Ragnarök Rising

by Nora Ash

  “Don’t kill him? He was trying to rape you!” Bjarni snarled, his normally so kind face twisted into battle rage. At that moment he was every inch the ruthless alpha—and nothing at all like the gentle giant who’d given me hot chocolate with marshmallows what felt like an eternity ago.

  “It’s not like you weren’t going to do the same!” I reminded him. “Every fucking one of you, if you remember.”

  The complete confusion on the blond alpha’s face would have been amusing under different circumstances. “What?”

  “Don’t give me that look—I know everything now. You lured me to Iceland so you could all mate me against my will.” I pointed a finger at him. “And your brother went through with it.”

  “That’s enough,” Saga said. He sounded irritated as he stared down at me laying prone across Magni’s crumbled body. “We can’t kill him. Not as long as his claim is still on her. It will break her.”

  A strange trickle of relief traveled through my veins. Saga understood. He might still hate Magni—but he understood.

  “She’d get over it,” Grim murmured. He drew a nail along the blade of his sword when I twisted to glare at him. “We’ve wasted enough time thanks to Thor’s bastard, and it’s not like we can bring him.”

  “We leave him,” Saga said. “He’s too weak to follow us. If he wants to survive, he’ll crawl back to Asgard and stay there.” His gray gaze flicked over me, a silent offering in it.

  I sat up on my heels, the need to protect Magni easing now that his death wasn’t imminent. Carefully I looked over the three brothers, from their sharp weapons to their grim determination, and I knew what I said next would determine the rest of my life.

  If I went willingly, they would likely let Magni live. And as long as he lived, I wouldn’t be broken into a thousand pieces. The echo of the vision in Verdandi’s cave shuddered up my spine. As angry as I was with the redheaded alpha for his attempts at forcing me into submission, I wasn’t going to survive his death.

  And if what the Norn had shown me was true… neither would the world. Or any of them.

  My heart ached and spasmed at the thought of leaving him behind in his weakened state, but that was nothing but the bond he’d forced on me. He was a god. He would heal.

  “Let him live and I’ll come with you willingly,” I said softly.

  “Annabel, no!” Magni hissed. He forced his way onto his back and gripped my arm with his healthy hand. The other he clutched against his chest. “Your place is by my side!”

  I jerked back from him and got to my feet. “Even now, you can’t see it! I am not a thing, Magni! I am not a toy for you to bicker over. This is my decision.”

  Magni’s verdant eyes flashed with anger, but instead of shouting at me he turned to Saga. “So you’re not just a coward,” he said coolly, a sharp contrast to the anger I felt snapping through our bond, “you’re a scavenger too.”

  Saga cocked his head as if he hadn’t heard him, but I knew he had—the vein in his temple was throbbing. “Come again?”

  “It was true in the cave and it’s true now,” Magni continued, staring him down. “You couldn’t mate Annabel on your own merits; you had to wait for me to turn my back first. And now… to take a female you’ve claimed from me, you have to have the help of your brothers and I have to be incapacitated. Do you hear how pathetic you are? Do you truly think you can be a satisfying mate for her?”

  “Can we not?” I said, trying to avoid bloodshed, because Saga’s face was turning red with rage.

  They both ignored me.

  “Your sole advantage,” Saga hissed as he glared down at Magni said, “is that you got to her first. That’s the only reason you’re still alive!”

  Magni smiled thinly. “But that’s not true, is it? I didn’t get to her first—you did. But she didn’t want you. She rejected you. She was in heat and she fled from you. She doesn’t want you, Saga. No one does.”

  Saga opened his mouth to lay into his enemy, then stopped as his words sank in.

  “You’re outclassed,” Magni told him, “and you know it. All you can do is sit around waiting for table scraps.”

  I’d thought Saga would fly into a rage then, but instead he looked Magni over from head to toe wearing an infuriatingly inscrutable expression.

  At length, he said, “You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you? Waiting for scraps, I mean. Even if that was my fate, at least I wouldn’t be begging off my own family. How many times have you had to beg and plead to not be kicked out on your ass?”

  A white-hot flash of anger seared through the bond I shared with Magni. Whatever Saga was referring to, it’d clearly struck a nerve. He struggled to get up, undoubtedly to do something monumentally stupid, but Bjarni stepped in. He put a large hand on Magni’s shoulder and pushed him back down again, raising his axe in silent warning.

  “We don’t have time for this bickering,” Grim said. “We got what we came for. Either kill the bastard or don’t, but we need to leave.”

  Saga breathed in deeply, then turned his focus on me. “Are you ready, Annabel?”

  I tried to ignore the clenching in my gut as I glanced back at the wounded god on the ground. There was nothing more I could do for him, other than lead the alphas itching for his death away.

  Silently I nodded and stepped away.

  “Annabel—I’ll find you again. I promise!” Magni’s desperate call followed me as I walked out of the clearing, haunting me for every beat of my aching heart.

  I should have been happy that every step led me farther and farther from the alpha who’d refused to consider me as anything but a walking womb, a means to an end—but I wasn’t.

  Our bond stretched thin in my chest for every mile, writhing like a worm, reminding me of how he’d sacrificed himself to save me. How good it’d felt when he helped me through my heat. How, even when I’d told him to stop, I wasn’t in heat, some part of me had wanted him again when he tried to show me he wasn’t weak. I knew it was just biology—my unwanted mate-bond clamoring to be reunited with the alpha who’d claimed me. But it still hurt like a bitch.

  “It should be here,” Bjarni growled, pulling me from my miserable thoughts. “Why the fuck isn’t it here?”

  They’d stopped in a small indent among the looming cliffs. We were a few hours out from where we’d left Magni behind, and the guys had left me alone to brood in quietude while they talked magic portals and gods and our encounter with the Norn.

  “The portals move sometimes,” Grim said. He swung a leather sack off his shoulder and reached in. When he pulled his hand back out again, he brought what looked like an ancient, folded map back out. “We should be able to locate it again.”

  “What’s this?” I asked as the dark-haired alpha spread the map across a large rock.

  “A map of the nine worlds,” Saga said. He let a hand brush up my back, coming to rest on my shoulder. “Our father stole it from the dwarves a long time ago, and gifted it to us when he sent us to the human world to wait out the coming of Ragnarök. It shows all the secret passages between the worlds. It’ll show us the way home.”

  “Home?” I jerked back from his touch. “You’re taking me back to Iceland? What about the prophecy and everything Verdandi told me? How are we going to stop Ragnarök from the human world?”

  Grim and Bjarni exchanged a look, both of them arching an eyebrow at Saga.

  My mate grimaced. “Look, we can’t stay here. Not with you—if anyone sees Magni’s mark on you, they’re likely to kill you.”

  “You promised!” I said. “You said—”

  “I said I would help you stop Ragnarök if there was a way. And I will. But until Fate deigns to reveal how we can do that, my only priority is to get you to safety, Annabel.” He wrapped me in his arms, the warmth of his body soaking through my clothes and into my flesh in a soothing wave before I could resist.

  “Nothing’s more important than stopping the end of the world,” I said, doing my best not to swoon like a r
idiculous virgin at her alpha posturing. But it felt good—his closeness, his promises of protection. Even the hollow in my chest where my bond with Magni was tethered didn’t hurt so bad so long as my other mate held me like this. “Do you think Fate’s just gonna hand us an easy way of saving the world if we go hide in a corner? That’s not how it works.”

  “And you’re an expert on how Fate works now, are you?” Saga asked, his tone sardonic even as he dragged his nose up along my neck.

  “Perhaps not, but I do know that if you want anything in this world—human or not—you have to fight for it.” That was how I’d gotten my education—I’d worked my ass off. It was how I’d achieved everything in my life. “Have you—any of you—ever gotten anything by just leaning back and waiting for the world to hand you what you want on a silver platter?”

  “We’re not leaning back,” Saga said, and as he spoke something pulled on my mind. Something that felt like warm fleece wrapping around the urgency churning in my gut to do something to prevent the death of everything and everyone I knew. I blinked, and suddenly it didn’t seem so… important.

  I swayed in his arms, and he tightened his arms to pull me in closer.

  “It’s best if we travel home to Iceland for now, Annabel,” Saga murmured, his voice soothing and deep resonating in my chest, making my ribs hum. “Everything will be okay. Just give in.”

  “Yes,” I mumbled, resting my head against his chest because it was suddenly too heavy to hold up on my own. “You’re right.”

  When I forced my eyes open, I saw Grim and Bjarni stare at me, Bjarni with a small smirk curving his lips, Grim with a look of disgust.

  The dark-haired alpha chuffed through his nose and returned his focus to the weathered map. “Regardless, we’ll have a long travel. The portal to Midgard is nowhere near Yggdrasil.”

  “What? Where is it, then?” Saga snapped, some of his irritation piercing my cocoon of dazed contentedness.

  Grim brushed his palm over the middle right section of the map. “I’m not sure… but it looks like it’s well past the Spine.”

  “Fucking Hel,” Saga growled. “You want me to climb a fucking mountain range with my human mate?”

  “She’s our human mate, if you remember,” Bjarni said, eyebrow raised at his brother’s temper.

  “I don’t control the portals between worlds,” Grim growled. “And you should be careful—your control’s slipping.”

  Saga muttered a curse but drew in a deep breath and returned his focus to me. “It’s all right, Annabel. You’ll be safe. I promise.”

  The swathe of fuzzy calm that’d started to lift snapped back in place around my mind like a rubber ban.

  But this time, I saw it.

  Dark energy wrapped gently around my body, leaving hazy comfort wherever it touched, creeping along my skin and sinking into my bones.

  Magic.

  Saga’s magic!

  I pushed away from him with a gasp, ice-cold realization pushing the contented daze from my brain as effectively as a bucket of water.

  “You! You’ve—” I grasped for the right words. What exactly had he done? Used his power to calm me? But no, it wasn’t just that. That sense of woolly compliance… it’d been there before, as well. Subtly, worming its way into my brain, aided by the bond in my chest tying me to him.

  “You manipulated me!” I hissed, the sense of betrayal closing around my lungs like a curtain of lead. He’d made me think he believed me—that he might be able to see me like something more than a broodmare. But he’d just told me what I wanted to hear, so I’d be easier to take from Magni. “You’re even worse than he is! At least Magni had the decency to be honest with what he wanted from me! But you—you think you can trick me to be your obedient little omega? I will never trust you again, and I will never submit to you, Saga Lokisson!”

  Saga’s face grew dark, the shadows playing across it reminding me all too much of his brother Grim as he stared me down. It took everything I had not to shrink back from him, the bond between us vibrating out of frequency, setting every hair on my body on end.

  “I tried to placate you, Omega,” my blond mate growled. “I tried to help you understand your place the easy way. But you don’t want that? Fine. You’ll get to be a victim, since you love the role so much. I claimed you. I fucked your little cunt and let you ride out your heat on my knot, and you belong to me. Your place is on your knees for me, and I swear by every fucking branch on Yggdrasil, you’re gonna learn to obey!”

  I stared open-mouthed at him, my heart hammering in my chest. Anger welled from like a fountain deep within, but as I stared at the furious god fear kept me from taking a swing at him, however much my knuckles itches to connect with his stupid face.

  “If the world ends and we could have stopped it—I will never forgive you,” I hissed.

  He didn’t respond, just gave me a hard stare before he turned to Bjarni. “Call on Magga and Arni. Have them scout for the portal. The sooner we’re home, the sooner you and Grim can mate the omega. It’s time she learns her only purpose is to serve.”

  17

  Bjarni

  “He’s gonna come around, sweetie,” I offered the sulking omega a smile and patted her on the shoulder. Saga had stomped up ahead, taking up the lead, leaving it to me and Grim to ensure Annabel followed along. And since Grim was a grumpy git, it was up to me to smooth things over. As always. “And even if he doesn’t, I ain’t about to let him treat you bad.”

  She shot me a withering glare. “Oh? So you’re gonna knock his head into a rock until he realizes we can’t hide away like freaking cowards while the world ends?”

  “Might do,” I hummed, amused at the little thing’s fire. She definitely was an omega, but she sure didn’t have the temperament of one. “He’s not wrong, though. There isn’t much we can do about Ragnarök right now, except ensure you don’t get eaten by Jotunns before we can get you out of here. Doesn’t mean we aren’t going to help fulfill this prophecy of yours, if we get the chance.”

  “You’re just like him, aren’t you? Like Magni. All you really think of me is that I’m some whore for you to fuck. That I live to serve. At least he was honest about it—and, excuse me, but it seems like going to Asgard like he wanted, versus hiding out in a remote farm in Iceland might bring about slightly better chances for saving the damn world,” she said.

  I shrugged. “Perhaps. Perhaps not. Ragnarök has been predicted since the dawn of time, yet the gods sit in their walled-off little kingdom. They’ve done exactly nothing to prevent it.”

  Annabel frowned and looked down, and I reached out to poke one of the inflamed marks on her neck. She flinched away, hand quickly coming up to cover the sensitive skin. “Don’t do that!”

  “You left one of your mates behind, sweetie. Right now, his mark is fucking with your brain something fierce, trying to convince you to return to him. Saga’s an idiot sometimes, I’ll give you that, but you’re fooling yourself if you think Thor’s bastard would treat you any better.” I cracked a smile. “And I’ll be here to keep my brothers in check. Pinky swear.”

  “I just….” She rubbed her mark and shuddered, blunt teeth making indents in her plump lower lip. “I feel like every step is breaking me in half. It hurts. And I… why am I here? Why am I doing this, leaving him, when this is no better? I came with you because Saga promised he’d help me end Ragnarök. But if there is no difference, then—” She stopped abruptly. “This was a mistake. I’m going back for him. He needs me.”

  I was honestly surprised she’d made it this far. No mated omega liked to be away from her alpha, least of all when he was ill like Magni’d been. I assumed the dual-bond eased some of the discomfort, but mostly it seemed her dedication to stop the inevitable end of the world was what’d allowed her to push through the instincts that had to be tearing at her to get her to turn around. It was admirable, really. She was stronger than most, even if she was just a tiny human.

  Carefully, I wrapped a hand around
her chin, keeping hold of her even when she tried to jerk away. “Annabel, you can’t do that.”

  “The fuck I can’t!” she hissed.

  “If you do, we’ll kill him,” I said, because there was no point in sugarcoating it. “You don’t understand the hatred between our families. The only reason he lives is that you swore to come with us willingly. And—as much as I would love to lob off that fucker’s head—I’d hate to see you hurt like that. So no, you can’t go back.”

  She stared up at me, hurt and desperation dancing in those chocolate pools. “Why? Why do you hate him that much?”

  I sighed. “It’s two-fold. His father accused ours of trying to sneak the Jotunns into Asgard to overthrow the gods and prematurely start Ragnarök some centuries ago. It was disproven, but the mistrust among the gods toward our father and us remains.

  “And Magni… Magni was born of a Jotunn mother, just like us, but Jotunheim wasn’t good enough for him. He wanted to sit among the gods in Asgard. But because of his lineage, they didn’t trust him. So, he decided to prove himself. His uncle was a chieftain, and he raised Magni in his halls despite how hated Thor is among Jotunns. Magni repaid him by burning down his house, slaughtering his sons, and putting their heads on pikes. Only then did the gods deign him worthy. But we… we won’t forget what he did. We had friends among that chieftain’s sons.”

  Annabel frowned. “But… but the Jotunns are evil… right?”

  I snorted. “Are humans evil?”

  “Well, sure, not all, but… I thought Jotunns were the opposite of everything that’s divine and good? Like… really vicious giants ruled by chaos.”

  “Ha! Firstly, we are not giants. We come in all sizes. And sure, some are not the nicest, but I can guarantee you, the same hold true for the mighty gods and goddesses of Asgard. Jotunheim is the land of the wild. There are few rules and much freedom. But it’s a harsh world with many dangers too.” I released her chin and touched my fingertips to her cheek. “I might be a half-god, but I’m also a Jotunn. And so is Magni, yet he turned his back on his people. There is no honor in what he did, and there is no honor in how he tried to steal you from us.”