolf." Freya leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "You have more power than you know."
"I'm scared," Linnea whispered.
Freya laughed. "It's because you are smart. Happy Midsummer, little volva. Let's make it a happy one for everyone, shall we?"
With a mischievous smile, Freya sketched her rune, Fehu, over the basket of charms. Golden magic sizzled in the air, and with a parting wink, Freya was gone.
"Linnea!" Ciara put a hand on her shoulder, and she started. "Woah, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. You have been staring into the fire, unfocused for the last ten minutes. Thought I better check on you."
"Shit." Linnea rubbed her eyes and turned to her brother's mate. She liked the Wolf Slayer and her blunt way. She was a part of the pack and wasn't, just like Linnea. Even if she hadn’t been her sister-in-law, Linnea would have liked Ciara. She was no-nonsense, pragmatic, and kept Tor following her around like a moon-eyed pup.
Ciara sat down beside her. "So what are you doing hiding out over here? What are these?" She picked up one of the red flannel bags from the basket and sniffed it.
"It's a Midsummer tradition. If you put it under your pillow, you will dream of your true love," Linnea replied.
"She already knows who her true love is," Tor grumbled and set two freshly filled beer steins down on the table.
"Oh, does she?" Ciara said sweetly.
Tor's eyes narrowed. "Keep it up, rabbit, and I'll be chasing you down in the woods tonight."
"Ew," Linnea said, wrinkling her nose at their flirting.
"I think my cousin has beat us to it," Ciara commented and pointed where Imogen was caught up in a drinking game. The back of her dress was covered with green grass stains, and Arawan beside her had a dry leaf still tangled in his black hair. All three of them burst out laughing.
"Well, that's the whole point of Midsummer," Tor chuckled. "It's all the fertility magic in the air."
Ciara's smile went mischievous, and she grabbed a red bag from Linnea's basket, shifted, and took off through the party.
"You better run!" Tor shouted and bolted after her.
Linnea just shook her head at their antics. At least their silliness helped relieve some of the tension Freya's visit had put in her.
At the edge of her vision, the basket of red charms glowed with golden magic. With a smile, Linnea picked up the basket and went to hand them out. Whatever the goddess had blessed them with shouldn't go to waste.
As for Fenris…she would just have to make a dreaming potion and visit him more often. Strangely, the thought lifted her spirits. She might be worried about Ragnarok starting, but if there was one thing Linnea knew never to do, it was ignore a direct instruction from her goddess. She hoped Alruna was getting better news from Havi. Somehow, she doubted it.