Chapter Fourteen #2
The one thing being with Thor had done for her was to show her her worth and what she deserved. If she never got anything else from him, she was grateful to him for that. She only wished she'd been able to do something for him in return.
Elle reached the head table, and Thadren walked around it to stand next to her.
For the first time, she noted how old her father looked.
Deep wrinkles and dozens of scars etched into his face.
His bare arms still bore great, bulky muscles, but the deep, ashen skin had begun to lose its elasticity, sagging in places.
Even his eyes appeared more sunken in and hooded by puffy eyelids.
Only the bright flames of his eyes and beard showed any semblance of youth.
For the first time, she realized why her father was marrying her off to Thadren.
Not because Thadren needed her father's armies, but because her father needed Thadren's strength.
With no sons of his own, Surtr wanted someone as strong as himself, if not stronger, to replace him someday on the throne of Muspelheim. Someone of his choosing.
In an instant, all the fear Elle held for her father vanished. The realization that she held the power had never occurred to her. As much as Surtr would hate to admit it, he needed Elle. Needed her to be able to broker the deal with Thadren, to prolong his legacy.
Something clicked.
"Great warriors of Muspelheim. We are here tonight to bear witness to the union of Princess Sutrelle, daughter of Surtr, to Prince Thadren, son of Throndel.
With this union, the two halves of our kingdom will be united and heal the rift that has split our people for the last thousand years.
And when our people are once again all one, united under the banner of House Surtr, with Prince Thadren heir to the throne of all Muspelheim, we will once again set out to conquer what is left of the nine realms."
Cheering and banging arose around the room at Surtr's words. Many of the attendees raised their flagons of ale and gulped them down.
Surtr held up his hand. "It is my honor to welcome Prince Thadren to our castle and to offer him my daughter, Princess Sutrelle, to be his wife, body, mind, and soul."
Thadren bowed to Surtr. "And it is my great honor to take Princess Sutrelle, daughter of Surtr, to be my wife, body, mind, and soul."
Surtr's gaze turned on Sutrelle, hard and expressionless. "Princess Sutrelle, I offer you to Prince Thadren, to be his wife in body, mind, and soul."
It struck Elle how one-sided the marriage vows were. She was being offered up as the sacrificial lamb to Thadren, but he wasn't offering anything to her. The vows alone explained so much.
A moment passed and then another. Surtr's eyes narrowed, and the flames in his beard grew longer and brighter.
"Princess Sutrelle, I offer you to Prince Thadren, to be his wife in body, mind, and soul," he repeated.
Elle lifted her chin. "No."
Surtr's eyes flashed. "There is no ‘no’ allowed, Sutrelle."
"No," she said louder.
A buzz of whispers raced around the crowd.
"You have no say. Sutrelle, daughter of Surtr-”
"No! If you want Thadren to be your heir, adopt him, marry him, I don't care, but I will not be a pawn in your plans any longer."
Surtr raised his hand to strike her, but Elle raised hers as well, allowing her magic to flow over her hands and arms for the first time in front of anyone but Val.
"Go ahead," she dared him. "Try to strike me, and I will show you what I've inherited from both my mother and you."
Surtr froze. "Your mother's magic."
Elle didn't respond.
"But you can't use it. You've never been taught."
"Do you want to find out?" she challenged.
His flames flared. "Are you threatening me, girl?"
The magic within Elle surged, swelling with every heartbeat like a vibrant storm gathering strength inside her.
It unfurled like the petals of a blossom, spreading its warmth and light to every corner of her until her hand shimmered with a soft radiance.
The air around her buzzed, and her skin tingled.
"No. I am warning you,” she said. “I will no longer take the abuse you have meted out on me my entire life. I will not be my mother and die under the weight of your hatred. I may be the daughter of Surtr, but I am also the daughter of Aelle, Priestess of Asgard."
"How dare you-"
"How dare I? How dare you?" Her magic spiked as her temper flared. Interesting. “How dare you try to sell me off like a prize goat? I won’t be bullied by you anymore. I will marry whom I choose and when I choose, and you have no say in it.”
“I’ll kill you, you little bitch,” Surtr roared.
Thunder suddenly rolled over the castle so loud the windows rattled, and several pieces of décor crashed to the ground.
Surtr's hand dropped, and Thadren, as well as most of the audience, turned as the giant stone doors to the great hall burst inward, the stone exploding across the floor, dust flying inward like a swarm of bugs.
In ran two enormous goats pulling a golden chariot the size of a small dragon.
The goats ran straight for Elle. Thadren backed up as Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr slammed into the head table, throwing it backward and tipping over the three thrones.
Surtr managed to jump out of the way before being bowled over as well.
Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr reached Elle, their sizes that of juvenile elephants.
They raised up on their back legs and bleated so loudly that several tables of giants backed away from them.
They dropped back down, and both nudged at Elle with their noses.
Shock mixed with joy as she pet their noses and kissed them.
The goats formed a barricade in front of Elle like two furry protective mountains between her and her father.
"Get me my sword!" Surtr bellowed. "We'll have goat meat for a week."
"No!" Elle ducked under her protectors and aimed her hands at her father, ready to attack.
"I wouldn't if I were you." Thor stepped out of the chariot in full Asgardian armor, pointing Mjolnir at him. Mjolnir had morphed into its true form, so massive that Thor's hands barely closed around the hilt.
“Thor Odinson, finally, you’ve come, so I can finish what I started.”
He was there. He'd come for her. Or… had he? Maybe he hadn’t come to rescue her. Maybe he’d come to kill her father and leave her to rot with Thadren.
Thor's lightning gaze turned from Surtr to Elle. Thunder cracked across the sky, and lightning struck the floor on either side of him.
Elle swallowed hard as his lightning-streaked eyes sought her out. His face remained unreadable as he stalked toward her like a fierce predator.
He stopped at her side, and it took everything inside Elle to keep from throwing her arms around him.
Tanngrisnir stamped his feet and bumped Thor. Thor growled and shoved him away.
“Stop it,” Thor grumbled.
Elle’s heart raced, and her magic flared, ready to defend her if necessary.
Thor looked over her, taking in her dress and then looking into her eyes again. Finally, he touched her cheek. "Are you hurt?"
Elle shook her head, unable to form words. Thor was there. He was there… for her. Tears flooded her eyes, and her throat choked closed.
"Unhand Thadren’s bride," Surtr bellowed. "I won against you once, Odinson, I can do it again. Only this time I'll make sure you won't come back."
Thadren’s bride? Not his daughter. But the property already belongs to Thadren.
"I wouldn't be sure you’ll win a second time," said Thor. “This fight has not been prophesied about.”
Surtr laughed. "Doesn’t make a difference. I did it once. I’ll do it again."
Thor threw Mjolnir at Surtr. Surtr grabbed a chair and hurled it at Mjolnir. The chair burst into pieces, and Surtr ducked as Mjolnir bounced off the wall and flew straight back to Thor.
“Unhand her,” Surtr yelled again, leaping over the table and yanking the sword from Thadren's side. He pointed the sword at Elle’s chest and pushed her out of Thor’s grip.
Thor growled but let go of her. Thadren pulled Elle out of the way as Surtr advanced on Thor.
"Come, Odinson. Let me show you once more how easy you are to beat."
Thor laughed. "You only won last time because I was alone. Last time, I didn't have them." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder.
In a flash of light, the entrance to the great hall filled with people. Odin, Frigg, Heimdall, Thor's brothers, and a darkly dressed woman she didn’t recognize, as well as Fenrir, stood in full battle armor. Beside them, a portal opened, and Loki and Val stepped through, also armed to fight.
Surtr laughed. "You think you are enough to beat me and my armies? It will be my pleasure to send you, a ragtag group of Asgardians, into oblivion. Even with all your strength, you cannot beat us."
"Your ego hasn't diminished over time," said Odin.
"His undeserved ego," Loki corrected.
"My ego is nothing compared to yours, Loki, son of a Jotunn. You should be siding with your own kind. Are you here to stab Asgardians in the back again and help me instead?"
Loki's eyes flashed, and his skin paled to a grayish blue. Two blades appeared in his hands as his clothing turned to native frost giant armor. He took a step forward, but Val stuck out her arm to stop him.
"Not your fight," she said.
"Come on, Asgardians," Surtr taunted. "I will take you all on at once. And then I'll go to what is left of Asgard and obliterate the rest of your rainbow bridge. And there is nothing any of you can do about it."
Odin flung his spear at Surtr, but Surtr caught it and flung it right back. Odin grabbed Frigg around the waist and hoisted her sideways before she was impaled. Thor's brothers swore and pushed forward, shielding their mother.
“Try hurting my mother again, and I’ll rip this entire structure down with you still inside,” yelled Baldur.