Chapter 22 #2
And then, before I can stop him, before I can tell him what a bad idea it is to replay one of Freya’s horrible nightmare sequences, Azar shifts forms. Suddenly, he’s Axel, and he’s the same size as Thunar.
Just like Thunar, Axel also shifted with trousers and a belt, but no shirt.
Axel’s not as burly, nor quite as tall, and he’s certainly not as brutal as Thunar, but they’re both human.
Which means Axel’s vulnerable.
And Thunar has always hated Axel. Thunar’s devilish smile when he sees Axel walking toward him sends a chill down my spine.
Thunar’s hand tightens on the bull whip. “You’ll do as I ask, now.” He doesn’t even wait for a response. He snaps the whip back and flips it at Axel, scoring his smooth, perfect back. Blood actually spurts out and then continues to dribble down his golden skin.
“No, strike me,” I say. Because if he kills me, they’ll be stuck here, forced to bond humans and protect the earth from the vanir. As bad as Odin is, after seeing the depraved vanir, I still think they’re worse.
Thunar ignores me, though. His whip strikes Axel’s back over and over, his smile steadily growing as the gore on Axel’s back worsens.
“Shift back,” I yell, tears rolling down my cheeks. “Please.” Force them to beat me, because they can’t kill me, or they don’t get what they want.
I can’t watch it. If I switch back, they’ll beat you instead.
Both of us feel the same way. It’s easier to be beaten than to watch the other.
But if we relent, if I agree to start shifting the blessed so they won’t need humans to bond, then what?
Then they leave the earth, either forcing those of the blessed who bonded humans to kill their bonded humans when they go, or abandoning them to live here with the vanir threatening, slowly attacking as we move further and further south, away from their reach?
I think back to what Freya asked me. Did I want the power to dominate or the strength to endure? I asked for strength to endure, not power to dominate.
I must have chosen wrong.
I should always have chosen the way to win.
The way to defeat those who are evil and bad in this world.
I’m a warrior. Gullveig might endure. Liz dominates.
That’s why Freya was surprised. Right in front of me, I’m watching as Axel endures.
. .for love. He stands there and he suffers so I don’t have to.
Because he doesn’t want me to have to suffer as I try to modify the essence of eighty thousand blessed. He doesn’t want his father and their people to abandon my people. He will endure so I don’t have to.
He’s trying to do what’s right.
And it’s killing him.
His back looks like a bloody, fresh version of the hamburger packs they sell at the grocery store, pink chunks of meat, tenderized and ready to cook into tacos.
And Thunar’s laughing about it. “No matter how brave you are, brother, she’s next. Eventually, in this weak form, you’ll die.”
Axel can’t even talk. He just grunts.
In that moment, I soften. The others will fight for us.
It might be a losing battle, but we wouldn’t leave humanity entirely alone.
Maybe some of the other blessed would choose to stay.
Water blessed—earth blessed. I could try to give them different powers instead of the chance to shift.
I could power them up and ask them to stay.
One thing I know I can’t do is watch Axel die, one hit at a time, to spare me. I can’t do it any more than I can abandon all the people of earth to the vanir.
There has to be another solution.
Agreeing to slowly shift the blessed will at least buy me more time.
Thunar brings his hand down even harder this time, as if he’s really working into this. When it strikes, Axel cries out, blood from his mouth spattering the ground in front of him. The ground behind him’s already tacky with gore.
“Cry for me, brother. Cry!”
I hate Thunar. In this moment, I hate him and his father as much as I’ve ever hated anyone or anything.
I’m about to relent, to agree to their demands, when I see her.
My mother’s standing just behind Gordon, and she catches my eye.
Tears are rolling down her face, and she looks wrecked.
She taps the side of her head, and then she pushes me a message.
I can tell it’s hard for her—she never liked being bonded, so I imagine it is.
I’m sorry I always let you down. Consider this my true apology. Never give up. Never give in. Keep protecting the little ones. I love you. And then she slits her own throat.
I have a split second to decide—but this time, I choose differently. Power to dominate, Freya. I choose that. I unsheathe my swords again and leap at Thunar, who’s standing stunned, his eyes glazed.
I use both swords in a way I never have before, my wings propelling me forward as hard and as fast as they can, and I cross the swords, and then uncross them with every ounce of strength in my arms and back, decapitating Thunar the same way Odin recently took Rufus’s head.
Covered in red splatter, very aware that Azar’s also half-dead, I spin and face Odin.
“I think we’re even now—enough people have died today.
” I tilt my head and wipe my blades on my pants.
“I’d like to propose a compromise. I’ll try to modify a hundred blessed each day, or as many as I’m able, and you will allow any or all of them that choose to stay here on earth to become permanent residents.
” I lift my chin. “Will that satisfy you, or are we still enemies?”
Because he’s about one good fling away, and Thunar’s siblings are back by Hyperion. I have half a mind to try and kill Odin right now, too.
“We have a deal,” Odin says. “Though I doubt you’ll find any of my people will choose to stay with anyone so weak.
” He glances at Axel with disgust, and then he projects to everyone.
I am forcing this winged earth child to use the heart stone to transform you all.
Demand the ability to shift into a human form so you won’t require an earth child bond.
Odin shifts back into his dragon shape. You will never, ever want to use the shape you just saw, but it should allow you to consume fuel again.
He roars. Everything about earth weakens us, because we are children of the sky.
He vaults into the air, and good riddance to him.
As I turn, I notice the portals behind us have now closed, which means all the blessed are now on earth. Now I have to convince some of them to stay and fight like their cowardly leader won’t.