by Kate O'Hearn
Among everything she felt, Freya also sensed Odin’s renewed energy. Hearing that his sons were alive put the fight back in him. “Let him come. I’m ready for him,” he roared.
Then Odin held his hand out to Quinn. “Vanir, give me a sword, a large one.”
Quinn nodded and cast a spell to create a large broadsword that looked almost too heavy to lift. Odin picked it up as though it weighed nothing and nodded his head. “Very good, thank you.”
Kai staggered into the banquet hall, his white wings covered in blood. He had a deep wound on his side, and he was limping from another gash to his upper thigh.
In moments Freya was by his side. “He’s hurt,” she called to Quinn. “Please! We need more of your pain potion!”
“I’m all right,” Kai said. He lifted his head to see Odin standing before his throne. He pulled himself up with Freya and Archie’s help.
“Odin.” Kai struggled to bow before him. “I am at your service. My swords are yours.”
Odin’s one eye moved from Freya to Kai and back again. “The twins are united.”
Freya nodded. “And we’ll never be parted again.”
“Agreed,” Odin said.
Quinn helped Kai drink the potion, but there was little time to pause.
“ODIN!” a broken voice rasped.
Freya turned and watched Dirian enter the hall with a troop of at least ten Dark Searchers. They were followed by a stream of Dark Elves, dwarfs, and demons. She felt a large number of giants encircling Valhalla on the outside, poised to strike at anyone who tried to flee.
They were trapped.
Dirian came closer and focused on Freya. “You? How? I left you chained and broken in my keep.”
“You can’t stop me from protecting my realm or my leader!” Freya spat.
Dirian’s visored head nodded. “It seems I made a mistake in letting you live. I should have taken your head, not your wings. I won’t make that mistake again.”
The troll squealed and ran at Dirian. “You won’t hurt Freya!”
The Dark Searcher cut him down with a single blow. “You have trolls fighting your battles now?”
Freya looked at the troll that had sacrificed himself for her. His death fed her anger. She handed Kai over to Archie and raised her golden sword. “It’s over, Dirian.”
Dirian slowly drew his two swords. “Over? Not quite—Odin is still alive. You know, Freya, I may actually miss your sense of humor. But not enough to let you live!” He ran at her with murder in his heart.
Freya tossed Orus into the air and released her own rage to meet him halfway across the floor. Unlike their last fight, she felt stronger, and this time, there was more at stake. Odin had to be protected at all costs.
Freya charged into his attack, her sword flashing. Her Vanir power coursed through her veins as she defended against Dirian’s every blow.
As she fought, Freya became aware of the others fighting around her in the banquet hall. Odin was taking on all the Dark Searchers at once, while Quinn and Kai fought against demons and elves. Archie remained with Skuld, fighting two Dark Elves who were trying to reach the ancient Norn.
“Freya, be careful!” Orus cawed as he flew at Dirian to block his vision.
This move had worked at the Ten Realms Challenge, but now the Dark Searcher was ready for him. As Orus dived a second time, Dirian’s blade flashed, cutting Orus out of the air.
The raven fell to the floor.
“Orus, no!” Freya howled.
“Your raven is dead,” Dirian rasped. “Soon you will follow him!” His swords flashed against her even faster. One cut sliced across her abdomen, but Freya kept fighting through her mounting pain.
With grief and fury driving her on, Freya matched Dirian move for move as they fought all through the banquet hall. Seizing an opening, she thrust forward. Her sword hit its mark and cut into his chest. She immediately followed with another slice across one of his arms.
As Freya went for a third, lethal strike, Dirian lunged forward and caught her in his arms. They encircled her and started to squeeze. “This ends now,” he rasped.
Freya felt as if she were caught in a dragon’s mouth as Dirian’s arms gripped her, tighter and tighter. She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, and bones snapped as he slowly crushed her. Freya’s head felt as if it were going to explode under the pressure, but still Dirian squeezed tighter.
Just as she felt herself slipping away, Dirian whispered into her ear, “No—not yet, little Valkyrie. I won’t free you until you’ve witnessed my victory! Watch, Freya. Watch your beloved Odin die!”
He released her, and Freya collapsed to the floor. Gasping for air, her ribs broken again, it took all of Freya’s strength to lift her head and see the deadly Dark Searcher advancing on Odin.
The leader of Asgard was displaying every fighting skill he possessed against the Dark Searchers. He was able to duck and dive against the blades that cut at him, while simultaneously cutting down Searchers one by one. When most of the Searchers were defeated, the Dark Elves and demons moved in, casting their magic. The sword was ripped from Odin’s grasp, and a blow from one of the remaining Dark Searchers knocked him to the floor. Freya focused on Odin until she felt her brother fall in battle at the blades of two Dark Searchers. She couldn’t imagine a pain worse than losing Skaga—until now. Kai was more than her brother. He was her twin, a living extension of her. As Kai died, a big part of Freya died with him.
Across the hall, Dirian stood triumphantly over the restrained Odin, his two swords hovering above him and poised to strike. “You have lost, Odin of Asgard,” Dirian rasped. “I, Dirian of Utgard, claim the throne and all the realms, in the name of the Dark Searchers!”
Freya raised her head as a blind rage overwhelmed her. She climbed to her feet and charged at Dirian with every ounce of energy she had left.
Cutting her way through the Dark Elves and demons, Freya dashed under Dirian’s blades as they started to move. She pushed Odin behind her and turned to face the Dark Searcher. As her golden sword thrust up and into Dirian’s heart, his blades cut down into her.
“Gee!” Archie howled.
Freya felt no pain. There was nothing.
With their swords interlocked, Freya and Dirian fell as one. They hit the floor together and lay sprawled beside each other.
As the world around her started to fade, Freya felt Dirian go first. The enemy she had made so long ago and had fought so hard, was finally dead.
Freya was barely aware of the fighting going on around her. First she heard gunfire, which made no sense to her fading mind, as there were no human weapons in Asgard. After that, she was sure she heard the boom of Thor’s hammer.
Just as her mother reached her side and called her name, she was swallowed into oblivion.
37
FREYA WAS DRAWN SLOWLY BACK to consciousness, only to taste a bitter liquid at her lips that drove her back into sleep. This happened many times before she was allowed to rise to the surface for a moment.
There was pressure on her chest. Opening her eyes, she saw Orus lying on her. Her raven was covered in bandages and unconscious—but his faint breaths told her that he was alive.
She looked up to see that she was lying in a tent. Loki was standing beside her bed. With his arms crossed casually over his chest, he was grinning at her. “Welcome back.”
Freya’s lips were dry and her throat too parched to speak.
“Don’t try to talk.” Loki knelt beside her and brought a cup of cool water to her lips. “What a journey we’ve been on, you and me.”
“Wha—what happened?”
“We won,” he said, gently brushing hair back from her face. “If you tell anyone I said this, I’ll deny it. But I want you to know, I’m proud of you.”
He rose. “Now, get back to sleep and heal—it’s no fun picking on you when you’re down.” Loki grinned, shimmered into a bumblebee, and buzzed his way out of the tent.
Freya tried to follow him with
her eyes, but they were too heavy to keep open. She surrendered to the draw of sleep.
* * *
It was two more days before Freya woke and stayed awake. This time Archie and Quinn were at her side.
“Orus, you’re alive . . .” Her feathered friend was perched on Archie’s shoulder, looking a little rough, but very much alive.
The raven cawed and flew to sit on Freya’s stomach. “We both are!”
“Freya, it’s time to get up. You mustn’t put pressure on your wings any longer; they need to be exercised.”
Freya followed the voice and saw Maya on the other side of her bed. There was a man beside her who looked like an older version of Kai or even Vonni—with dark, neatly styled hair and eyes of blazing sapphire blue. His features were finely sculptured, and he had a dimple in his chin. If it were possible, he was even more handsome than her uncles.
“Maya, my wings are gone. Dirian cut them off.”
“Gee, that’s not Maya.” Archie started to grin. “It’s Vanir-Freyja and her twin brother, Freyr. They’re your family. They saved your wings and were able to reattach them.”
Freya heard the words, but they made no sense. Vanir-Freyja? But she looked exactly like Maya! And what had Archie said about her wings?
Now that she thought about it, she became aware of the discomfort she always felt when she slept on her wings too long. “Wings?” she cried.
“Freya, get off your wings,” Orus cawed as he limped up to her shoulder. “You don’t want to break them when you’ve only just gotten them back.”
Freya was helped to her feet by Archie and Quinn. She felt weak and dizzy as she stood for the first time in days. She smiled as she felt the familiar weight of the wings on her back. She opened them and fluttered them lightly. “H-how?”
Vanir-Freyja smiled and walked around the bed to embrace her. “Quinnarious didn’t destroy them in Muspelheim. He hid them and brought them back to us. Our Vanir magic restored them to you.”
Freya could hardly believe what she was hearing, but the black wings on her back proved it true. She looked at Quinn. “You did?”
Quinn grinned. “Course I did. I wasn’t about to destroy a perfectly good set of wings. Yes, the feathers were a bit burnt, but otherwise they were beautiful—just like you.”
Lost for words, Freya threw her arms around Quinn and held him tightly. “Thank you!” she wept into his long brown hair.
“Come, my little Freya.” Her uncle Freyr gestured to her. “There are a lot of people outside waiting for you.”
It was only then that Freya looked around and saw she was the only patient in the private healing tent. “The war?” she quickly asked.
“It’s over,” Archie said. “Maya and Vanir-Freyja enchanted the giants and sent them home. You killed Dirian.” He paused and frowned at her. “But you and I are going to talk about that stunt you pulled with him. I’ve never been so scared in all my life!”
“In all your death, you mean,” Quinn teased.
Archie punched Quinn and chuckled. “All my death . . .”
“What happened to Dirian?”
“You mean after you killed him?” Archie asked. “Skuld wrote down his name and crossed a big line through it. She really enjoyed doing that.”
Freya was almost too frightened to ask. “And Kai? Is he all right? Why isn’t he here?”
Vanir-Freyja nodded. “Like you, he rose again. He’s been with Odin and Thor, giving his full report. He’ll be here shortly.”
Freya felt as if she were asleep, in the most wonderful dream. Her brother was alive, her wings were back, and Dirian was dead. If it was a dream, she didn’t want to wake up.
Her great-uncle Freyr smiled. “No, little Freya, it’s no dream,” he said, reading her thoughts. “You’re very much awake.”
“C’mon, Gee,” Archie said, taking his rightful place at her side. “Let’s not keep everyone waiting.”
With Archie supporting her on one side, and holding tightly to Quinn’s hand on the other, Freya walked toward the entrance of the tent. Once she was outside, her eyes flew open and she couldn’t take it all in. Everyone was there, including Vonni and Sarah—bearing the mark of Mims on her hand. Then there was Mims with Skaga’s raven nestled on her shoulder. She was grinning and holding her baby brother. Beside them stood Skye and her team of human soldiers from the tunnel. . . . Her senses told her they were alive, but not human anymore.
Archie started to laugh. “You should see your face! Breathe, Gee,” he teased. “Keep breathing.”
Her mother was standing with Freya’s surviving sisters. When Freya’s eyes landed on Maya, she welled up and ran to her.
“I felt you in the keep,” Freya said, holding her tightly. “Thank you for saving Vanir-Freyja!”
Maya’s eyes misted. “I didn’t want to leave you. . . . It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
“I know,” Freya said, as they laughed and cried together. “You did right.”
As the two sisters embraced, their ravens, Orus and Grul, started to argue about who had the worst wounds and who had suffered the greatest.
“Yes, well, a frost giant broke my back,” Grul said. “I was completely paralyzed! I nearly died!”
“You call that suffering?” Orus cried. “I did die. Dirian cut me in two! The healer almost failed putting me together again!”
“Too bad she didn’t keep your beak shut. . . .”
Freya looked around at the gathering of those she cared for most and was completely overwhelmed. She didn’t know who to hold or talk to next.
Suddenly a hush fell over the gathering and everyone parted. Kai, looking pale but very much alive, was walking toward them with Odin and his wife, Frigg, and Thor and Balder. Odin was out of his armor and displaying his new battle scars proudly.
“Freya,” Odin said informally. “We have much to discuss, but for today I want only to say thank you—thank you for saving Asgard.”
“I—I,” Freya stuttered. “I didn’t save Asgard. It was you.”
Odin’s eye darkened. “Even now you wish to argue with me?”
“No! I’m sorry, Great Odin,” Freya rushed to say.
Odin held the stern look for a moment longer but then burst into laughter. “You will never change,” he said, shaking his head.
“And I hope she never does.” Frigg smiled. “We have a gift for you. It is our way of thanking you for everything you’ve done.” She stood back and motioned for someone to come forward.
Freya recognized the dark hair, blazing eyes, and muscular build of the strongest warrior in Valhalla. It was Archie’s gladiator trainer, Crixus. He walked forward and nodded to her.
Frigg said formally, “Normally, this is forbidden, but today we will make an exception. Freya, daughter of Eir, twin sister to Kai, I would like you to meet your father, Crixus of Midgard.”
Freya inhaled sharply. Her eyes flashed over to her mother, who was smiling and nodded her head. Kai was also nodding.
“Gee,” Archie breathed. “Crixus is your dad? That’s awesome. . . .”
For so long Freya had yearned to know who her father was. Now that he was standing before her, she didn’t know what to say or do.
Crixus opened his arms. “Daughter . . .”
Freya ran into his arms.
“How I have longed to tell you it was me,” he whispered into her ear. “All these years, watching you grow into a powerful, accomplished Valkyrie and I was forbidden to say anything or claim you as mine. All I could do was train your best friend and hope that he would help you when I couldn’t. I am so proud of you. . . .”
“Father . . . ?” Freya whispered.
Crixus nodded and held her tighter.
With her arms around her father, and all her family about her, Freya finally felt whole.
EPILOGUE
THE FIELDS OUTSIDE OF VALHALLA were once again decorated with colorful banners, as all Asgard welcomed the end of the war. Though the Great Heavenly Hall l
ay in ruins, plans were already under way for its restoration.
Invitations were sent to Vanaheim, and many of the Vanir traveled to Asgard via the newly opened Bifröst to join in the celebrations and renewed union of the two realms.
Urd and Verdandi arrived, and for the first time in recorded history, the normally somber Norns laughed and danced as they were reunited with Skuld.
Over the following days, Freya and Orus stayed close to their family. Vonni, Sarah, Mims, and the baby moved into their large home in Asgard, while Vanir-Freyja and Freyr also took their place among the family. Plans were being set for Maya to spend time away with her great-great-grandmother, to learn to use and control her newly released powers.
“Gee,” Archie called to her. Skye and Quinn were with him with big grins on their faces. “We need you to come with us for a minute. Someone needs to speak with you urgently.”
“Who?”
“You’ll see,” Skye said as she put her arm around Archie and lifted him lightly into the air. Her butterfly wings had recovered from their burns and fluttered lightly in the blazing blue sky.
“This way,” Quinn said.
Freya looked at Orus on her shoulder and shrugged before launching into the air behind them to fly to Valhalla. When they landed, they crossed over the rubble and into the Great Heavenly Hall.
They led her to the banquet hall. Just outside it, Archie nodded. “In there.”
“What’s in there?” Freya asked.
“You’ll see.”
“Why don’t you guys come in with me?”
Quinn grinned but shook his head. “Because it’s for you.”
“That’s right,” Orus said as he flew off her shoulder and landed on Archie’s. “We’ll be right here.”
Freya frowned suspiciously at the raven. “What are you up to?”
“Me?” Orus cawed. “Why do you always blame me?”
“Because it’s usually you.” She laughed and stroked his smooth black feathers.