Chapter 7
IDIRHALLA
My head tilts back while I attempt to take a deep breath, but it cuts off as a sob rips out of my chest. Sinking to the floor, I wrap my arms around my knees and bawl.
The fear, shock, and anger pour out of me with each tear that falls.
Lachlan must be terrified, and I’m sure he’s tried to tell Gran.
But who knows if she was even lucid enough to know who I am and the magnitude of what it means that I’m missing?
What if she thinks I left her like my mother did?
My stomach roils and my mouth fills with saliva, as I surge up to find the room Odessa said was the bathing room.
I pass the sizable armoire and step into another large space. There’s a short wall around the corner from the door concealing the toilet, and I’m so grateful for the modern comfort as I retch.
Once my stomach is empty, the effects of the shock subside, and I lean against the wall.
The bathroom is as elegant as the bedroom.
Everything is crafted from the same pale-blue marble with dark veins of charcoal running throughout.
A wide rectangular sink is carved into the wall.
Right above it hangs an oval mirror that seems to glow from the natural light pouring in from the skylight overhead and the towering windows that make up an entire wall.
A sunken tub, spacious enough for five adults, is tucked into the corner.
Despite the abundance of light and cold stone, there is a comforting warmth instead of a chill. Flames flicker from sconces hung around the room, but their light is overtaken by the sunlight. I pad lightly to the sink and rinse out my mouth. The water is crisp and frigid, invigorating my senses.
A knock echoes through the room, and I freeze before I remember Odessa said she’d have refreshments sent up. I wipe droplets of water off my chin with my sweater sleeve and make my way over to the bedroom door.
I crack the door open hesitantly, but no one is there.
A tray of food sits on the ground with a small glass of water. I glance down the hall before I push the door open farther and bend down to pick up the tray. I’m not really hungry. Shock is still numbing my limbs, and my mind is still spinning.
I place the tray on the bedside table and sink onto the side of the bed.
But when I see the splattered mud on my jeans and boots, I lurch off of it.
I eye the sheer curtains over the windows for prying eyes before I slip out of my muddy clothes and into the clothes Odessa laid out for me.
The fabric feels divine and allows the breeze to cool my heated skin after shedding my thick sweater.
A breeze flutters the skirt around me like the curtains by the windows.
It’s cream-colored and flows down to right above my ankles.
The matching tank top is sleeveless with a square neckline and four ruching lines cut across the bodice, similar to the dress I found in the attic.
It’s lovely and comfortable, and my mind appreciates one less thing to worry about.
The bed is like a cloud as I collapse onto it and try to grapple with my current situation.
I lay the pieces out in front of me. So all the stories my parents told me were real.
I somehow traveled to another realm, and I’m stuck here until, hopefully, my magic manifests because I am supposedly the only person who can restore magic to this realm.
No big deal. I can figure this out. Right?
The smell of the food permeates the room, and my empty stomach growls. The shock must be ebbing, finally. It’s roast pork, some cheese, and what looks like raspberries. Some food might help me think clearly, so I sit up and dig in.
I’ve never, in my life, had food as delicious as this, and I wind up devouring the entire plate. With a full belly and the effects of the adrenaline rush, I slip into a deep sleep.
I’m awoken by a gentle knocking on my door and Odessa calling my name. My head leaves the pillow so swiftly, the room spins. I stumble my way to the door, pulling it open. She breezes past me and into the room.
“I’m so sorry, that took much longer than expected. I had to have several discussions about your sudden appearance and who you are.” Odessa sits regally on the corner of my bed, her dress fanning out around her. “Have you had enough time to adjust? How’re you feeling?”
I lean my back against the door. “I feel a bit better after eating and napping, but it’s definitely an adjustment.”
“Hm, well, how about a tour? Or is that too much for you?” Her tone is still gentle, but there’s a hint of a challenge in her eyes that makes me bristle.
“A tour is fine, but are there certain shoes I’m supposed to wear? I don’t know the customs here,” I reply, looking down at my bare feet.
Odessa glances down at my bare feet as well and then heads to the armoire. She shuffles things around and reaches to the very back to pull out a pair of leather sandals with many straps.
“We’re not stuffy with customs. These should fit you.” She tosses them to me, and I catch them with a small oomph.
Apparently, I passed that test; she beams when I don’t drop them. I lace them up and follow her out the door.
“If you start to feel overwhelmed or tired at all, let me know and we’ll come right back here, ok?” she calls over her shoulder.
I feel a huge sense of gratitude for her compassion.
She must be a very beloved queen.
I nod and continue following her, but I slow down as her wings reappear.
The feathers are a mix of lengths, but the longest ones make up the end of her wings.
They resemble a swan wing, delicate but also mighty.
They’re astonishingly white, opalescent, and the light refracts off of them in rainbows.
Odessa’s steps are confident, and her arms swing slightly, her muscles tense with the movement. She is incredibly toned. Her body looks like it’s carved from the marble we’re currently walking on.
Our steps echoing off the floor are the only sounds, and I feel the need to break the silence. “It’s really quiet. Do many people live here?”
“Not anymore,” she sighs. “Now it’s just a few of the remaining Valkyrie,” she ticks off her fingers, “their mates, if they’re mated, and a few servants. Then there are the guards, but they live in the barracks attached to the training grounds.”
Mates.
My parents told me about that concept, too. Love that goes beyond the normal balances of the world and fate. Hearts bound together that nothing could ever separate.
I always thought they were only talking about themselves.
We halt in front of the throne. “Do you have a mate?”
Her grin slips into something mischievous as she replies, “Yes, Julius.”
I want to recoil at her words.
Julius? The sneering blond guy from earlier? Gross.
But not wanting to offend the only person I know in this realm, I just smile and ask, “How did you know?”
“When you find your mate,” she scrunches her nose as she works to phrase it in a way I might comprehend, “well, there’s no escape. When you know, you know, and that’s it.”
Her words elicit images of Lachlan. Gods, I hope he’s ok.
I wonder if he’s told Gran yet? I don’t know if I want her to be lucid or not. If she is, would she explain to him what happened to me? Would he even believe her, though? Or would he chalk it up to a crazy old lady with dementia? Would it be easier if she didn’t remember me at all?
My thoughts of Gran cause more questions.
“Why did my family leave here?”
Odessa frowns at my words and looks up at the throne.
“Queen Skadi abdicated her throne when Bryn became more powerful than her. At the time, the strongest Valkyrie of the royal line ruled. Skadi abdicated peacefully, and to keep from interfering with your mother’s rule, left for the human realm. It’s not uncommon.”
“Oh, but why did my mother leave?”
Odessa inhales through her nose and keeps her eyes directly ahead. “No one knows why exactly, but there were rumors,” she trails off.
A non-answer, a politician’s answer. She seems annoyed with this line of questioning, and I get the feeling it’s not something she would like to discuss further.
But the questions plague me. Could I be in danger here?
Is that why they never told me? Did they leave because they wanted to, or did they flee?
Odessa must sense my unease because she quickly adds, “I think it was because your mother wanted to live a normal life with your father. He wasn’t from here, and an outsider is frowned upon. She left roughly a century ago.” She waves her hand in a circle.
Her explanation doesn’t make sense, though. Yes, my mother loved my father greatly, but she never would have abandoned her duties. Her stories of this place dance through my mind. There was always an undercurrent of honor and gallantry. There’s no way she would have walked away.
Odessa cuts through my train of thought. “Do you want to look at the dining hall and library, or do you want to check out the training ground?”
There’s a sparkle in her eye when she says the “training ground,” so I opt for the latter.
Her pace is quicker than it was before, and even though we are equal in height, I struggle to keep pace with her. We’re just reaching the opening between the throne room and the terrace when she begins speaking again.
“As I mentioned earlier, this realm was a training ground for Odin’s chosen warriors.
He wanted to raise a large army for the Great War that was foretold to take place between the realms.” We walk through the passageway and across the terrace, towards the stairs.
“But as time went on and no war came, training for it seemed less vital, and enjoying life as we wished became more desirable. Most of the Valkyries still train daily as a way to observe the old ways and use their magic, what little they have left, but it’s a choice for them.
Most of our citizens have no problem adapting to the new ways, especially once injuries took longer to heal. ”
“What are the new ways?”
She says that phrase as if it’s a different way of life. My mother raised me in the old ways. I wonder if my upbringing was similar to that of the children here.
“We’ve managed to shift our way of life from focusing on the gods and their archaic traditions to a new world without stuffy customs. We live how we want and appreciate the life we have without offerings or praises.”
“Oh, I guess that makes sense. What are the citizens like here?”
“Our citizens here aren’t just men. Women can be warriors too, obviously.” She grins. “So, inevitably, partnerships happened between them, and children came along, and the realm has slowly evolved into what it is now.”
We pause at level ground, standing on the path between the terrace and the training grounds, which are now beginning to peek out behind a grove of ash trees.
The land here is lush with tall, vibrant green grasses that dance in the gentle breeze.
Bright red poppies are scattered among the field with a smaller, star-shaped, white flower I don’t recognize.
The sun is high overhead, its warmth kissing my face.
“What is it now?”
“It’s a paradise for the chosen, a world between gods and mortals,” she breathes.