Fate Forgotten (50 page)

No. Not even Odin was that great a fool. He had wanted Thor bound to the Aesir, not driven from them. He would not have taken such a risk, nor was he so cruel as to take his son’s wife as a lover. Odin had made many mistakes, not the least of which this latest game he played, but always there was a purpose, and taking Sif to his bed after wedding her to Thor would not have served him.

Loki sought to distract him, to anger him further.

Why?

“The coward won’t even face you,” Loki jibed. “Because he knows he cannot win! Everything he’s done to you, to Eve, make him pay for it in blood! Just as Eve did. Over and over. Do you know how often we mopped her blood from the floor? And the miscarriages. Meek only knew of the one, but there were more. Half a dozen children, all lost because of Odin. Just another way he drove her slowly insane, tortured her while your back was turned.”

Thor fingered the hilt of the ivory dagger Loki had given him—carved from Jormungand’s fang, and the source of the venom he had used to poison Eve. A dagger capable of killing a god, poisoning and fragmenting the soul so thoroughly they would never find the strength to return from Hel in any living form. Capable of taking Odin’s life, if need be.

But why did Loki not desire Ragnarok? Half a world in which to sow his chaos. Half a world of men and women to play with, to taunt and tease and torture. Why would he want to move on to another world where he would be bound by oath to peace?

The silver doors opened, and Odin stood before him, armed with his spear,
Gungnir
. He wore no helmet, no armor, and the empty, scarred socket of his eye glowed like jet.

“And so it comes to this,” the Allfather said. “You would forswear yourself for her, break all your vows of allegiance, betray your people and your king!”

The vows. Thor had given two vows to Ra, so long ago. His own and Odin’s, on behalf of all the Aesir. Because Odin was king. Because no Aesir would dare betray his trust, his honor, by breaking such a binding oath.

But if Odin died, they were
all
free. Not just Thor, to care for Eve, but the rest of his brethren, too, to act as they pleased, to wage any war they desired. And Loki…

“He speaks of betrayal, but you have seen with your own eyes what he has done!” Loki said. “What honor was there in driving the poor girl mad? Was that not a betrayal of the Covenant you are sworn to?”

“No,” Thor said quietly, meeting his father’s eye. He drew the knife, his knuckles aching with the force of his grip.

And then Thor spun, and plunged the blade into Loki’s heart.

The Trickster spluttered, his eyes wide and shocked. He sank slowly, first to his knees, then to the ground. The venom hissed and burned, acid devouring his flesh. Thor pulled out the knife and leaned down, gathering him in by the eye.

“You forget, Trickster. If there is one thing I always know, no matter what lies you tell, it is my duty.”

Because if Odin had died, Loki was no longer bound by his king’s oath. None of the Aesir were. The Covenant was broken, and what stood in Loki’s path, then? Only Odin had ever been able to control him, and that much only by the oath which bound them together as brothers.

He looked up at his father. Odin had not moved, his expression grown even grimmer than it had begun. Thor wiped the blade clean on Loki’s shirt, and sheathed it.

“Sif must be punished,” he said. “And if it is left to me, she’ll share the Trickster’s fate. But I will leave her to your justice instead, on one condition.”

Odin arched a brow. “And that is?”

“She must never threaten Eve again. Never come anywhere near her. Never so much as look at her.”

“Is that all?” Odin asked.

“I will not suffer Ragnarok on this world, Father. If the day comes that it threatens these people, I will do everything in my power to stop you.”

“I am bound by the Covenant, Thor of the North.”

“See that you remain so.”

He stopped at his mother’s tree before he left. The apples were still Eve’s best hope.

Epilogue: 1923 AD

Thor stood with Luc upon the hill overlooking the small cottage. Tempting though it had been to return before now, he had not wanted to risk drawing his father’s attention to Eve, not when she had been so weak, so broken by the ward. So he had stayed away, to give her what peace he could, hoping she would heal with the help of his mother’s apples. One year, then two. Ra had given him news of her, of course, of her recovery, such as it was. Her mind was still fragile three years later. Fragile enough, Ra had suggested, that she might still believe him a delusion, if he came.

“She spends much of her time in the garden, when she is well enough to leave her bed,” Luc said. “The dogs sit at her feet, their flocks forgotten. But if it gives her comfort, I will not begrudge her the lost sheep. Not that there have been many.”

At least one of the dogs was a wolf, Thor thought, its head in her lap, but it wouldn’t serve to alarm Luc. If Eve was not well enough to control it, Ra certainly could.

“Sometimes, I come to see her, and she thinks I am another ghost, Lord Ryam, or Reu,” Luc was saying. “On her good days, she waits politely for an introduction. Horus fears her memory in this life is unlikely to recover, but at least she can care for herself more often than not. It is the things that require more than one day to complete that give her trouble. Reading is difficult, if the novel is longer than what she might finish in an afternoon. Unless it is a story she already knows. But even then…”

“Yes,” Thor interrupted. “I begin to understand.”

She would not remember he had come tomorrow, would not remember anything he told her, even if he revealed himself. Loki’s last so-called treatment had all but destroyed her mind, and Sif had her vengeance at last, though she could hardly appreciate it, locked in Asgard and stripped of her power for the next century, at least.

But this could not be what the angel had meant, when he promised Thor’s time with Eve would come. Gabriel had said she would know him, and if what Luc said was true, she barely knew her own mind, now.

“Horus says she will be herself again once she is reborn,” Luc said after another moment. “But I would not wish the memory of such a life on even my enemy.”

“My thanks, Luc.”

“She is our Lady, Thor. What are we Lions for, if not this?”

Nothing, Thor thought. There was nothing else.

Her forehead furrowed when she spotted him, her hand, absently stroking the wolf’s head, stilled. And then she rose, shading her eyes against the sun. “Thorgrim?”

He hesitated, stopping just out of reach, but his fingers itched to touch her, to stroke her hair from her cheek and tuck her head beneath his chin. Even if he could only have her for this one day. Even if she would not remember it tomorrow. “
Ástin mín.
”

“Thorgrim.” And then she was in his arms, delighted laughter strangled by shuddering sobs of relief. She was so soft, so warm. “My Thorgrim.”

“I wish I could stay,” he murmured into her hair. She smelled like sunshine again, and springtime. “Someday, I promise you. Someday, I’ll tell you everything.”

“Shh.” She pressed her finger to his lips. “You’re here now. We’re together, now.”

And when she kissed him, her mouth like strawberries and sweet wine, her fingers twining into his hair, nothing else mattered but that.

Look for the next installments in the Fate of the Gods Trilogy by Amalia Dillin

Tempting Fate

A Fate of the Gods Novella: Book 1.5

Mia’s lived in her sister’s shadow long enough. Now that Abby is getting married to a Frenchman, Mia scents freedom. In fact, Jean DeLeon, the groom’s too-charming cousin, seems like the perfect place to start. But the House of Lions is full of secrets, and what started out as an exciting fling is quickly becoming more frustration than fun. Mia wants answers, or she wants out, and it isn’t like she doesn’t have other options. Ethan Hastings, for example. Tall, handsome, and gray eyes like nothing she’s ever seen before. The fact that Jean seems to hate him is just a bonus.
(This novella takes place during the events of Forged by Fate. Available now.)

Taming Fate

A Fate of the Gods Novella: Book 2.5

Coming December 2013 in
A Winter’s Enchantment
: three novellas of winter magic and loves lost and regained.

Ryam DeLeon may have saved Eve from burning at the stake, but their hasty marriage is off to anything but a smooth start. As tensions in the town grow, Ryam knows if he and Eve cannot find common ground, their first Christmas may be their last.
Coming December 2013 in
A Winter’s Enchantment
, three novellas of winter magic and love lost and regained.

Beyond Fate

Fate of the Gods Trilogy: Book Three

Stunning trilogy conclusion, coming September, 2014.

Acknowledgments