Endre (Elsker Saga Book 2) (5 page)

“This is going to be beyond irritating,” Ull muttered.

“You’re stuck with me now.”

He knew I had him there.

When I stifled my third yawn of the evening, we retreated to the upstairs kitchen for waffles. I was exhausted, as I knew my companions would be too, if not for their super-human abilities. Olaug stayed to eat with us, then began the short walk across the way to her own home. When she had gone, Ull and I sat on the porch swing in the garden, listening to the nightingales. The low, stone path was lined with white roses and lavender, and Ull had left the twinkling lights up in the ancient yew dale. They were a nice touch.

“What a day.” My voice was barely a whisper as Ull rubbed my shoulders. Everything was so peaceful. I didn’t want to break the evening’s spell.

“Is this too much? You do not have to do this. We—”

I silenced him with a finger to his lips. “It
is
too much.”

A tense line formed between Ull’s eyebrows. “I knew it. Listen, you have another option. There is a safe house in every quadrant of your realm. We can go to one, live out our lives as mortals. Nobody outside Odin’s council knows the safe houses exist, so I can promise you absolute security.”

“Until the wolf and the snake get hungry and Ragnarok kicks off.” I shook my head. “You didn’t let me finish. This
is
too much—learning about thousands of years of attacks on your realm; hearing all the ways I could, and very likely will, die; finding out I’m going to do some weird soul-splitting exercise that’s going to leave me completely exposed to Elfie… it’s complete and total madness.”

“I will take you away right now.” Ull rose to his feet. He took a step toward the cottage, but I grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. He fell onto the swing with a heavy thud, eyebrows raised and mouth hanging open. “Kristia!”

“Let me finish.” I repeated. “It’s
way
too much—but I always knew it would be. I walked into this deal with my eyes open. You don’t get engaged to an actual Norse god without expecting some rough patches. For better or worse, right?”

Ull closed his eyes. “My ‘worse’ is not exactly the run-of-the-mill marital problem.”

“I know that.” I twined my fingers through his hair and swung my legs across his lap. He wrapped one arm around me from behind. The slow burn ebbing across my backside traveled down my legs, leaving a tingling sensation from hip to toe.
The things this god could do to me
…

“I want so much better for you than the life I am able to offer.” Ull brushed his lips against my ear. “I want to give you the universe. Instead, I am asking you to risk your life. It is not fair.”

“Life’s not fair,” I repeated his long-ago words. “And that’s okay with me. You, Ull Myhr, are a god worth risking it all for.”

“I want more for you,” Ull breathed into my ear.

“You are my more.” I turned so our lips were nearly touching. My nose brushed against his as I gazed up into the face that held my confidences, hopes, and fears in one delicious, heart-stopping package. “And I’m more than willing to take this on. I don’t care what happens to me in that tenth realm. Our worlds are on the brink of war, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you and I have a shot at our happy-ever-after. I’m doing this for our family. I’m doing this for
us
. And when it’s over, you’re going to take me to that safe house, turn off your phone, and ignore Odin, or Heimdall, or Santa Claus, or whoever else you do business with for a
very
long time.” I kissed his bottom lip, running my tongue over the pale flesh. He tasted like lingonberry jam and waffles: savory. Tart. Amazing.

“Are you certain?” Ull murmured, his tongue moving against mine. For a moment I indulged in the sensations Ull stirred in me. I took his lip between my teeth, tugging gently as I pulled my head back. He let out a groan and hiked me up on his lap, squeezing my behind as he did. My fingers gripped his hair, blond silky strands wrapping around the diamonds in my ring. I pulled his mouth back to mine, warm tongues and soft lips moving together. I could have stayed right there forever.

With a heavy breath, Ull gently lifted me off his lap. He set me down on the bench beside him and cupped my cheek with one hand. “Are you certain?”

My fingers brushed the stubble of his cheek as I fought to remember what exactly I was supposed to be certain of. Oh. Right. Imminent death for the sake of our future.
No problem
. “I’ve never been more sure of anything. I want to be your equal in every way. And being your partner, helping you… it’s going to be amazing.” I pulled my finger back and kissed him gently, then nuzzled my head into the crook of his neck.

Ull lifted my chin with a finger. “What are you feeling?”

“Happy.” I gazed into his endless eyes.

“I mean, what are you feeling about all of this? Becoming a goddess? Fighting for Asgard?”

“I’m a little nervous,” I answered honestly. “I don’t know if I’m strong enough to be of any use to your family. I don’t want to let you down.”

“You could never, my love. You have no idea what it means that you would take all of this on for me. But you must know that you do not have to do this. I do not want you to be afraid.”

“I would do anything for you.”

“And I for you.”

Ull lowered his mouth to mine. I breathed in his woodsy scent and parted my lips, inviting him back in. He reached up to caress my hair. I wrapped my fingers around the collar of his sweater and pulled myself closer. He groaned, and this time the sound was too much. I climbed onto his lap and nestled against him, relishing the feel of his muscles against my torso. He grabbed my head and leaned me back in the swing, supporting me with his arm. He held me at an angle, kissing me with such purpose my brain was quickly devoid of oxygen.

“Ull,” I panted. I wished more than anything I didn’t have to breathe. Ull pulled back, disheveled hair falling to his cheekbones and desire burning in his eyes.

“Kristia Tostenson,” he growled softly. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I am the luckiest god alive.”

He righted me, carefully tucking me under one arm. I brushed my face against his cashmere sweater and smiled. I couldn’t help but feel lucky, too.

“So you really don’t need anything? Anything at all?” My best friend sounded incredulous.

“Honest, Ardis. We’re good.” I sat on the guest bed at Ýdalir with my manicure kit spread before me. I tucked my phone between my ear and my shoulder as I used a cotton swab to remove my nail polish. Since I’d started wearing Ull’s ring, I’d taken a
lot
more interest in the state of my nails.

“You don’t need me to comb through wedding websites with you? Maybe help pick out flowers? Peonies are
huge
this season.”

“How do you know that? Are you reading wedding magazines? Because I’m pretty sure that’s what the cover of Emma’s new one said.”

“I might have picked up a few since you got engaged,” Ardis admitted. “What? Those suckers are addictive!”

“Apparently.” I laughed. “Victoria and Emma are still buying them every week from our corner market. They’re not even pretending they’re for me at this point. I hardly ever look at them.”

“Why not? Aren’t you excited about your wedding?”

“Of course I am! I’m excited about
our
wedding. The simple little ceremony we’re having for our immediate family and best friends. No magazines required.” I could picture Ardis tugging on her lip on the other end of the line.

“Who’s going with you to try on dresses?” she demanded.

“I’m wearing my grandmother’s dress,” I reminded her. “Olaug is going to make a bouquet of roses from the garden. And Inga’s taking care of the stuff Ull and I don’t care about, like the cake and the decorations.”

“Who doesn’t care about her own wedding decorations?” Ardis sounded perplexed.

I laughed.

“No, I get it. This is you. You see the big picture and don’t get bogged down by the little things. You’ve always been like that.” Ardis sighed. “I’m so excited for you, Kristia. Life wasn’t easy on you growing up. You deserve a happy ending.”

“I don’t know how much I deserve this. But I’m sure as daylight grateful I get to marry Ull.” I slicked a glossy base coat over my pinky.

“Sounds like he’s one in a million.” I could hear my friend’s smile.

“You have no idea,” I mumbled. “So what about you? Are you seeing anyone new?”

Ardis launched into a story about the three dates she’d been on that week. I settled into the pillows and giggled as I waited for my nails to dry. We might have been different as night and day, but I missed my best friend like crazy. I absolutely couldn’t wait to see her at the wedding.

Cold air pushed past my face as I tumbled through the darkness. It whipped my silk pajama bottoms against my legs, the thin fabric offering little protection against the chill. My fingernails dug into my bare arms in a pointless effort to still the goose pimples. I fell in slow motion, a kind of measured traverse, making my way down a black chasm.

When I accepted I might never stop this unending descent, my body jerked upward. It hovered in the abyss, weightless and waiting. After an interminable moment, I heard a loud snap. It sounded like a clap of thunder, or the slam of a nearby door. Whatever it was, it put an end to the purgatory. I dropped to the ground, landing feet-first in what appeared to be a forest. It had the requisite trees, but everything was a little bit off—like I was seeing things through a looking glass. The trees were taller than I was used to—redwood giants like the ones back home, but instead of green moss growing around their trunks these were cloaked in purplish leaves. They stretched thirty feet upward from the thick roots, forming a checkerboard pattern along the lush bark. The ground was swathed in vegetation, weaving a tapestry from the ground where I stood to a grey stone wall. Over the top of the wall I could see a structure of connected towers and spires—a castle? A cacophony of grunts came from within the castle walls. Whoever was on the other side was engaged in intense physical activity. Something told me it wasn’t lawn bowling.

Where had my mental tic taken me now?

I scanned the area between the trees and the wall. It was empty, save for the peculiar plants and a cluster of oversized rocks. An unnaturally large bird circled overhead; it was easily the size of a small truck. It traced a path across the ginger sky. Was it dawn? Dusk? I’d never seen the sky quite that color before.

My eyes followed the bird as it flew over the castle wall. When it crossed the plane, an arrow shot from somewhere in the courtyard. It arced toward the animal fast as a fiddle, and pierced the bird just as it was about to land on one of the towers. The bird bucked at the impact. With wings still mid-flap, it spiraled down to the ground where it landed with a thud loud as a fallen sequoia.

“Arkeya!”
Came the cry from inside the wall. The deafening pounding of feet alerted me to the number of occupants in the courtyard. There must have been a hundred people in there. I crept toward the wall, my head swiveling back and forth to make sure I wasn’t being watched. But save for the bird that didn’t make it, I hadn’t actually seen another living being.