“Right.” Please don’t get revenge on me for pepper spraying you.
He gazed at me seriously now. “We’re going to avenge your parents by taking down Nott. She’s left a wake of death across the light realms for decades, killing entire villages in her attempt to spread darkness. Her Night War began a long time ago. And it’s destroyed far more families than just yours.” Tore fell into step beside me.
“What’s her deal, anyway? What’s in this for her?” I stomped faster through the trees, anger fueling my movement.
“Power.” Tore matched my pace. “When Nott betrayed Asgard, she was banished to Svartalfheim. She didn’t like living under the dark elves’ shadow—as a non-native, she was forced to take a subservient role within their political infrastructure. She wanted a realm that she could claim as her own. When she realized she’d never be able to take down Asgard, or Vanaheim, she set her sights on Midgard. It’s the weakest of the light realms, and as such, would be the easiest to drain to darkness. Nott put your mother into the Night Sleep because she knew that without Eir, Midgard would lose its connection with its essence and untether from its core. Nothing can survive when it’s ungrounded—not even a realm.”
“If the earth has been dying all this time, why didn’t you guys come and get me sooner? We could have tracked down my weapon and taken out Nott, and all of this would be over already.” I stopped beneath one of the loopy trees and looked up. It had begun to snow, and tiny white flakes drifted slowly past the curves of the branches.
“Allie.” Tore stopped beside me. “We’ve been working around the clock for weeks to get you ready to face Nott, and you’re still not even close. Do you honestly think you could have taken on the night goddess when you were sixteen? Or younger?”
“I don’t know, maybe.” I tried not to sound petulant. But I knew Tore was right. At sixteen, I’d been wrapped up in puppy love and teenage drama. I wouldn’t have had the maturity to leave everything behind to traipse around the realms looking for some demon goddess.
“Well, I do know, and you weren’t ready. We were instructed not to come for you until your tracker signaled us.” Tore reached over to tap the crystal that hung at my throat. At his touch, the crystal sent a shivering pulse to my heart.
My hands flew to my neck. “What? Oh my God, this is a tracker? Can anyone else find me? Take it off!” I tugged at the chain, but it didn’t move. As it had been since that first day, the necklace stayed fused in place.
“Relax.” Tore chuckled. “Your grandmother programmed it so it could only signal Asgard. She set it to alert your protectors when you came into your powers. When the Alf?dr saw the beacon, he knew it was time to send in the heavies.”
“By the heavies, you mean the guy I took down with pepper spray?” I asked.
“Watch it,” Tore warned. “I’m going to get you back for that.”
I knew it. He was totally plotting some nasty revenge. “Oh, I think dragging me on an inter-realm quest of doom is plenty payback, thank you very much.” I frowned. “There’s something else I don’t understand. If Gran was a warrior, then she was immortal too. But she died in her sleep last summer. Natural causes. How is that possible?”
Tore raised one eyebrow. “Did you ever see a coroner’s report?”
“Well, no,” I said. “I never asked for one. When I found her in her bed in the morning, I just figured . . .”
“Your grandmother didn’t die in her sleep.” Tore spoke slowly, as if he were choosing his words with care. “An undercover Asgardian posed as the coroner and doctored her death certificate to preserve your identity, but it wasn’t true. Your grandmother was killed by a dark scout.”
Ice laced through my vertebrae. “What’s a dark scout?”
“A hunter who works for the highest bidder—a mercenary,” Tore explained. “Scouts do routine sweeps of the realms, and report back if they identify any wanted beings. Nott put out a search order for you shortly after your mom went into the sleep. Your grandmother was amazing—she kept you hidden for nearly seventeen years before a scout got anywhere near you. From what I heard, your grandmother recognized the scout for what it was and went all warrior granny on it. She injured it so badly, it never made it off Midgard. But the scout injured her, too . . . its weapons were infused with dark magic, and that was what killed her.”
I dropped into a squat and tried not to heave as my stomach lurched wildly. The remainder of my breakfast threatened to make an unsightly return all over the pristine forest floor.
“Hey.” Tore knelt down beside me as his hand palmed the small of my back. “It’s going to be okay.”
“No, it’s not.” I wrapped my arms around my knees and held on tight. “Nott and her demons took down my Gran, my dad, and my mom. Who am I to think she won’t take me out, too?”
Tore’s hand moved against my back in a slow circle. “You have something your family didn’t have.”
I turned my head so my cheek rested on my knee. “A magic glowy necklace I can’t take off?”
“You do have that,” Tore confirmed, giving me the sideways grin that made my heart turn over. “But you also have me.”
My heart beat faster. I wish. “And what are you going to do that my warrior granny couldn’t?”
Tore’s eyes shot blue ice. “I’m going to turn you into the most lethal killing machine the realms have ever seen. When I’m done with you, that monster will wish she’d never started the Night War.”
Oh my God, he meant business. His voice absolutely teemed with rage, and it was all kinds of hot.
“How are you going to do that?” I whispered. “I can’t even beat Johann with swords. And I’ll never beat any of you in hand to hand. I’m not strong enough.”
“No, you’re not. Not yet. We’ll have to train harder, and you’ll need to learn to use your energy as a weapon.” Tore pushed himself to his feet and held out a hand. I reached for it, and he pulled me up. “You’re still fearful, Allie. I get it, but it needs to stop. You and I are going back to the cabin to work on your energy, and when we’ve wiped the fear from your system, you’ll see a major surge in your physical training. Fear drains power. So let’s kick its butt.”
“Right now?” I looked up at snowflakes drifting through the loopy trees.
Tore’s dimple popped as one corner of his mouth turned up. “Yes, right now. We need to turn you into a Night killer.”
We headed back to the house, our intended scouting lesson forgotten. As we walked, I turned to study his focused profile. “How do you know so much about energy?” I asked. “I mean, no offense, but you’re a descendant of Revenge, not Healing. What happened?”
His eyes looked to the dotted tree line, and a flicker of sadness crossed his features. “My mother taught me. She was a healer, too. She and your mom were good friends.”