Chapter 8 #2
I have to work to think past the memories of my parents. Luckily, she seems lost in her own world and doesn’t even notice my struggle. Elowen smiles faintly, her eyes still unfocused.
“Unusual that your name, Hel-len-a,”she pronounces each syllable, “sounds like Hella, the queen of Helheim, and one of our enemies. Have you come to destroy us all?”
My smile is forced as I grit my teeth. “Unusual, yes, but Helena means light in Greek.”
Elowen flinches at my response, her eyes sharpening into focus. “I see,” she replies, her voice a shade softer.
Mathilda’s laughter breaks through our conversation, and Tane smiles fondly at her; they must be mates.
When I turn back to speak more with Elowen, she’s slipped away and is speaking quietly to Evander and Mina, leaving me alone with Luna.
I open my mouth to address her, but she sighs, still looking at her nails, and walks away.
Mathilda notices me awkwardly standing outside the group and makes an effort to draw me in. “Did you do a lot of training in the human realm?”
“Uh, not really. My Dad gave me a training sword when I was a child, but I lived under the assumption this place only existed in fairytales,” I reply, and my answer silences everyone as they gawk at me.
Images of the wooden sword he gifted me for Yule flit through my mind. I spent hours outside with him, teaching me how to stand, parry, lunge, and strike correctly. It always seemed unconventional at the time, but standing here now, it all makes sense. He was preparing me for this. For them.
Pity reflects in Mathilda’s eyes, and she responds, “If you ever want to train, we,” she gestures to the group, “would love to have you.”
“That’s very kind of you, but I don’t know how long I’ll be here.”
I need to get home.
Footsteps crunch against the dirt as Odessa and Julius rejoin the group.
“It might be a while.” Odessa grimaces. “Julius was just speaking with the councilors, and they say the only way to manifest your powers is to learn our ways. With you here, magic should begin to restore, hopefully, and the pathways between realms should open.”
“How long will that take?” My voice rises alongside my panic.
“Well,” Julius smirks, “it took a while for magic to fade, so it will probably take some time, Helena.”
“Lena,” I want to shout at him. My frustration is growing. I cannot stay here for a long time. I have to get back. Gran needs me.
Elowen places a comforting hand on my shoulder. “I can feel your magic,” she whispers, her eyes glassy again. “It’s an ancient magic.” Her face scrunches up before she slowly lets go of me.
Odessa glances sidelong at Julius before looking back at me. “Elowen has the gift of sight. But it’s been erratic as of late.” She links her arm through mine and steers me away from the group. “Come, let’s eat, and we can talk more.”
The rest of the group goes back to training while Odessa and I walk arm in arm to the terrace, Julius following a step behind.
The hair on the back of my neck is standing on end, and I catch myself frequently checking behind me as we walk back to the Great Hall. His face remains passive each time, either staring directly ahead or scanning the surrounding area.
My necklace presses against my chest, feeling like ice against my skin, even with the sun beating down on us as it sets.
Back in the Great Hall, we meander to the dining hall for dinner.
Odessa seats us at the high table, the only table that runs horizontally at the front of the dining hall.
The rest of the tables run vertically. She gestures to the chair on her right, the top rail of the chair intricately carved with ravens, identical to the chair she sits in.
The rest of our table is also surrounded by beautifully carved chairs featuring different animals, wolves, swans, elk, and a fox. Julius takes the fox chair on her other side and drums his fingers against the sturdy wooden table top.
A young female, probably in her late teens, places a plate full of delicious-smelling food in front of me, and I smile as I thank her.
She quickly looks down and backs away. Two other young girls are also placing plates of food in front of Odessa and Julius, but they don’t acknowledge their presence.
I wait patiently for the blessing, but Odessa looks at me expectantly.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“Yes, I just didn’t know if there were any customs or anything?”
I pick up the silver fork.
Shouldn’t we be thanking the gods for our meal?
She chuckles. “Not anymore. Just eat as much as you want. Tonight, we’re having roasted lamb, fingerling potatoes, and cabbage.”
I silently say my thanks to the gods for our meal and their many blessings before I pile my fork full of roasted lamb and a portion of the potatoes and moan at the incredible flavors.
Paradise indeed; this is the most delectable food I’ve ever had in my entire life.
The flavors meld perfectly in a way that no other food has before.
Odessa pauses her eating to watch me take my first bite. “Good?”
Forgoing all my manners and answering with my mouth full, I mumble behind my hands, “Oh my gods.”
She chuckles and resumes eating.
How strange that they literally live in a realm hand-crafted by Odin, and they didn’t even thank him for the meal?
Julius begins speaking with her, and I tune him out. Lost in thought about Gran, Lachlan, and Torin. They’ve been constantly lingering at the back of my mind all day. I’ve been missing for a few hours now, and I can’t even imagine what they must be feeling.
If Gran is lucid, would she think that I found my way here? Guilt plagues my thoughts, and I push away my half-eaten plate. It scrapes lightly upon the table, drawing Odessa’s attention.
“You’re finished already? You need to eat more so you won’t burn out too swiftly tomorrow.”
“What’s tomorrow?”
Julius rolls his eyes, but Odessa answers. “You didn’t hear us? Julius has offered to train you. We hope it will manifest your power quickly. But that’s after I give you a small tour of the capital in the morning.”
A slight frown mars my face. “Oh, okay.”
“Learn our ways” echoes in my mind.
The sooner I do this, the sooner I can get back home.
Julius chimes in. “Did you expect to lounge around all day, and your power would just come to you?”
Odessa clears her throat and gives him a stern look. “I’m sure she didn’t understand how it would work. Don’t be unpleasant.”
He shrugs off her reprimand and goes back to his meal.
She turns back to me. “You can head back to your room if you’re finished, and I’ll have someone fetch you in the morning. You’re going to need plenty of rest.”
I nod and push away from the table.
The effects of the most bizarre day of my entire life weigh heavily on my limbs, and I trudge back to my room. Mercifully, the Great Hall isn’t too difficult to navigate, and I easily find my way back to my room.
The door shuts behind me, and I fight with what little energy I have left not to slump to the ground. Collapsing onto the bed, the rest of my energy depleted, but when the smell of cedar and rain fills my nose, I lurch out of the bed.
The breeze ruffles the curtains, blowing the scent away, and my heart sinks. For a brief moment, I thought this all had been a dream after all, and I was waking up.
I walk to the window, pull a panel of the curtains aside, and lean against the edge of the stone. Mountains rise in the distance, and the smell of fresh, clean air fills my lungs.
How is this possible?
And why wouldn’t anyone tell me?
I clench my hands into fists. Fury rages through me.
How could they keep this life-altering secret from me?
I spend a long time at the window, pondering every story my parents have ever told me, my emotions flipping from astonishment to irritation. Every story they ever told and led me to believe to be was a fairytale, had been true all along.
I want to go home. I need to get home.
It takes a while, but soon my anger begins to dissipate as I work through rounds of mindfulness.
Acceptance is still a long way off, but I’m able to think clearly, and a plan begins to take shape. I am stuck here for now, and if I want to get home, I’ll have to practice their ways so that magic will restore and, hopefully, open the bridge back home—to Gran and Lachlan.
The thought makes my stomach hurt. I miss them and my life there. And the life I had begun to imagine with him.
But resolve settles into my bones; I can do this. I can make it back home.
Tomorrow will be the first day of a very long journey.