Chapter 25 Revelations #2
“What’s happening?” I whisper to him.
He looks back up at me, smiling wildly. “It’s a blessing from Odin, Key—you’re gods blessed.”
“What does that mean?” My voice rises, but the light is beginning to dim back to the normal shimmer.
My necklace ceases its pulsing, settling into a gentle warmth. Our friends are still stuck in varying states of shock.
“It means,” Agatha’s voice carries across the grounds, “that Odin does recognize ye as the rightful heir to the throne and your unequivocal worth to carry his ax.”
Lachlan stands and grasps my hand. His touch grounds me in a way I desperately needed after just feeling untethered. “It means he sees ye and that you’re on the right path.”
***
The library smells of old parchment and mint. A fire crackles in the fireplace of a large sitting area. Comfortable couches and deep cushioned armchairs are placed around a navy handwoven rug.
Light flickers from torches anchored to the walls beside rows of bookshelves. Lancet windows are alight with sunlight cascading through leaves of the giant trees beside the castle. The sizable space is already crammed full of people, and servants carry even more chairs from the surrounding rooms.
My small group of friends take seats at a long table in front of where the other warriors begin gathering. Everyone is waiting for me. But as they get settled, I walk around the library, trying to calm my nerves and wrap my head around Odin’s blessing. There’s something unnerving about it.
To distract myself, I study the paintings that are hung all around the library, and attempt a few rounds of mindfulness.
I pass by a painting of a large tree with several names carved onto the branches.
An enormous painting of a Valkyrie astride a white stallion holding Odin’s ax snares my attention.
The beauty of the Valkyrie and her white wings reminds me of the Winged Victory statue in the Louvre. An unusual shimmer of light radiates from the painting, and I step closer to scrutinize it before I notice the candles placed at the sides.
My eyes scan over the surrounding paintings before falling on another sizable painting farther along the wall.
Stepping closer, I admire the celebration on the canvas.
It’s very festive and merry as the artist depicts people dancing and singing.
Cedar boughs line the banquet hall and a large tree is decorated with scraps of fabric. This must be a painting of Yule.
That’s another item on my agenda to fix, the traditions. We need to celebrate all the old ways.
Resolves settles me and I square my shoulder. Much more prepared to address the room, I take my seat in the middle of my friends and stare out at the warriors in front of me. Mostly stoic faces stare back at me, but a few offer me comforting smiles.
I look at those faces when I address the room.
“As many of you are aware, omens of the Great War have been increasing. In addition to restoring our war preparations, we also need to know what we’re up against. My knowledge is very limited, so if any of you have insight, we would love to hear it.
” I gesture to my friends seated around me.
A warrior seated directly in front of us glances sidelong at Agatha, who is standing beside our table, and she subtly nods. The warrior, a Fairhair, if I remember correctly, with white hair and a long white beard, stands rigidly.
“My queen,” he addresses me and thumps a fist on his chest, his distinctive Scandinavian accent thickening the words. “I don’t know much about what we’re up against, but I do know we have allies.”
A frown tugs the corner of my lips down. “Go on,” I command.
Mathilda had only briefly mentioned something about our allies. But the bulk of that conversation was centered around what we’re up against.
“Our allies are the Tuadanaan Fae, the Valkyries of Valhalla, and Freya’s realm of Vanaheim. But without being able to travel to our allies, they won’t be of any use to us. Our first course of action needs to be restoring magic in our realm to open the gateways.”
Mathilda’s earlier wisdom comes back to my mind, counting us that only makes four realms against our enemies. We’ll be up against the giants, dragons, and demons alone if we can’t manage to reach our allies.
“Thank you …” I trail off, not knowing the man’s name.
“Bjorn,” he finishes for me, nodding his head in respect.
“Bjorn.” I smile down at him. “Does anyone have anything else to add? Or any questions?” I ask, looking around the room.
A petite red-headed woman with fiery blue eyes shoots a hand up. “Aye, my queen.” I nod at her. “The name’s Merida, I’m with Clan Campbell. Is it true you’re going to try and take the throne?”
The quiet chatter that had begun building ceases at her question.
Lachlan clears his throat next to me and raps his knuckles on the table, irritation simmering in his eyes.
But I stand and smile serenely at the room.
“We’re all here for the same thing. We see the signs, we’re worried about our future, and we want to do something about it.
Obviously, my knowledge of what we may be facing is murky at best. Mathilda,” I gesture in her direction, “has briefly explained to me that our enemies in this war would be monsters. Giants, demons, and dragons who see other beings as nothing but food or animals to be slaughtered.” I clear my throat and stand up straighter while gesturing with both hands to my friends beside me.
“Our goal here is to protect this realm and all realms from the threat of destruction. If I have to take back my throne to do that, then so be it.” I shrug, violence glowing in my eyes.
“But I will not sit idly by any further, allowing neglect to destroy our home.”
The meeting adjourns a little while later, with no additional useful information coming to light. So we’re right back where we started—with no answers.
We have allies, but do not know how to reach them. We see the signs, but don’t know if they foretell how quickly the war will be upon us. Magic is still not regenerating, and we do not know how to solve it.
My frustration begins rising, and the stress of what this means for our future weighs down my shoulders. How can I stop any of this if I don’t know where to go from here? I turn to my friends, a divot forming between my brows.
“While we’re all here, Mina and Evander, I’d like to assign you guys new roles. Tane is in charge of housing, and Mathilda volunteered to set up a school. So I was wondering if I could put you in charge of our food storage, Mina?”
Mina’s eyes sparkle, and she grins broadly at me. “Of course.”
“Thank you,” I breathe. “Evander, do you think you could scout out places for training grounds? It might be a bit presumptuous of me, but I’d like to think we’ll eventually need more spaces for training.”
Evander nods enthusiastically. “I can do that.”
I exhale fully. “Well, with that settled, then, let’s go through some of these books and see if we can find anything about our allies, magic, or enemies.”
We split up and begin scouring the shelves. I trail a hand along the rows of books, marveling at how better-stocked this library is compared to the one in the Great Hall. But it still seems limited in areas I would expect it to flourish.
Why are there no genealogy texts on the Valkyrie’s lineage? And how many books on worship practices does one need?
The last thought, coupled with my earlier thoughts on the holidays, causes me to pause.
“Lachlan,” I call between the stacks.
“Over here!” he answers. I follow the sound of his voice to the west end of the library. He’s surrounded by tomes of battle strategies.
“What do you think about observing the holidays again?” I ask, my brow furrowing.
His head tilts to the side. “Can ye be more specific?”
“It’s June, and I haven’t heard anyone talk about Midsommar preparations,” I reply. Traditions were such a huge part of my life with my parents. Giving thanks and recognizing the gods was a way to connect to the world around you. “We have to celebrate Midsommar this year.”
“Okay … why?” he asks, staring at me like I’ve grown two heads.
“Observing holidays is a perfect way to connect to the magic and the world around you. Traditions are very important and can help create a lasting foundation. I want my reign to be peaceful and fruitful. We need to observe all the olde ways, not just the training, and we will start with Midsommar.”
“I will tell Agatha to begin making preparations then, but ye realize Midsommar is next week. That’s not a lot of time,” he mutters and slides a book from the shelf. I clear my throat when he begins reading the book.
“Do ye mean right now?” he asks.
I nod, giving him my best smile. “Yes, please.”
Lachlan leaves to track down Agatha, and I continue browsing the stacks. As luck would have it, there are a few tomes about the other realms, Helheim and Jotnar. It’s not beneficial for restoring our magic, but I know next to nothing about the other realms, so this will still be helpful.
Grabbing the books, I make my way to the leather couch by the fireplace and flip through the first one, Helheim.
Located the farthest from the Gods Realm, it’s ruled by Hela and swarming with various terrifying creatures.
Images of the different types of demons stare up at me from the pages and I shudder.
A particularly grotesque rendering of a foot soldier causes me to pause and study its mottled gray skin and black hollow pits for eyes.
“That’s not terrifying,” I say under my breath.
But Mina leans over the back of my couch and points at the picture. “They look scary, but they’re only bad in numbers.”
I stare up at my friend with my mouth open. “You’ve fought these things?” I gape.
Mina shakes her head. “No, but my mother did.” Her eyes are empty, and I realize it’s not a good memory she’s dragged up for my benefit. Quietly closing the book, I set it down.
Mina shivers before muttering, “I didn’t realize I might have some useful information. It’s not something I tend to think about.” Apologies bloom in her eyes.
But I shake my head. “It’s okay, I’m sure there are plenty of things I haven’t been able to tell you guys yet.”
Mina smiles gratefully before plunking down beside me and continuing, “They don’t use weapons and have no thoughts other than to kill what’s in front of them.
They can’t even work together or use any kind of battle strategy.
Your powers wouldn’t work against them because they don’t have any foresight for you to see.
They always go for the easy kill. The trick is to not panic and just keep slashing away. ”
I grimace. “Good to know.”
She grabs the book about Jotnar and flips to the back, where it lists the species that live there.
“The giants are obviously much harder to fight because of their size, but they’re not very quick and rely heavily on their brute strength.
” I nod along to her lecture, trying to absorb as much as I can.
“The asphidras are an easy kill, too, just steer clear of their venom and their blood. There blood is black, so it’s easy to see, but it’s essentially acid and will melt anything in its path.
The venom is green, and it’s worse than their blood.
It can paralyze you and subdue all magic. ”
My brow furrows. “What’s an asphidra?”
Mina tilts the book my way and shows me a picture of a creature with greenish-gray scaled skin, long fangs, and elongated limbs.
“Yikes! It’s like a snake person,” I mutter, leaning away from the picture.
“You should see what the dragons look like or the shapeshifters in Sutr.” She shudders.
“And we’re supposed to battle all of these creatures in the Great War?” I ask, my mind whirling.
Mina shrugs. “Between us and our allies, we’re the only beings that stand between these monsters and total annihilation for the rest of the universe.”
With no way to know how our allies are doing, or even our gods, we might actually be the last thing standing in the way of our enemies, too. I close my eyes and breathe through the range of emotions that begin bubbling up at that thought.
Footsteps scuff against the stone floor as Lachlan strolls through the stacks and heads towards us, a smile gracing his lips. “Agatha said it was a marvelous plan and will make the preparations immediately.”
Happiness radiates through me. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” he murmurs, kissing the top of my head before heading back through the stacks, no doubt in search of the book I made him put down.
“I’m gonna put these back and see if I can find anything magic-related,” I mutter to Mina before hopping up from my seat.
“Uh-huh, good luck with that.” She chuckles before reclining on the couch.
Hours later, with no new knowledge gained, we call it quits. There’s nothing here about magic or how to contact the other realms, and my frustration grows again.
To stave off the feeling of hopelessness, I tell Mina and Mathilda, “We’re going to celebrate Midsommar this year.”
“Really?” Mina gushes. “We haven’t celebrated a holiday in ages.”
Mathilda shakes her head. “I can’t even remember the last holiday we celebrated.”
“Well, we are now. It’s going to be great! Cured meats, flower crowns, dancing, Bl?tkakes!”
A round portrait of my parents catches my eye as we walk by, and once again, I wish they were here, or at the very least, could give me a sign, just a direction in which to go for the answers we need.
I know I’m on the right path thanks to my blessing earlier today, but where do I go from here? The last holiday I had with them, Samhain, flutters about my mind, bringing gloom with it.