by Unknown
“Okay, Blossom,” I looked down at the flower beside me as Freyr pushed away from me like I'd burnt him. “I'm not sure how to do this. Can you come out or do I have to dig you up?”
The flower lifted, its roots pulling out of the soil cleanly. So cleanly in fact, they had no dirt on them whatsoever and shone like polished bone in the low light of the cell. It was like looking at the skeleton of the flower. No, not skeleton, arteries. They were her arteries, sucking up nutrients. I gathered her and her arteries up carefully and stood.
“Get up, Freyr,” I snapped at the cowering god. “I need you to escort me down to the dock and unfold that little origami ship of yours so I can go home.”
He lifted to his feet as soon as I'd said the words. Almost like he was on strings. Then he started marching out of the cell and I followed happily in his wake, doing a little imitation of his march. We went up some stairs and down some hallways before we made it to the dining hall. There were a few elves there, congregating at tables and talking in their melodious voices. They all stopped to stare as we passed by. One brave soul even stood as if he would help Freyr in some way.
“Uh-uh,” I waved a finger at him. “Don't make me even more angry than I already am.”
He sat down with a thud, as if he'd been pushed.
We walked straight out into the bright sunshine and the flower lifted its face like it had never seen the light before. Which of course was true. I'd witnessed its birth myself, right there in that dark dungeon. It had been born in darkness and I was taking it into the light. There was something in that thought that struck a chord in me. Something more than just this little flower. Something that had everything to do with the land itself.
“Damn but I don't want to leave you behind,” I looked down at my bright savior. “But I'm worried that if I take you with me, you'll be cut off from the magic that makes you so special.”
The flower swayed side to side.
“No?” I saw Freyr glancing back at us with wide eyes and I glared at him until he faced forward and continued on down to the lake. “Oh! Because I am the connection to Alfheim.”
It bobbed.
“Do you wanna come home with me?”
It bobbed again.
“Well why not?” I laughed. “It's not like I haven't brought home strays before and I know just where to put you.”
It nestled against me and I melted. Who knew you could lose your heart to a plant? We reached the dock and Freyr pulled Skidbladnir out of its pouch and threw it into the air over the water. It unfolded mid-air into a flat version of a ship and then it inflated outward, finally becoming its old self with a little pop of sound. I walked forward and climbed aboard.
“Stop!” My hold on Freyr had finally loosened enough for him to speak. “You can't leave. You'll be taking the magic of Alfheim with you. You'll destroy us!”
“I have no intention of destroying you,” I glared at him. “Though I should after that stunt you just pulled. I'll figure out a way to return the magic to Alfheim and then we'll fix this. Something I would have done from the beginning, if you'd just asked me.”
“There is no solution,” Freyr growled. “You will suck the energy dry. Just look at that if you want proof!” He pointed to the flower and it cringed back against me. I glared harder at him. “Do you think we have sentient flowers here? Do you think that's normal? It's not. That thing was created out of your need for freedom and now it too has become a drain on Alfheim.”
“I'm done with this conversation,” I stroked a finger gently over one of the flower's petals. “Blossom and I are leaving. I will find a way to sever the bond I have with Alfheim. I'm a faerie, remember? I have a little more resources available to me than you do. Goodbye, Ygnvi Freyr.”
I turned, went to the helm, and told the ship to take me back to Asgard. It even listened to me.
Chapter Nineteen
When Skidbladnir sailed into Asgard with only me and Blossom at the helm, there was an armada amassing in the lake and an army on the shore. I looked down at Blossom and she up at me(I'd decided she was a girl) and then I smiled, a warm happiness filling my body.
There was all the Intare, all of the Froekn, and all of the God Squad. On top of that, Luke and Azrael stood amongst a contingent of both angels and demons. Anubis, Ma'at, Re, and even Thoth were there with the werejackals, the Dark Horses were amidst several Greek gods, including Morpheus. Kanaloa and his fey girlfriend were there with Pele, and there were even Thunderbirds.
Then there was the fey. Someone had actually gone to Faerie and fetched Arach. He was there leading a group of fire fey who stood a little off to the side with a small group a water fey. I wasn't sure if it was the fact that they were faeries that kept them isolated or that Arach had brought the Hidden Ones with him but there was a distinct buffer zone between them and the gods.
Except for the Valkyries and Kanaloa but Kanaloa was dating a water-sidhe so I don't know if he counted. They were the only ones who didn't seem bothered by the faeries and a couple of the warrior women were actually mingling with the faeries. The fey in turn seemed impressed by the ladies but then it was hard not to be. The Valkyries had an air about them that said they could look just as beautiful as they kicked your butt, maybe even more so. And they did look magnificent standing there in their sexy armor and feather cloaks. Behind them were the dead Viking warriors of Valhalla, who stood waiting for Odin near the Hall itself.
I'd no idea I had so many allies but I'll tell you what, it felt pretty damn good to see them.
All activity slowly came to a halt when Skidbladnir glided to a gentle stop just offshore. There wasn't any room left at Asgard's dock but as soon as we pulled along one of the other ships, someone found a plank to bridge the gap. Before I could climb up on my end of the plank though, Trevor had already made it across to me. Werewolves are super fast.
“Minn Elska,” Trevor wrapped me in a bear hug, well I guess it would technically be a wolf hug, and I threw my hands up to protect Blossom.
“Watch out for Blossom, baby,” I slid one arm around him to give him a quick hug and let him have a reassuring sniff of my neck.
“Who?” He pulled back so Az, who was right behind him, could hug me.
“Carus,” Az's hand went to my cheek. “The rings worked. We knew right away that you were in danger and it even let us know that you were in Alfheim.”
“Sweet!” I let them help me up on the plank and then carefully made my way across to the other ship. It would be just my luck to fall in and make an ass of myself in front of all the people who'd come to save me.
“Tima.” Kirill helped me down into the other ship and gave me a quick kiss.
“Hey, you,” I looked him over. Something wasn't right, I felt it immediately. “You okay?”
“Da, just concerned about you,” he pushed back my hair and peered at Blossom. “You have some kind of plant attached to your neck.”
“This is Blossom,” I reached up and urged her forward. “She helped me escape Alfheim.”
“A flower helped you escape Alfheim?” Arach had come up with Odin.
“Arach,” I went straight over to him.
It had been awhile since I'd been to see him in Faerie and now that he'd come to the God Realm to save me, I wouldn't be able to go back to the exact moment I'd left him. I mean I could but it would just open up the possibility for too many issues to occur and now that time had aligned between Faerie and the other realms, we'd decided that if a situation like this arose, we'd just sacrifice the time we'd lost and let it be. Magic liked to mess with you when you abused it.
“A Thaisce,” Arach murmured into my hair. This was the first time he'd had to go without me for a bit. Add to that my imprisonment and it made for one very anxious Fire King. I could feel the tension melting from his muscles as he held me. “We were very worried about you.”
“I missed you too,” I whispered and then someone cleared their throat loudly. “Yes, I see you there, Odin,” I laughed as I pu
lled back from Arach so I could go and hug Odin.
“Vervain,” Odin sighed as I settled in against him. Once more, I put a hand up around Blossom to protect her. He looked down between us and lifted a brow. “What's this?”
“This is Blossom,” I introduced them. “She helped me get away from Freyr.”
“So you've alluded,” Arach leaned in to look over Blossom. “This is a fey flower. A fire flower, no less. May I?”
“Blossom?” I looked down at her and she leaned toward Arach.
“Hello there,” Arach leaned toward her and blew into her petals. I could feel the warmth of it, he was using a little of his fire on her.
Instead of wilting though, Blossom... well... blossomed. Her petals stretched out as if reaching for Arach's heat and their color flashed from yellow to orange and then red at the tips. Then she started glowing, like a candle. I gasped.
“Just as I thought,” Arach announced. “She's a nostradim, a fire flower from the plains of our kingdom.”
“She is?” I looked down at her and she seemed to lengthen her stem proudly, shining her little light all over.
“Absolutely,” Arach nodded. “They light up when you warm them. She's definitely a nostradim. You say you found her in Alfheim?”
“She grew beside me in the cell,” I explained, “and helped to make me aware of the influence I held over Alfheim. Influence that I used to force Freyr to free me.”
“Then she's my new favorite flower,” Vidar, my son by Odin in my past life, came up and hugged me more carefully than the others.
“Mother,” Vali, Odin's son with Rind, and my adopted son, took hold of me as soon as Vidar let go. “I was ready to kill some elves.”
“It's not the elves' fault, Lili,” I kissed his cheek.
Then the snap of sails drew our attention and we all turned to watch Skidbladnir swing around and leave the harbor. Odin stared after it, frowning.
“We were about to sail to Alfheim,” Odin looked over to the gathering of gods, wolves, lions, fey, and dead Vikings, then back to me. “I'm rather inclined to pay Freyr a visit anyway.”
“No,” I said firmly. “Let this one slide. Freyr was just doing what he thought was best for his world. I actually want the same result he does, him ruling Alfheim. I just need to try and figure out a way to sever the bond between Alfheim and I without jeopardizing my life.”
“Da, I vote for no jeopardy,” Kirill nodded.
“There's a game show joke in there somewhere,” I sighed, “but I'm too tired to figure it out and I doubt any of you will get it anyway.”
“That's pretty damn tired,” Azrael gave me a concerned look.
“Vervain,” Arach stepped forward with the authoritative bearing of a Faerie King. “Odin informed me of Aednat's covenant. You're meant to rule Alfheim. You must honor your mother's wishes.”
Everyone got quiet.
“I can't rule Alfheim, Arach,” I sighed and Blossom leaned her petals to my cheek. I squinted a little against their glow. “What am I going to do, move the Intare there? I'd never have the time for anything else but taking care of Alfheim. I'd have to give up the God War.”
“Maybe that's not such a bad thing,” he focused his bright dragon eyes on me, the slit pupils dilating till they were almost round.
“The hell with that,” a loud voice boomed out. We all looked over to see Fenrir come striding forward. “Vervain is spread too thin already, she can't be ruling Alfheim. Let Freyr have the damn elves. Her well-being is more important than what her mama wanted.”
“The Lady Aednat created Alfheim,” Arach tried to look down his nose at Fenrir but alas, Fenrir was too tall for that. So Arach had to satisfy himself with lifting his head so far back that he looked up his nose at the Wolf God. “She meant for her daughter to rule it and the land obviously wants Vervain.” He swept a hand out to indicate Blossom.
“Look,” I wedged myself between my fey husband and my adopted werewolf father. “There's a lot of people waiting on us. A lot of people who came to help me. Let's go tell them everything is alright and thank them for coming to our aid. Then they can all go home and we can argue without such a very large audience.”
Arach and Fenrir looked back at the army on the shore and then at each other. They nodded curtly.
I went to stand at the end of the dock and looked over all of the people who'd come to my aid. They gathered closer, giving me their attention. I wanted to say something profound, something sweet and poignant that would convey the depths of my gratitude to them for coming to help rescue me. Nothing came out though, I just stood and stared at them all, tears gathering in my eyes, as the weight of it hit me.
“Minn Elska?” Trevor at my elbow, his hand warm on my shoulder.
“I can't think of anything to say,” I said loud enough for everyone to hear and laughter spread through the crowd. “I'm overwhelmed. I had no idea there were so many wonderful people in my life, people who would drop everything to come to my rescue. I can't thank you enough for being there for both me and my family. I hope that all of you know that we'll never forget this. Even though there was no fight today, you came, and if any of you are ever in need, I'll be there for you as well.”
“You already have, Vervain,” Kanaloa called out from where he stood among the fey, his arm around his girlfriend, Gruach. “That's why we're here.”
A murmur of approval circulated and I gaped at them. Had I really been there for all of those people? The Intare, of course, and the Froekn, well that goes without saying but the rest of them?
“You helped us kill the great spider, our enemy,” Kohana of the Thunderbirds called out in a strong voice, his people in their feather cloaks behind him. “And then you mourned our fallen with us. You will always be a part of the tribe.”
“You saved my brother from himself,” Ma'at said as she glanced at Anubis. “Even after he treated you horribly.”
“You brought me back to life, Miw-Sher,” Anubis nodded. “I was as dead as those I judge until you showed me how to feel again.”
“You helped me free my people from Acan,” Pele, her fiery hair a cloud around her, said proudly. “You're my calabash sister.”
“You helped us find justice for a crime that tore our family apart,” Aodh, Finn's brother, called out from where he stood with his siblings.
“You saved my life and helped me find love,” Emma, Fenrir's wife added, and Fenrir jumped off the dock to sweep her up and kiss her.
“You kept me from destroying my own people,” Xi Wang Mu was with her lover, Kuan Ti, who smiled at me and bowed.
“She saved me,” Morpheus called out.
“And me,” Kirill added.
“And all of us,” Darius called from the Intare group.
“And she saved my life,” Trevor leaned in to kiss my cheek. “A couple of times. Even after I tried to take hers.”
“I just think you're hot,” Re called out to me and provided some much needed comic relief because I was crying like a baby.
“All this time,” I finally said, “I've counted the enemies I've gathered and I've never stopped to count the friends.”
They applauded and cheered as I went down among them, hugging and thanking everyone more personally. It was just so inspiring to realize what kind of friendships I'd forged through this horrid war. To have them all there at once and be able to reconnect with them was a gift that I would treasure for a long time. When I finally finished making the rounds, I wiped my eyes and looked over to see Fenrir standing beside me, his arm around Emma.
“By the way,” I said to him. “Freyr used Gleipnir on me.”
“What?” Fenrir looked horrified. “What was it like?”
“Impressive,” I nodded. “I could barely move, much less attempt escape.”
“What's a Grape-near?” Arach asked.
“Gleipnir,” I chuckled. “And it's chains made of six things which are impossible to make chains of.”
“It's just six impossible things,�
�� Fenrir corrected.
“Oh no, it's not,” I grinned before launching into the lecture I'd given Freyr.
Chapter Twenty
We couldn't allow all of our friends to leave without offering them the hospitality of food and drink. That would be breaking some kind of Viking law or something. So we brought out the mead and it had turned into a bit of a party, with everyone picnicking on the grass in front of the lake and then building bonfires. I was thrilled to be able to make their trip worthwhile so I agreed with Odin when he suggested we let everyone enjoy themselves for as long as they'd like.
We left them with barrels of mead and lots of food, while we went inside Valhalla to discuss the issue of Alfheim further. The God Squad came inside with us, along with my sons, Arach, some of the Valkyries, Fenrir, Emma, and Luke. Luke brought Cid with him and Arach had Fearghal, our red cap guard. Kings seemed to need some kind of retinue, whether they were a Faerie King or the King of Hell.
“Vervain,” Kohana had followed us in, without his Thunderbird retinue.
“Kohana?” I waved him forward. “Please, join us.”
“Oh, I don't want to interrupt,” he waved his golden-brown hand. “I know you have important matters to discuss but I just wanted to tell you and Teharon that we've had sightings of Tawiskaron.”
“My brother?” Teharon stepped forward. “What kind of sightings?”
“Just sightings,” Kohana shrugged. “He's been seen in Arizona a few times and the twins, Nayenezgani and Tobadzistsini have been seen with him.”
“What of my sons?” Mrs E strode forward then.
“Nothing yet,” Kohana shook his head. “Have you heard from them, She Who Changes?”
“No, nothing,” she frowned. “It hurts my heart that they feel they can't come to me anymore.”
“Of course,” Kohana nodded. “We'll be watching for them and I promise we won't do anything without coming to speak to you first.”
“Thank you, Kohana,” she nodded.