Chapter 30 Helayna
HELAYNA
Idreamed of my mother.
I saw her sleeping in the same bed we now lay in, though from the way she tossed and turned, she didn’t rest well or easily. Vampire queens didn’t age like humans, but she looked so young to me. Before whatever deal she’d made with Loki. Before she had me to worry about.
She sat upright and stared at me as if she could see me across the years. Her auburn hair hung in a thick braid, longer than I remembered from the few snippets of my childhood I still retained. Her face was smooth and soft, her eyes gleaming almost the same green as Loki’s.
I wanted to ask her so many questions. Why him, when he’d sired Hel’s line in the beginning? Why not a god like Heimdallr, who’d been nothing but kind, considerate, and loyal to me in the short time I’d known him. Though if she’d gone to him…
I wouldn’t have him in my Blood, and now that I’d tasted him…
I refused to give him up.
She moved to the edge of the bed and stood.
Dressed in a simple white nightgown, she padded barefoot to the foot of the bed.
Her hands moved over the floor in some kind of pattern, her lips moving, but I couldn’t hear her words.
Closing her eyes, she knelt and lifted her wrist to her mouth.
She bit her wrist and allowed her blood to drop onto the floor.
Then she disappeared.
I thought at first the dream had ended, but I still stood staring at where she’d been kneeling.
The bed was empty, even though I knew neither Dorr nor Heimdallr would leave me unattended, especially in a strange, new place.
I stepped closer to where she’d knelt. Droplets of her blood looked black in the darkness.
There was some kind of pattern in the marble.
Swirling lines, curves. It was familiar, but I couldn’t place it.
I started to trace the lines with my finger—
Something licked my face. Tiny, sharp teeth lightly grazed my chin. Waking me up.
Bj?rg’s furry face filled my vision. Her head tipped to the side, her fuzzy ears cocked. As soon as she saw me looking at her, she jumped down off the bed and yipped. Again.
I sat up, and Dorr rose with me. “What is it, my queen?”
Heimdallr’s golden eyes narrowed on my face. “You were dreaming of Helle. You saw something.”
I nodded, trying to hold on to the wispy fragments before they faded. Bj?rg barked again, more insistently. “She wants to show me something.”
Dorr stood and offered me a hand to help me off the low mattress. Wagging her fluffy tail, Bj?rg waited at the edge of the purple rug. As we moved toward her, she scratched her front paws at the edge of the rug, as if she wanted to dig into the marble.
“I need to see what’s under the rug.”
Immediately, Dorr shoved the mattress aside and Heimdallr flipped the rug back to reveal the marble floor beneath.
Smaller gilded tiles were inlaid into the white marble in the same design I’d seen in the dream. A triple spiral. The same symbol I’d seen in the legacy on the brooch.
From his soft, quick inhale, Heimdallr recognized it too.
“What does it mean?” I asked.
“It’s the symbol for Valholl, or Valhalla, Odin’s great hall for the Einherjar, the mightiest warriors who died in battle.”
“In the dream, she gave her blood and then disappeared. Clara said she often disappeared from the basement in our cabin, too. She never saw my mother leave. I think…” My heartbeat quickened, thoughts firing rapidly. “It makes so much sense.”
Heimdallr frowned. “What?”
“Mother came into her power but was never seen with Blood. She could leave without anyone knowing she was gone. What if her Blood were in Valhalla?”
Dorr grunted softly. “Then her Blood would have been dead warriors.”
“Or Valkyries,” Heimdallr replied.
“Which helps explain why she had to seek out Loki if her Blood were either dead or all female. But why did she keep it a secret? I saw this symbol in the legacy, so Hrefna must have known her daughter might have inherited such a power.”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Heimdallr said. “Though I must warn you I cannot see or travel into Valhalla. If this symbol works as you expect and transports you there, I’m not sure any of us will be able to go with you.”
Excitement and trepidation warred back and forth inside me. If my mother had been able to travel back and forth to Valhalla, the place of dead warriors… Then it was possible she might yet still be there. Why else would I dream about her? She might have been trying to tell me how to reach her.
Yet Bj?rg had awakened me before I could touch the symbol. I didn’t take her warning lightly.
Glancing at the window, I was surprised to see the sun was up.
We must have slept at least a few hours.
“Let’s be smart about this. I need to at least talk with Clara and see if she remembers the symbol in the cabin.
I want to check for any other written journals or notes Mother might have made.
” I glanced down at myself and laughed. “Plus I don’t want to go naked. ”
Lokken lightly tapped the door and then stuck his head in.
He let out a low whistle at the wreckage, making my cheeks heat.
“I felt you awaken, my queen. We brought some of the clothing from the other suite, and Gunnarr went to the kitchen to fetch a tray for you. If you’re lucky, he won’t eat it all before he returns. ”
Laughing, I nodded and watched him pull in a rack of the new clothing. “Why don’t you pick something for me?”
“Of course, I’d be happy to, my queen.”
Though as I waited, I couldn’t help but mull over the possibility of passing through to Valhalla. If my Blood couldn’t go with me…
I would end up alone.
Loki’s threat echoed in my head.
“I will burn the world for you when you call upon me in your darkest moment of need. Only I will be able to save you.”