by S. T. Bende
“Wow.” Finna exhaled slowly. “No wonder you stayed at your godmother’s last night.”
“That’s where she told you she stayed.” Jande raised a brow. “Do you believe her?”
“Shut up, Jande!” I hissed.
A quiet chuckle drifted from Viggo’s chair. “So, we know the crystal’s in the realm. And we know the Huldra’s probably here with it. Anybody know where we can find a super-hot, bat-skit crazy female?”
“Anybody seen Britney lately?” Elin quipped.
We all froze at the knock on the door.
“Is she a witch?” Elin whispered. “Does she come when you say her name?”
“Anybody there? It’s me, Wynter.” The tentative voice came from the other side of the door.
Oh. Right. I’d messaged her.
“Thank gods.” Elin exhaled. “Though I still think Britney might be a witch.”
With a loaded look at Viggo, I pushed myself off the bed. I opened the door and ushered my friend inside.
“Wynter. This is my roommate Finna, our friend Jande, and my Verge training partner, Viggo. And you remember Elin.” I pointed to my desk chair. “Have a seat. We’re talking about the crystal. Also, I’m a faerie now.” I quickly brought Wynter up to speed on the day’s developments.
“You’re an älva.” Wynter’s eyes darted between me and Viggo. “Anything else I should know?”
“Nothing,” I answered, my voice too high. I cleared my throat. “Nothing at all.”
Wynter pressed her lips together but moved forward without comment. “I was actually on my way here when I got your message. Your dad came to see me while I was on Cloak duty this morning. He saw your uncle planning his move on Alfheim. He’s going to make an exchange with a woman in a cottage on the north edge of the Torstein Sea.”
My eyes sought out Viggo’s. “Either Uncle Crazy has a girlfriend, or he’s heading out to retrieve the crystal from the Huldra. We need to go there and get it first.”
“We can go. You can’t,” Elin said decisively.
“I’m with Elin,” Viggo chimed in. “The Huldra may have the crystal your uncle’s looking for, but we have the you they’re both looking for. Bringing you to their rendezvous point is the fastest way to get your soul removed. And your soul is kind of growing on me.”
It took tremendous effort to keep my cheeks from bursting into flames.
“I’m not sitting here and doing nothing,” I argued. “If they’re planning to meet in Alfheim, they’re coming for me anyway. This way I at least have a shot at getting the crystal into my own hands.”
“And then what?” Viggo stared at me. “They come after it again, and off you in the process? I don’t think so.”
I threw up my hands. “Well then what do you suggest?”
Viggo frowned. After half a minute, he turned to Wynter. “Did Aura’s dad say when the meet-up is supposed to happen?”
Wynter played with the black gemstone on her fourth finger. “He said Aura’s uncle was planning to leave Svartalfheim tomorrow at dusk.”
Viggo typed on his comm. After a moment of scrolling, he looked up. “That gives us plenty of time. The map says the north edge of the Torstein Sea is under an hour away by air, and the royal safe house is on the way there, adjacent to the queen’s castle. What if I fly Aura to the safe house, then head over to the Huldra’s meet-up spot? I could grab the crystal and be back here before dinner. Easy.”
“No. I’m not hiding in a safe house while you risk your life.” I held up my hand. “Viggo, thank you for your offer, but the Huldra and my uncle want my soul. Not yours. I’m not sending you in to fight my battle for me.”
“Well it’s my mom who’s trapped on Midgard because they stole the crystal. I’m going to steal it back with whichever of you two goes.” Elin’s tone left no room for argument.
My data pad beeped. “Signy’s on her way.”
“Neither of you are going. It’s too dangerous.” Viggo turned to face me. “Signy’s coming?”
“Yes.” I read the incoming message. “She’s heading over from the Verge center now.”
“Good. She and I can steal the crystal while all of you wait here.” Viggo leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed. He, Elin, and I stared at each other, the tension shifting between us in waves. Nobody said a word until Wynter cleared her throat.
“Charming as your act of chivalry is, Viggo, Aura is right,” she said. “She’s the one they’re after, and she’s the one the gargoyle will have been coded to animate for. She has to go with you.”
Four heads turned to look at her. Jande spoke first. “The gargoyle?”
“Yes,” Wynter said. “Aura’s dad said the Huldra secured the Sterkvart crystal within the heart of a gargoyle. It’s on the cottage grounds.”
“So, we have to find a statue, crack it open and remove its heart?” Viggo croaked. I didn’t blame him. What the Helheim?
“Not exactly. Gargoyles aren’t statues—they’re magical creatures who guard sacred artifacts,” Wynter explained. “But they can be animated, and they have the ability to read intentions.”
“Meaning?” Elin asked.
“Meaning when someone hides an artifact inside a gargoyle, the gargoyle can read what that artifact is to be used for, and who it’s meant to be used against,” Wynter continued. “If the artifact’s hidden to cause harm, the gargoyle has the power to animate in the presence of the individual who will be most adversely affected, and warn them. In this case, that would be you, Aura.”
“So, you’re saying what? The gargoyle will just come to life and hand me the crystal?”
“Not quite.” Wynter frowned. “Only the implanter can retrieve the artifact. Unless you break the gargoyle’s magic.”
“How do you break magic?” I asked.
“With more magic.” Jande sat up straight. “We studied this in Mystic Minerals. Remember, Finna?”
“That’s right!” Finna’s eyes lit up. “There’s a stone called diamond aventurine that carries ancient energy strong enough to break a curse. Gargoyles are cursed creatures. They’ve always protected the sacred, but they didn’t used to be cast in stone—they were living, breathing creatures, just like we are. A few hundred years ago, a gargoyle failed to protect an important treasure of Asgard. To punish him, Odin cursed his descendants to an eternity of immobility. But if you animate a gargoyle, then implant diamond aventurine into his heart, the stone’s ancient energy breaks that gargoyle’s curse so he can act of his own will. Hopefully once he’s free, he’ll hand the crystal over to us.”
“Well said.” Wynter smoothed the front of her skirt. “Free a gargoyle, and you have a powerful magical friend for life. But the plan rests on the gargoyle being animated, and because Aura’s the one the gargoyle’s fail switch is triggered for . . .”
“She has to go.” Elin sighed. “I understand.”
“Fine. Do we happen to have an aventurine crystal on hand?” Viggo rubbed his temples. I didn’t blame him. My own head was starting to throb.
“Maybe.” Finna glanced at Jande. “We have a rare gems collection in the crystal lab, but I’m not sure if we have that stone. And even if we do, the collection’s pretty well guarded. Getting our hands on it will be hard.”
“Well, try,” Winter advised. “That’s the only thing that’s going to get us the Sterkvart.”
“It could take some time . . .” Finna raked her teeth across her bottom lip.
Viggo looked up. “Aura’s uncle is meeting the Huldra tomorrow, which means we need to leave as soon as possible. Do you think you could get the aventurine in the next hour?”
“We’ll do our best,” Finna hedged. “But the better plan is for you guys to set out so we don’t lose any time. If we get the stone, we’ll send it to you by air.”
“Can you fly, too?” Elin asked dryly.
Hold up. Can she?
“No.” With one word, Finna dashed my hopes of not being the dorm weirdo. “My friend Evensong is an up
per-level Dyr and—”
“Hey, I remember her,” Elin blurted. “She gave us our first day tour.”
“She’s the best,” Finna said fondly. “Well, she’s on aviary duty today. I’m sure she’ll let me borrow the Hábrók.”
“The what?” I blurted.
“The Hábrók—this really special hawk. The queen keeps her at the school because our Dyr program is so good. We’re only supposed to fly her for royally sanctioned communications, but . . .” Finna shrugged.
“Great. So, new plan.” Viggo rubbed his hands together. “Me, Professor Bergen and the stubborn sisters will head to the cottage on foot while Finna and Jande steal a crystal from the school stash.”
“Re-appropriate,” Jande corrected, “for the greater good.”
It didn’t escape my notice that since arriving in my room, all of Jande’s words had been spoken directly at Viggo’s naked chest.
Viggo shrugged. “Once they get the crystal, they use the Hábrók to send it to us. We’ll show Aura to the gargoyle, give him the aventurine, take back the Sterkvart, and be home before curfew.”
Easy as that. Snort.
“What if we can’t get a crystal in time?” Finna worried.
“Then we snatch up the gargoyle and bring him back here. Hopefully you’ll get one before the Huldra notices he’s missing.” I stood up, cracking my neck as I angled my head from side to side.
“We’re going to need help.” Finna moved to her data pad. “I’ll let some of the other upper-level Elementär know we’re going to need assistance with a project that affects the tree.”
“And I’ll return to The Cloak.” Wynter stood and pointed to her communicator. “If I hear anything new from Aura’s dad, I’ll reach out to you guys through your coms. Just give me your sequences.”
Viggo crossed to Wynter and entered a code on her device. “There’s mine.”
I took Wynter’s offered wrist and did the same. She tapped her screen, and Viggo’s com lit up, followed by mine. “There. Now you have my sequence too, in case you need me.”
“Where’s Signy meeting us?” Elin asked. “Here or downstairs?”
“Downstairs. We can take off when she arrives,” I confirmed.
“We’re settled.” Viggo rubbed his hands together. “Wynter heads to The Coat—”
“The Cloak,” she corrected.
“Finna and Jande will procure the aventurine.” He pulled his tank top out of his back pocket and tucked his wings close to his body before shrugging into the tight garment. “And Aura, Elin, Professor Bergen and I will go find the gargoyle.”
I blinked as Viggo stretched his wings free of the arm-holes in his tank. Would I ever be able to control mine like that?
“Did he have to do that?” Jande whispered.
“Do what?” Finna asked quietly.
Jande frowned. “Put his shirt on?”
Oh, honestly.
“So, we’re all good?” I moved toward the door.
“Almost.” Elin pointed to my bare feet. “You need shoes. And possibly a different traveling outfit. One not covered in dirt and blood?” She jumped up and crossed to my dresser, where she pulled out a set of black training clothes. She threw them at me before heading to her own dresser to do the same. “Everybody, out while Aura and I change. We’ve got some ground to cover—a crystal to bring home, a crown to steal, and a realm to save. So, move it.”
Viggo, Finna, and Wynter went outside, while Elin and I hurriedly changed our clothes. My best friend had to help me wrestle my wings through the arm holes in my own shirt because, friendship. Once I was set, she pulled her hair into a bouncy ponytail and we stepped into the hallway. “Let’s go kick some Huldra butt.”
“Send a message if you hear anything,” Viggo said. Wynter nodded.
“Be careful.” Finna hugged Elin and me. She gave Viggo a thin smile.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Jande ordered.
“We’ll be fine,” I assured, convincing myself every bit as much as my friends. Given I was a mated teenage faerie princess with a price on my soul, it was hard not to throw my hands in the air and run screaming for the forest.
Though I had to wonder . . . how much worse could things get?
Chapter 20
BY THE TIME WE neared our destination, my feet were covered in blisters. “I had no idea it was a four-hour hike uphill,” I muttered as my boots sought purchase atop a particularly steep knoll. The ocean’s salty tang floated along the breeze, assuring me we’d nearly reached our destination. This journey had taken forever.
“It would have been a lot faster if you’d let me come alone.” Viggo pointed out. “I could have flown in and out and this would all be over with.”
“We’re a team. We do this together. And two of us can’t fly.” I kept marching, ignoring the raw skin at the back of my ankles. “Ouch.”
Elin shot me a worried look.
“Blisters,” I explained.
“Need Viggo to carry you?” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“Ha. Ha.” I glared.
“Actually, that’s not a bad idea. We can fly the rest of the way from here.” Viggo ran his hand through his hair. “I’ll take Signy, you take Elin, and we’ll—”
“Viggo! I’ve never flown before! Do you seriously think I could carry someone on my first time out?”
Viggo shrugged. “Never know until you try.”
“You don’t need to carry us,” Signy interjected. “We’re nearly there. Just another mile or so.”
“Oh!” Elin yelped. “Finna and Jande did it! Look!”
She pointed to the sky, where an enormous winged creature circled. It tucked in its wings and dove for the ground. If it didn’t pull up soon, it was going to hit us before we could—
“Arugh!” Elin covered her head, but the creature swerved at the last second, flapping several times before landing easily on Viggo’s outstretched wrist.
“Show-off,” I muttered.
Viggo just smirked. “The crystal we were waiting on. The diamond . . . whatever.” He gently untied a small satchel from the Hábrók’s leg, then tossed it to me. He pulled something out of his pocket and offered it to the hawk, who eagerly gripped it in his talons and flew away.
“What did you give him?” I peeked at the shiny stone inside the satchel before shoving it in my pocket, where it sat heavily against my thigh.
“I gave the bird the heart of a troll.” Viggo grinned as the blood drained from my face. “I’m kidding. It was reindeer jerky. Do you think I carry troll hearts in my pocket?”
“I don’t know what you carry in your pockets,” I said. “Or anything about you, really.”
“Professor Bergen doesn’t allow conversation in the training center.” Viggo continued the endless uphill climb. I followed, my heels howling in protest.
“Nope,” I agreed. “She doesn’t.”
“The training room is for training,” Signy pointed out. “What you do off of my watch is your business.”
“Do you really mean that?” Elin giggled.
I punched her shoulder. Hard.
“Do you have any objections to our talking now, Professor?” Viggo asked. “You said we have another mile to go.”
“Then you have a mile’s worth of free time,” Signy acquiesced. “But once we get to the gargoyle, no more chatter. You’re on the clock.”
Viggo shot me a grin. “I don’t carry troll hearts in my pocket, but I do love being outside. Especially now that I live in a realm that’s not cloaked in every conceivable shade of darkness. There, now you know two things about me that aren’t related to the angle of my right hook.”
Elin nudged me with her elbow. “You guys should go hiking sometime.”
“What are you doing?” I hissed.
“Helping. He’s obviously into you,” she whispered.
“Shut up!”
“So, you like the outdoors,” Elin summarized. She smiled sweetly. “What else makes Viggo Sörensson tick
?”
Oh, gods. She was the literal worst at this.
But Viggo considered the question. “Well, I don’t play mind games, and I don’t have patience for anyone who does. That girl Britney is awful.”
“Seriously,” I agreed at the same time as Elin said, “You’re telling me.” Even Signy murmured a barely discernable, “Mmm-hmm.”
I knew it!
“That’s what I like about your other discipline, Aura,” Viggo continued. “There’s nothing fake about the Empati. Being a Verge is great—the faculty pretty much beat the physical weaknesses right out of us. But Empati learn how to control their feelings, own their own space. That’s as real as it gets.”
I stepped over a medium sized rock. “Other Empati do that. I’m still a work in progress.”
Viggo pulled something out of his pocket and tumbled it between his fingers. “You’ll get there.”
“Maybe.” I grimaced. “What’s that?”
Viggo followed my gaze to his hand. “This?” He turned his palm upward, revealing a charred, heart shaped rock. “I always carry it. My parents used to take me hiking near the Svartalfheim volcanoes. My mom found this near one of the craters and gave it to me. She said even in a world of darkness, you can find fragments of hope.”
Elin sniffled. “That’s beautiful.”
I voiced my agreement in a quiet, “It is.”
“Your parents were brave warriors, Viggo,” Signy said. “Even from Midgard, I knew of their work for the Opprør.”
“They wanted a better world for me.” Viggo tucked the rock back in his pocket.
“And you’re helping build a better world for us all,” Signy said gently. “Your parents would be proud.”
“Thanks,” Viggo grunted. He pointed up ahead. “Hey, is that the Huldra’s place?”
I squinted at the small structure perched atop the next hill. Since I’d actually been doing Professor Asling’s sunrise meditations—and seeing an improvement in my ability to feel both my protective bubble and presences outside of it, who knew?—I reached out to see if I could sense anyone inside. My heart leapt as I picked up on something within the cottage. But it quickly plummeted at the darkness that pulsed back. Either some coastal light elf was having a majorly bad day, or we’d found the Huldra’s location.