by ST Bende
“Ull. I am not turning my back on your family. I told you. I want to help.”
“And Thor agreed to change you?” Ull tilted his head.
“When Elsker told him I was… what I am… he sort of had to say yes.”
“Ull, this is the best possible solution,” Inga soothed. “You get to marry Kristia. She gets to be one of us. Thor gets to keep his son. Asgard gets its strongest warrior. Everyone wins.”
“Everyone but Kristia.” Ull’s words came through a clenched jaw.
“What do you mean?”
“Kristia does not win. She has to give up her life to be with me.”
“This is what I want,” I interrupted.
“You do not know what you want. You are young, Kristia. You do not understand what you are giving up.”
“I understand what I’m getting. An eternity with you.”
“But you lose so much. You will give up your mortality. Miss out on time with your friends. And you are the one from the prophecy? Every enemy of Asgard will hunt you. They will want your gift. You will require constant protection. You cannot have a normal life.”
“I don’t want a normal life, Ull. I want you.”
“Now, maybe. But what happens in a decade or two? In a century? Are you honestly able to say that you know what you will want for the rest of time?”
“Yes.” My hands were planted firmly on my hips.
“You are so stubborn, Kristia!” Ull looked like he wanted to explode.
“And you are so bossy! Aren’t you listening? I know I will want you forever. That’s the only thing that matters to me. The rest…” I parroted his words. “The rest will work itself out.”
“But your friends–”
“I will see them sometimes, just like you would see your friends if you became human. That’s enough for me. Ull, you have to trust me. This is the best thing for us, I promise.”
“I do not agree with you.”
“I know. But you love me. You want me to be happy. And you know I won’t be happy if you turn your back on everyone when they need you. This is the only way we can help your family and stay together. I can’t marry you if I’m taking anything away from you, and I can’t let you give up your immortality. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was planning to talk with Thor, Ull, I really am. I shouldn’t have gone behind your back. But this is the only way for us.”
“I do not feel right putting you in danger.”
“You’re not doing anything. This is my choice. And it’s going to be all right.”
“You do not know that,” Ull whispered.
“I actually do.” I tapped my head. “Great Seer, remember?”
“Ull, you forget yourself,” Olaug said quietly. “As the prophecy stands, if you do not fight – if Asgard does not put forth its absolute best army – then we all die. Kristia included. Remember the foretelling; our enemies will burn the Earth and swallow the sky. Earth and Asgard will both fall. This is the only way to keep her alive.”
Ull’s shoulders dropped – he was beaten. He, of all of us, lived by that prophecy. It governed almost every decision he’d ever made. Conceding defeat, he glared at Inga and Gunnar. “We are not done talking about this.” He turned to Elsker. “And you are on my list for dragging her into this.”
“I did not drag her into anything,” Elsker countered. “The Three Sisters set her fate centuries ago. I simply located her.”
“You have to agree, this is the best thing,” Inga pushed.
Ull sighed with weariness that hinted at his real age. “If I agree to this, will you promise to inform me of your visions? Every vision you have. Immediately. No more of this behind-my-back nonsense. If I am going to let you go through with this, you must be honest with me about every single thing you do. Promise you will give me every opportunity to protect you.”
“You want total access to my head?”
“Essentially.”
“I don’t know. Some of the visions are pretty silly.” Not to mention I didn’t want to lose all semblance of privacy.
“I do not care,” he growled. “That is my compromise. Otherwise, the deal is off.”
“Fine,” I grumbled. “I’ll tell you about all of my stupid, insignificant visions as soon as I have them. Happy?”
“Not particularly. But seeing as you are so insistent on defying my wishes, this seems like the only way I can have any control over your safety.”
“Well if that’s settled, I believe you owe me a thank you.” Inga was smug.
“I will thank you when Ragnarok is over and Kristia is safe. Until then, you are on my list too.” He looked at Gunnar. “Gunnar, you were in on this? How could you do this to me?”
“Would you cross Inga?” Gunnar shrugged.
“Kristia, are you certain?”
“Absolutely.”
Ull sat in defeat and took my hand across the table. “Are you going to defy me for the rest of my existence?”
“Yep.”
“You are a brave girl, Kristia Tostenson.”
I drew a thin breath. “Brave for you”
“You will prepare her?” Ull turned to Olaug.
“Of course. She will be an exceptional partner for you, Ull. I will see to that.”
“She already is.” Ull spoke quietly and my cheeks grew warm. “I really have no say in this, do I?”
Gunnar, Inga, Olaug, Elsker and I shook our heads. Inga flashed a victorious smile as she clasped Ull’s hand, still firmly clenching my own. “Well now that that’s all taken care of… I believe we have a wedding to plan!”
“We?” I looked at Ull.
“Of course. We’ve been waiting lifetimes for this you know – Ull Myhr, a married man.”
“Well–”
“So naturally, we have to make this the absolute best celebration ever. And who better to see to it than yours truly? I’m seeing a seven-tiered cake, gilded chairs, a full marquee with up-lighting…”
Ull raised an eyebrow. “Are you ready to spend an eternity with this lot, darling?”
I didn’t know the first thing about what my future would look like. I had no idea what becoming an immortal would entail, and I didn’t know anything about being married to a god. But I did know the answer to Ull’s question. I leaned across the table and planted a soft kiss on his perfectly pale lips.
“I’m ready.”
THE ELSKER SAGA:
ENDRE
Copyright © 2013, ST Bende
Edited by: Lauren McKellar and Eden Plantz
Interior Snowflakes by: Eden Plantz
Cover Art by: Rebecca K. Sterling, Sterling Design Studios
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage system without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
First publication: 2013, ST Bende
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Back Cover Copy
Sometimes, finding your destiny means doing the exact opposite of what The Fates have planned.
Winning the heart of an immortal assassin was a dream come true for Kristia Tostenson. Now she’s caught in a whirlwind of wedding plans, goddess lessons, and stolen kisses with her fiancé. But her decision to become immortal could end in heartbreak—not only for Kristia, but also for the god who loves her. While Ull would do anything to protect his bride, even the God of Winter is powerless against the Norse apocal
ypse.
Ragnarok is coming. And the gods aren’t even close to ready.
Dedication
To my handsome princes: anything is possible, so long as you believe.
And to MorMorMa. For everything.
Acknowledgements:
To the amazing man who champions all my crazy dreams—thank you for making me your family. You are my happy place.
To my beautiful boys, who bring hope, light and so very much joy everywhere they go—I’m so grateful God gave me you.
Mange takk to my supportive writing-friends, who held my hand along the way. A million thank-yous to the truly incomparable Stacey Nash—I can’t even begin to express my gratitude for everything you do for me, so I’ll just promise the next time Inga goes out of town, Gunnar is all yours. Shh!
Thank you to my fearless ‘technical advisor’ Nicki Mullen, who opened my eyes to the Tenth Realm. Heaps of gratitude to Eden Plantz, for always keeping Kristia strong. And many thanks to Lauren McKellar, for pushing our gods to new heights. Takk.
Tusen takk to the readers, bloggers, and fans for continuing to champion this little story. You embraced the Elsker crew in ways I never dreamed possible, and I’m truly humbled by your support. RagnaRockstars, y’all rock in every conceivable way. I will never be able to thank you enough for devoting countless hours to rallying behind #Drool4Ull, #ChurchWaffles and #UllInATightSweater. Or for giving Kristia not one, but two gorgeous dresses! Your generosity, talent, and overall awesomeness amaze me daily. Thank you for keeping me laughing.
And to Olaug, whose warmth and strength inspired a saga. Takk for everything. Always.
Chapter One
“OH, KRISTIA,” THE HORRIBLE keening voice sneered from the blackness in my head. I stood in a field of ice, surrounded on all sides by tall, dark mountains. The air was a damp-cold that chilled to the bone, and icicles rose from the ground like distorted turrets. The voice was familiar, but my surroundings were completely foreign.
“Where am I, Elf Man?”
“Exactly where I want you to be,” the voice hissed.
“And where is that?”
“Poised to fail. You don’t really think he’s going to marry you, do you?”
“You know entirely too much about my personal life. And hey, didn’t I kill you already? How’d you survive?”
“Sweet Kristia.” His lanky figure emerged from between the ice formations with his hands open in welcome. “It has been too long.”
“Not long enough,” I muttered. “And seriously, I killed you, remember? With this.” I held up my necklace, the silver carving of Thor’s hammer, Mjölnir, which had belonged to my grandmother. “Don’t make me use it again.” I wielded the hammer like a shield but Elf Man just cackled.
“Please.” He waved a hand. “You wouldn’t dare. Because without me, you won’t know how to save her.”
“Save who?” I turned as Elfie made a slow circle around me. I’d never felt more like a caged animal. “Tell me, you creep. Who?”
“Ah-ah-ah.” The demon wagged his finger. “Wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise.”
“Fine. What’s going to happen to her, whoever she is?”
“Oh, it will be exquisite.” The man’s glee was sickening. If Webster’s dictionary published photos alongside the definitions, his image would be right next to lunatic.
“You are seriously messed up, you know that?” I pivoted, matching the elf’s pace.
“You have no idea.” He chuckled darkly. “But you will when you lose someone you love.”
“Not Ull.” I squeezed my necklace, and it warmed at my touch.
“No, not Ull. I want him to suffer every bit as much as you.”
“Sif?” I could feel my necklace start to pulse.
“I’m not telling you, poppet.” He spat out the last word. “But I will give you a hint.”
Elfie swirled his hand and mist appeared between us. It acted as a screen, showing a cavernous room I’d never seen. Bars covered the small window of a chipped wooden door. It was some kind of a jail cell. Sparks of light shot from under the door, and I heard a woman shriek. She was in pain—not any pain I’d ever known, but a pain born of torture. She screamed again, her voice frail and hoarse.
“Stop it! What are you doing to her?” I doubled over and shoved my hands against my ears to drown out the sound.
“Oh my pet, this is only the beginning. I will give her an illness that kills her body from the inside. It will eat away her spirit, eroding all goodness within her. When she is nothing but darkness, I will take her body. By then, she will welcome death.”
I looked up from my crouch, squinting through the fog-screen. Elf Man was nowhere to be seen. I jumped to my feet, turning in a slow circle while my eyes scanned the frozen field behind me for a weapon. Unless I was going to kill the creep with an icicle, it looked like I was short-handed. I grabbed a crude weapon anyway, clutching my necklace in the other hand. It had started to glow.
“Come out, coward. I’m going to have to do a better job of killing you this time.”
A ghostly cackle echoed off the mountain ridge, first behind me and then to my right. “But don’t you see, sweet Kristia? You can never be done with me. I will follow you to the ends of this world. And the next. Until I own your soul.” The voice sounded from my left, and I turned abruptly. The deranged creature stood beside me, freakishly long fingers reaching my way. His eyes caressed the contour of my neck, leaving goose bumps in their wake. As his hands twitched in time with my pulse, I narrowed my eyes.
I was not in the mood to be strangled today.
“Oh no you don’t.” I thrust the icicle upwards toward his abdomen, but he chopped it in half with one wiry forearm.
“Is that the best you can do?” His cold hands wrapped around my neck, cutting off the circulation. I waved the broken stump of icicle at his chest, but his arms kept me just out of reach. He lifted me slowly by the neck, my lungs screaming for air as he squeezed. I felt my eyes bulge; whether from shock or pain I wasn’t sure. I wrapped my hands around Elfie’s fingers and tugged. His grip loosened just enough that I could draw one ragged breath.
“How do I save her?” I croaked. Assuming I survived the next few minutes, a lot was riding on the demon’s answer.
“You’d have to destroy me,” Elf Man roared. “Like you ever could.” He raised me over his head with one hand, shaking me violently. My head wrenched from side to side.
“Watch. Me,” I panted, using all my strength to grip the silver hammer that rested at my collarbone. I squeezed as tightly as I could, a pathetic grasp, but it would have to be enough. Heat radiated from my hand as the hammer burst to life, beams of light shooting from between my fingers.
“No!” The elf released his painful grip, and I dropped to the ground. My leg exploded with pain. I opened my eyes to glare at the sharp rock that interrupted my fall.
“No!” Elfie shrieked again. I clutched my bleeding calf as I watched the light from my necklace wrap around him, chaining him with its brilliance. The coils circled his legs and wrists like manacles until he was bound to the icy field. “This is not over, poppet,” he hissed before the light sealed his mouth. His muffled laughter echoed throughout the valley as I was shaken out of the horrible scene.
“No.” I kicked at the air, earning a sharp pain in my shin. I opened my eyes and realized I’d kicked the dashboard. Wait, dashboard? But I’d just been in a frozen hell. At least, it felt like hell—barren, dark, void of any feeling except desolation. Covered in ice. An icy hell?
“Kristia, darling.” I felt Ull’s cool hand on my forehead as he swiftly steered the Range Rover to the closest exit. “Darling, wake up. You are having a bad dream.”
It was a dream?
“Are you having another wedding nightmare? I will rein Inga back in. I know she has been a bit… over-involved in the planning.”
“Wedding nightmare…” I rubbed at my leg, trying to remember why I was in my fiancé’s fancy SUV. That
’s right, we were headed to his English country house, Ýdalir, so his immortal grandmother could train me to become a goddess of Asgard. Just your typical weekend away from studies at Cardiff University.
Why did my subconscious have to go and ruin everything?
“Kristia.” Ull’s tone dropped, sending a new kind of chill down my spine. “Please tell me you were having a wedding nightmare.”
I sighed. As much as I wanted to let Ull believe I was a stressed-out bride, I knew better than to lie to him. In less than three months, Ull would allow me to give up my human life and join him in an eternal existence. The only thing he asked in return was that I give him complete access to the disturbed inner-workings of my mind.
“I had a vision,” I admitted.
“You saw him again.” It wasn’t a question. Ull’s brow furrowed, and he cut across two lanes of traffic to pull into a half-empty parking lot. “Tell me.”
“It was awful.” I recalled the worst of my dream, narrating to Ull as I went. His hands gripped the steering wheel so hard, his knuckles turned white.
“Is that all?” he asked when I’d finished.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Do you have any idea who the woman was?”
I didn’t want to answer. There was only one person it could be, and Ull wouldn’t be happy when I told him.
“Kristia. Do you know who the woman was?”
“Not exactly. I didn’t see her face, and I don’t know for sure.”
“But you suspect?”
I closed my eyes. “Ull, he plans to destroy someone you love from the inside. And torture her. He couldn’t do that to a god—you guys are too powerful. It has to be a human. And there’s only one human who means enough to you for him to plan something this elaborate.”