Echo was waiting by my car when school got out. I studied his face. He smiled. He seemed to be back to his usual self. Since the car was off, I assumed Dev wasn’t around.
“Are they all waiting for you?” He indicated the souls, and I turned to study them. They no longer hid the fact that they were guarding me.
“Guarding me. Dev asked them to keep an eye on me.”
A frown creased Echo’s forehead. “Why would he do that?”
“He thought I was in danger.”
“Danger?” Echo was by my side before the words stopped echoing in the air. He cupped my face and searched it. “What danger? Why didn’t he tell me?”
“It’s nothing. He insisted something powerful was around the school on yesterday, but he couldn’t see it and neither could I. He insisted on hanging around, even when I told him to leave, until he felt the presence disappear. They’ve been hovering since.” I glanced around. “And now they’re leaving. See? You are my hero, and they know it.” I patted Echo’s chest and gave him a big smile. “Let’s go, handsome.”
I took one step, and he pulled me into his arms.
“Are you forgetting something?” He didn’t wait for an answer, just kissed me until my head started to spin. He lifted his head and smiled. “I needed that.”
So did I, but I couldn’t help teasing him. “I thought we were laying off the intimate stuff.”
“I’m an idiot.”
“I know.”
He chuckled and pressed his forehead against mine. “I cannot stand seeing you hurt.”
“Good. Then stay glued to me forever. Come on, let’s go.”
He still palmed my face and didn’t let me go. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”
“Always.”
“Even when I’m not there.”
My smile almost slipped. “You’d better be around, mister, or I’ll come find you.” I waited until he pulled out of the parking lot before I said, “Tell me about Hel’s Hall.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Where’s Grimnirs Hall, and how far is it from Eirik’s and his parents’? Do you guys eat together? Party together? Are you guys buddies?”
He laughed.
“I mean it. I want to know everything. Does she treat you guys like servants or part of the household? After listening to Andris, I’m scared I’ll never see you when I visit.”
“Helheim is cold and filled with magic. There are different halls within Hel’s Hall, including Eljudnir—which is the goddess’ hall. There is a Waiting Hall, a Throne Hall, the Guest Halls, Grimnirs Hall, Staff Hall, and Eternal Resting Halls, which some people call Eternal Hall or just Resting Hall.” He talked about Trudy and her family. “Maera is the housekeeper and head of the kitchen. Her staff cooks for everyone, including the goddess’ household. Her husband, Oskrud, ferries damned souls to Corpse Strand, and their oldest daughter Modgud guards the gates with Garm. The goddess and Baldur don’t eat with us, but Eirik does.” Echo chuckled. “He eats all the time. I’m not sure if that’s because the kitchen and Grimnirs Hall is open 24/7 or if he needs to feed his dragon. He works out and spars with us when not practicing with your mother’s warriors. For whatever reason, he bugs me with senseless questions whenever I’m in Ejudnir.”
“Wait a second. When you talked about a dragon leaving, you meant Eirik.” I grinned. “Ha! So you two are buddies now.”
“No, we’re not. We went on a few adventures. That’s all. Whenever the goddess throws a party, we are usually invited.” He talked about how Helheim had become a home to all of the Grimnirs. “Your mother treats us like members of her family, Cora. She took Trudy under her wing and treats her like her charge. Trudy and Celestia are tight. Then there’s Jessica, the girl who pretended to be you. Even though she knew from the moment Jessica arrived that she wasn’t you, she didn’t throw her out.”
He drove slower than usual as he talked about the goddess, a string of emotions playing on his face. They’d known about her missing son and dead daughter, saw how it had changed her, and grieved with her.
“She feels things deeply and maybe she’s a bit melodramatic like some people I know.” He pressed a kiss on my forehead. “But she is loved by everyone who knows her because she is an amazing person.”
“How is she melodramatic?”
“Every year, on your birthday, she covered every painting, mural, and figurine, disappeared into the nursery, and smashed everything. The Golden One was never allowed to enter the room until she was done grieving and putting the nursery back together. She did that for seventeen years, and each time lasted three days to mark when you were born and when you died. Sometimes she started early, so the mourning period lasted longer.”
Tears filled my eyes.
Echo kissed my knuckles. “She never made it a decree, but everyone wears black on those days. Staff. Grimnirs. Her guards. No color of any kind. The lights are dimmed, and the noise level in all the halls drops out of respect to her.”
“That’s not being melodramatic, Echo. That’s grieving.”
“I know.” He lifted my chin and wiped my cheeks. “Don’t cry.”
“You are the melodramatic one in this relationship,” I mumbled.
“I know that, too. She loved you as a baby, Cora, and she will love the woman you’ve become.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.” He kissed my cheek. “What else do you want to know?”
“Eirik’s dragon.”
“It’s huge.” He shook his head. “You have to see it to appreciate him.”
“Celestia? What?” I asked when he grinned.
“The little Druidess is a pint-sized Witch with a mouth and an attitude, but she grows on you.” He talked about the first time they’d met at some club in her hometown because the goddess had sent him to find her. I laughed as he explained her reaction. She sounded like someone I’d enjoy knowing. “I see her as a blend of you and Raine. Like you, she looks delicate on the outside but has an amazing inner strength. Like Raine, she goes headfirst into situations, acting first and thinking about the consequences later, which can drive a person insane.”
That sounded like him, something I loved about him. He was spontaneous while I tended to weigh the pros and cons before acting. He never regretted his actions before, yet he did regret the way he’d treated Dev. Was this constant worrying about my other family part of the new Echo? Man, I hoped not because I needed him to be his usual cocky self when I visited Helheim.
He pulled up outside the farmhouse then parked beside Dad’s truck and turned to study me with a serious expression. “It is important that everything at the hall stays the same for everyone, Cora.”
I nodded. “I get that.”
“Centuries ago, I forced my brothers and sisters to follow me and they helped turn our Druidic sisters and brothers into Immortals. Because of that, they were kicked out of Asgard and condemned to a lifetime of serving Goddess Hel in Helheim.”
“I know the story, Echo. I think it’s ridiculous for them to hold a grudge this long.”
“That’s just it. They’re not angry. We may not be buddies, but like I told you, they’ve found a home in Helheim and are happy. I do not want that to change.”
I frowned. “You think if they find out we are dating, they’d hate you again?”
A smile tugged the corner of his mouth. “Every Grimnir knows about my medium girlfriend who helps souls, sweetheart. What they don’t know is your connection with the goddess.”
“We can tell them the truth when I come to visit.”
Echo pressed his forehead against mine and sighed. “It’s not them I’m worried about, sweetheart. I don’t know how your mother and father will react to our relationship. If they feel I’ve crossed the line by dating their daughter, they might change how they treat Grimnirs.”
“Why should they care about our relationship? We fell in love before we knew who I was. And our relationship has nothing to do with the other Grimnirs.”
Echo leaned back and stroked my arm absentmindedly. “Centuries ago, it was a social taboo for a woman of noble birth to marry beneath her station. You are their daughter, a goddess in your own right. I’m just her reaper. She might have a problem with us being together.”