43. Chapter 43
Chapter 43
W e’re back in the Academy — in our own dimension this time, we’ve managed to get the metal, and the army has left the Academy grounds, believing I have as well.
But Jaeger has been caught, and that man is my mate.
Those are the only two things going through my mind as I make my way to the Main Hall after having washed all the blood off my body.
I can’t even seem to feel grateful for the fact that we’re all alive and well, that Alaric managed to successfully execute plan B — using the rock Dryden imbued with my Aurora powers, and that it ended up throwing Cain off and leading him away from the Academy as planned.
Jaeger has been caught, and that man is my mate?
When I enter the Main Hall, it only takes a single glance around the table where the rest of the team is gathered to see that they’re in a haze as well.
Yes, Jaeger has been caught, and that man is my mate.
I take my seat, the question popping into my head for the first time since it happened. Should I tell them what I learned about the general? How would they take it? Would I only make it even harder on them?
“So,” Nuala snaps me out of my haze, “how did we do?”
“What kind of question is that?” de Groot asks with poison in her voice. “You’ve let one of our own get taken by the enemy. How did we do? Poorly, very very poorly.”
Everyone else, including Nuala, seems surprised by her reaction, while I myself can just stare at her, feeling sadness at the thought of how she must be feeling now that Jaeger is in so much danger.
“Um, Dryden,” Nuala calls out, tearing her eyes away from de Groot and seemingly choosing to ignore her for now.
Confused as well, Dryden clears his throat. Then he turns serious and starts reporting. “Alright, so we’ve lost Jaeger, but we have Sieger in a much more favorable position within the army now. He’ll make sure nothing happens to her, won’t you, Sieger?”
It takes Alaric a second to realize he’s being addressed. “I will,” he says simply.
The dead serious, absent-minded tone makes me frown. I catch Raven throw him a concerned look.
“And we did manage to throw Cain off,” Dryden continues, “which is why we can even have this meeting right now. But most importantly, the mission to retrieve the Aesir iron was a success. Nimueh can now proceed to forging the sword, so who knows? Maybe by this time next month, we’ll have already killed the bastard.”
To this, Nimueh gives an awkward chuckle. “Well…”
“What?” Nuala demands sharply.
“I never did say I’d only need the metal.”
What the… There’s a moment of tense silence during which everyone leans a little forward, frowning. Then Nuala asks, obviously suppressing annoyance. “What else will you need?”
“The material for the hilt,” Nimueh replies. She opens her mouth to keep talking, but Nuala interrupts her.
“Let me guess,” she drawls, sounding even more annoyed, “we can’t just chop some random tree down? It needs to be bathed in virginal blood or taken from the moon or something?”
“No,” Nimueh says with a shake of her head, sounding a little hesitant, “the hilt needs to be made from the bones of Baldur’s ancestors, and, well, the iron imbued with a piece of his shadows.”
For a split second, everyone stays silent, then start yelling over each other.
“Everyone,” Nuala yells out, “calm the fuck down.” She stares everyone down before she collects herself, leans back in her chair and says, “Let’s see. It’s best to think about this one thing at a time. What do you want to start with?”
Everyone seems at a loss. I strain my mind to stay on task, but I’m struggling.
“As for the piece of his shadows, there’s the shadow torch,” Dryden offers, albeit joylessly.
“Ah,” de Groot cuts in, “the thing he uses to show off, wasting so much magic to keep it burning regardless of where he is. How ironic it would be, for his own arrogance to be part of his downfall?”
Raising my eyebrows, I give a slow nod.
“But it’s in the capital’s cathedral that he keeps it, right?” Nuala asks.
Dryden nods.
“It will probably be easier for us to get the bones first,” she concludes. No one objects. “So… What do we know about these ancestors?”
I remain silent, my mind buzzing.
“Their names are Odin and Frigg,” Raven starts.
“They’re the gods who were celebrated by the Old Norse,” Dryden offers.
“And despite giving us the gift of Baldur,” de Groot drawls, “we have no proof they ever really existed.”
Nuala huffs out a frustrated breath. “Alright, what do we know about Baldur himself?”
“He exists,” de Groot says.
Nuala rolls her eyes.
“He’s a god,” Raven says.
“He’s been around for at least eleven centuries,” Dryden adds.
“He’s in possession of all the powers a vampire can master,” Nuala herself starts listing, “and is one of only two people in this world who wield Shadow Magic. He’s also the only one who can possess people. At some point in the tenth century, he waged a war against the Aurora, got himself dismembered and only managed to put himself back together thirty five years ago, with the help of a fae by the name of Serra Naehorn.”
There’s a moment of dead silence.
“Anna?” Nuala calls out. “Help us out here, please.”
I blink at her. “I’m sorry,” I say. “It’s not like I’m in control of accessing memories from my past life, so there’s nothing other than what you’ve already said that I can tell you about him. But…” I find myself failing to keep it in any longer. “The general…”
“What about him?”
“He’s my mate,” I tell them all in a near whisper.
Nuala’s eyebrows shoot up, Raven frowns, and Dryden blinks at me.
“No,” Nuala says, confusion in her voice, “ Dryden is your mate.”
I shake my head, turning all my attention onto Dryden, forcing myself to just get it over with. “The night of the first mission I went on, it wasn’t your blood I reacted to. It was the general’s. I smelled it again last night. There’s no doubt about it.”
Now even Alaric and de Groot, who have been spacing out, are leaning forward. Everyone is staring at me intently, most of all Dryden, who looks as if he’s seeing me for the very first time.
“What the hell do we do with that ?” Nuala finally breaks the silence.
I don’t get the chance to respond. “Even if it were true, Anna,” Dryden starts with an awkward chuckle, “it doesn’t change anything, does it? I mean, except Baldur, this is the most vile man out there—”
It makes him break off, when I just keep looking at him with a somber, apologetic expression. “No,” he mutters, “you’re not being serious.”
Am I? My mind is in this thick fog and I have no idea what to think, let alone say.
The silence that ensues seems to stretch for an eternity.
Nuala clears her throat and throws me a knowing look. “Why don’t we let this marinate for a second?” she suggests. “It might not even be important, but the mission most definitely is.”
I give her a nod, still feeling Dryden’s eyes on my profile, but choosing to ignore it for the time being.
“So, everyone,” Nuala starts, “finding the bones of Baldur’s ancestors… Any ideas?”