Endre (Elsker Saga Book 2) (18 page)

Skadi’s eyes sparked with anger. “You’re being stupid, Ull. You’ll never be happy with her.”

“Goodbye, Skadi.” Ull leaned back, and hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans. “I will be sure to tell my father you stopped by.”

Skadi gave Ull a furious glare and stormed down the street. The knot in my stomach unraveled as Ull spun on one heel and walked the short distance to the front door. He turned the knob and pushed through, pausing when he noticed Inga and I standing at the window.

“You saw all that,” he surmised.

I nodded.

“You okay?” He eyed me carefully.

I ran across the room and threw my arms around his neck. Ull stumbled back, caught off-guard.

“Sweetheart?”

I pulled my head back to look into his eyes. “You sent her packing.”

“Of course I did. You are my girl.”

“I love you,” I whispered.

“I love you too,” Ull said. He lowered his mouth onto mine, and gave me a soft kiss. “
Now
do you believe I want
nothing
to do with Skadi?”

I gazed up at him adoringly. “I do.”

“That wench is a rotten troll,” Inga chimed in from the window. “I wanted to come out there and send her back to the rock she crawled out from under.”

“Where
did
she come from?” I turned to Ull. “Inga said she’s not really one of you guys.”

“I have my theories,” Ull muttered. “But I would rather not talk about Skadi anymore.” He glanced at the bags slung over our shoulders. “Were you two going somewhere?”

“To the drugstore. I figure I’ll need sunscreen for wherever you’re taking me, right? Sun
or
snow?” I reached up to stroke the stubble along his jaw.

“You will get no hints from me, woman.” Ull smiled. “But if it is not a girls-only trip, I will join you. I need to pick up a few last-minute items myself.”

“Anything in particular? If it’s something you’ve never purchased before, I’m sure Gunnar would be happy to tag along and offer some advice.” Inga fluttered her lashes as Ull shot her a glare.

“Bug off.” Ull opened the front door and held out his hand for me. “After you, my lady.” As an afterthought he added, “and Inga.”

Inga stuck out her tongue, then followed me outside. Ull locked the front door and laced his fingers through mine. I gave his hand a squeeze and rested my head on his shoulder as we walked the few blocks to the shop.

Ull leaned down and brushed his lips against my hair. “You happy?”

“Tremendously.” I sighed. Our wedding was days away. We were about to embark on our honeymoon. And the love of my life had just shut down an honest-to-goodness goddess because he wanted to be with
me
. Happy didn’t begin to cover the way I felt.

It was a feeling I wanted to hold on to forever.

Ull and I were at the station on Wednesday night when Ardis’s train pulled in. She hopped off onto the platform, chestnut hair shining in a chic bob that peeked from beneath her pageboy cap. Her eyes searched the station before they came to rest on Ull. She lowered her gaze to confirm he was with me, and when I waved, her eyes grew big as saucers.

“Get out,” she mouthed.

I giggled.

“Kristia!” She ran to us and threw her arms around me. Ull pretended not to hear when she whispered, “Good God, he is hot.”

I untangled myself and grinned. “Ardis, this is Ull, my fiancé. Ull, this is my best friend from Nehalem, Ardis.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Ardis.” Ull’s words were lost on my friend. She couldn’t seem to find her voice under his penetrating gaze. I knew the feeling all too well. Watching Ardis weakly shake his hand, I marveled at how far I’d come in a year.

Thankfully, Ull drove us straight to my flat and headed home. I don’t think Ardis could have kept it together beyond the time it took to get to my place. She stood in my doorway, mouth still slightly open, while Ull deposited her suitcase at the step and leaned down to kiss me goodnight.

“The next time I see you, you will be Mrs. Myhr.” He gave me a look that left
me
barely holding it together.

I kissed him dreamily, stretching on my tiptoes to wrap my arms around his neck. He kissed me back with such intensity, I forgot about our audience. His lips moved against mine, and I grabbed at his hair, wrapping the strands around my fingers. I breathed in his woodsy scent, dizzy at the sensation of his hands stroking the small of my back. In the morning I would be his wife—I couldn’t believe this was happening.

Ull released himself from my embrace with a throaty groan. “
God natt
, darling. Ardis.” He nodded at my girlfriend, then walked briskly to the Range Rover, glancing back once to give me a wink.

He’d driven to the end of the block and turned the corner before either Ardis or I could find our voices. She was the first to speak. “You lucky wench.”

I laughed, both with relief at seeing her again and nerves at the enormity of the week ahead. She joined me in my laughter and we headed into the tiny flat. Emma and Victoria looked up from the program they’d been watching, expectant smiles on their faces.

“You must be Ardis.” Emma jumped up to hug my friend. “It’s nice to have you here. Kristia has been so excited that you were coming.”

Victoria stood, holding out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, more reserved than Emma. She raised one perfectly arched eyebrow. “So did you meet
him
?”

“Oh. My. God.” It was all Ardis had to say. The ice was broken and Emma pulled her toward the couch.

“He’s totally gorgeous, isn’t he?” Emma’s enthusiasm bubbled over.

“Our girl chose very well,” Victoria agreed with a wink. “Of course, so did Ull.”

I batted my eyes at Victoria. “Well bless your heart.”

“I cannot believe you get to marry
that
. That,” Ardis continued with authority, “is without a doubt the most beautiful man I have
ever
seen. Ever.” She emphasized.

“I know! The face! The arms! The body…” Victoria waggled her eyebrows and I blushed.

This conversation had veered way off course. “Enough about Ull’s body. How was your cast party? You didn’t have to leave early to make your flight, did you?” I asked Ardis.

“Oh, Lord no. I stayed until four a.m. It totally rocked!”

“Tell us about it,” Emma probed.

“We had it at this super trendy bar around the corner from the theatre. There was this amazing DJ from LA, and half the theatre school turned out. Plus like, a dozen celebrities showed up. Mostly reality stars, but still. We went for pizza after, and just walked around the city until dawn. Then I booked it for the airport.”

“God, it sounds amazing.” Victoria exhaled. “I would love to see New York someday.”

“Well there’s always Fashion Week,” Emma reminded her. Turning to Ardis she explained, “Victoria’s taken a job with Alexander McQueen after graduation. She’s going to be a famous designer!”

“I’m going to be a lowly assistant,” Victoria corrected. “But then a famous designer.”

“Wow, that’s awesome.” Ardis was impressed.

“It will be an adventure,” Victoria said with uncharacteristic modesty. “And Emma is going to stay on at Cardiff to earn her Master’s.”

“Maybe I can land a hot grad student like Kristia did.” Emma giggled.

“If it were that easy, I’d sign up for grad school, too.” Ardis chuckled. I sat back happily, watching my dearest girlfriend interact with the two women who had seen me through the biggest year of my life. Everything was as it should be. My friends were here to celebrate with me, and tomorrow I would embark on a destiny I had never seen coming. At this moment in time, my life was absolutely perfect.

“I LIKE YOUR FRIEND
,” a raspy voice hissed from the end of my bed.

“Hmm.” I rolled over and pulled the covers up to my ears.

“The one sleeping on the couch. She seems very nice.”

“Uhhhh.” I pulled a pillow over my head for good measure.

“It would be a shame if anything were to happen to her.”

I snapped to attention. I knew that voice. Oh, come on. Elf Man had to show up the night before my wedding?

“Please, for the love of all that is good, go away. This is not the best night for me.”

“I could just leave, sweet Kristia. But then I wouldn’t be able to give you the terrible news.”

“What news?” I sat up reluctantly and tucked the comforter under my arms, wishing I’d worn more than a sheer camisole top to bed.

“Something horrible happened to your beloved Olaug.”

“So help me, if you’ve done anything to hurt her—”

“Oh, it wasn’t me.” The evil creature broke into an ear-splitting grin. “She has fallen ill. Of natural causes.”

I eyed him levelly. “What did you do?”

“I may have opened the gateway, but the disease found her all on its own.”

“Bull. Fix this.”

“Oh, but I can’t.” He feigned disappointment. “This is a powerful disease. A magical disease. It would have to be. After all, gods don’t get sick.”

“So how did Olaug get this magical disease then?”

The elf raised his shoulders. “Now what kind of a challenge would this be if I told you that?”

“You tell me how to make her better, or I swear on my grandmother’s grave, I will spend every minute of the rest of my life hunting down your sorry behind. And when I find you—”

“Ooh, such threats from a human. But you don’t scare me. And to prove it, I’ll throw you a bone. The only way to heal your precious Olaug is to destroy me.”

“My pleasure.” I grabbed for my necklace, knowing it had nearly killed him twice before. I was more than ready to finish the job. But my fist closed on nothing. My throat was bare. Frantically, I dug around in the sheets. It had to have fallen—I never took it off. But after a moment, I remembered the necklace was resting in a solvent in the bathroom. I’d left it to soak overnight so it would shine for the wedding. It was a treasure of Asgard, after all, and it deserved its moment in the sun.

“Missing something?” Elf Man fingered his neck idly, mocking me. I stood, dropping the comforter and moving toward the door. “Oh, Kristia. I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. I have to kill you.”

“In your dreams.” I ran for the door, but he grabbed my arm before I was halfway there. I swung, putting all my weight behind my fist, but the gesture was futile. Elfie blocked it with an easy parry and landed a punch of his own in my gut. I doubled over, gasping for breath. Ull was going to have to make good on his promise to train me if he expected me to survive Ragnarok.

“Oh, poppet. Did I hurt you?” The demon kicked me in the thigh, forcing me to the floor. My vision blurred and I could barely make out his legs as he walked toward me. He lifted his hands over my torso and started to mutter an incantation. I had no idea what it meant, but I knew it wasn’t going to end well for me. My brain got very fuzzy and I realized I was losing consciousness. At the same time a sharp pain was forming in my chest—something was literally squeezing the life out of me.

I had to act fast if I was going to live. Using my last bit of strength, I grabbed the leg right in front of my face and bit down on the monster’s Achilles’ tendon. Hard.

He let out a high pitched shriek and I took another bite. The thud must have meant he’d fallen over, and as soon as the incantation stopped, my consciousness flickered back into focus.

I didn’t have any time to lose. Without sparing a thought for the ache in my gut, I pushed myself to my feet and bolted. I ran for the door and down the short hallway until I reached the bathroom. My necklace was right where I’d left it. I grabbed it with a tight fist and it erupted, beams of light shooting from between my firmly clenched fingers. The elf was right behind me. He dropped to the floor as soon as the lights appeared. They pierced his body, my saving swords, and he writhed in pain as the beams sliced through his flesh again and again. After a short eternity, he vanished with a pop.

My hands trembled as I fastened the clasp around my neck, and I made my way down the hall on shaky legs. Ardis was snoring on the couch where I’d left her, and Emma and Victoria’s doors were still closed. How had they slept through that?

I rubbed at my bruised leg as I limped back to my room. Sleep was the furthest thing from my mind. Should I wake up Ull? He’d ordered me to call him immediately if I ever saw Elf Man again. Of course, he’d also ordered me to keep my necklace on at all times. Oops.

No matter, I knew Ull would be beyond furious if I didn’t call. He wouldn’t care that I’d done a halfway-decent job of taking care of things on my own. I shuffled to my bed and found my phone on my nightstand. At least one thing was where it was supposed to be tonight.