Chapter 55
North stood on the opposite side of the hallway, watching the two queens of Asgard press their ears to Westley’s doors.
“Sometimes I forget that while you two are our fearsome Asgardian queens, you’re still meddling mothers,” North said, amused. “You won’t be able to hear anything. The walls are built with trees from the dark forest here in Idavoll. They swallow sound.”
Koa sighed and straightened, pulling Aelfsi with her.
“Don’t look so disappointed that you couldn’t hear your daughter having sex,” Easta said with a laugh.
“Just wait until your youngling grows up, Princess Easta. You’ll find yourself doing all sorts of things you never thought you would to make sure she’s safe and happy,” Aelfsi retorted, glancing back at the door.
Easta smiled. “I can only imagine. From what I know of Solveig, she’s making him work for it, that’s for sure.”
“I just wish I knew,” Koa muttered.
“What would it matter? They’ve acknowledged it, the bond is there and strong,” North tried to assure the queens without luck.
“Yes, but it needs to be completed. If it’s not completed, we don’t stand a chance in Hel,” Aelfsi explained.
North and Easta shared a glance before North cleared her throat, all joking aside. “What aren’t you telling us?” she asked.
“In my final vision before the Block hit and my magic was stripped away, I Saw how this could end. A future where they were mated and the other where they weren’t,” Koa explained.
“That’s oddly specific,” Easta muttered.
“Has the vision changed since you got your magic back?” North asked.
Koa was already shaking her head. She placed a hand over her heart and closed her eyes. “It’s not completely unbound. Without all her power, Solveig can’t completely free us.” She reopened her eyes, the blue piercing the dark hallway.
Aelfsi laid a comforting hand on her wife’s shoulder.
“She can feel that something has changed, we are just not sure what. There are more shadows than ever blocking her way, and she cannot See through them without all her power.” Aelfsi turned to Koa, meeting her gaze.
Aelfsi’s harsh face softened. “It is not your fault.”
“It’s hard to believe that,” Koa whispered. The two shared a look so intense both North and Easta turned away to give them privacy. Koa broke the spell, taking a deep breath.
“Without knowing for sure until morning if their mating bond is intact, we have to make a plan.”
“Would it be best to go somewhere more private?” Aelfsi suggested.
“This is probably the safest place. The walls are thick, and no one is insane enough to dare to be down here—” North was saying.
“Except for us,” Easta interjected, her older sister shooting her a look.
“Yes, except for us. And if Westley and Solveig overhear, it’s not the end of the world,” she finished.
“Very well,” Koa said. “We have two options. If Solveig and Westley have indeed mated, their magic should be freed completely by the strength of their bond. The rest is fairly easy.”
“They would be the two most powerful beings on Yggdrasil. They could force the entire world to bow to them,” Aelfsi said, a glint of power entering her eyes.
“Westley would never do that,” North said.
“He would if Solveig asked, and Solveig is smart enough to know that it needs to be done. Then once they usurp and kill Ragnvald, they can free magic and reinstate the rightful rulers,” Koa insisted.
“Solveig would give that power up?” Easta asked skeptically.
“Solveig has never wanted to rule,” Koa said, her tone disinviting any argument.
“If they haven’t and decide to wait”—Aelfsi sighed like she knew her daughter well enough to know it was a possibility—“then we’ll have to take matters into our own hands.”
“Well, that’s simple. If they haven’t mated for whatever stubborn reason, then we tell them they have to,” Easta said.
“It is not that easy, Princess,” Koa corrected gently. “We cannot force the future. Fate must guide them.”
“Spoken like a Seer,” North countered. “Entirely unhelpful.”
“You are not a youngling, do not act like one,” Aelfsi censured, drawing herself up to full height.
Koa laid a hand on her wife’s arm. Aelfsi softened under the touch. “It’s alright, she means no harm.”
“My apologies. Even after a century and a half of not feeling the effects of our bond, I still protect my mate.”
“No need for apologies, Your Majesty,” North said, “I completely understand.”
“What do you mean, ‘take matters into our own hands’?” Easta asked, bringing the conversation back to the subject in question.
Koa and Aelfsi shared another loaded glance, and North’s shoulders tensed with anticipation.
“Please do not think that we make this decision lightly,” Koa warned.
The sisters stood taller, their guards up. North listened as the queens laid the plan out in front of her, logically, unemotionally. She wished she could feel the stirring of magic in her blood, to know if this was the right decision.
But she only had herself to trust and those she held most dear to look out for. She hoped that placing her trust in Asgard was the right call. Deep down, she understood why this plan was the only course of action. Still, there was a chance Westley would never forgive her.
She and Easta parted ways with the queens, and they walked silently back to their rooms. Their doors mirrored each other on opposite sides of their corridor.
Easta leaned against the wall, her head falling back and her eyes closing. North watched as the weight fell over her. Her sister was carefree and loud, crass. Most did not see her for the princess she was, but she carried her own burdens as the second heir, and this one settled on her heavily.
North knew better than to question her strength.
“Will you tell Anders?” North asked her quietly.
Easta glanced at her door as though she could see her husband, her mate, sleeping in their bed. She only nodded. North took a few strides across the distance between them and placed her hands on her sister’s arms.
“You are the strongest female I know, and this is the right decision,” she assured her.
“I know,” Easta said sadly. The sisters embraced before entering their rooms, each with the knowledge that tomorrow would launch a chain of events that would change the world as they knew it.