Perfekt Balance (The Ære Saga Book 3) (27 page)

“
Wrap it
up,
hjärtat
,” he
murmured softly. I nodded. I was pressing my luck by keeping her
here—there was a reason protocol dictated immediate custodial
intake. There was no telling what she’d do if she overpowered us
this time.

“
From
what I understand, Mom offered to adopt Runa at the same time she
adopted you. Runa turned her down—she was afraid of what Hymir
would do to her mom if she left her alone. And by the time she got
herself to our realm, well…that’s a longer story. We can talk more
about it back in Arcata. Or maybe you and Runa can talk about it
while you’re checking her in up in Asgard.”

Runa emitted a series of shrieks that
suggested no such conversation would be happening any time
soon.

I frowned. Runa’s spirit had its work cut out
for it. But I had hope that one day, her seemingly lost goodness
would overpower her penchant for cruelty. Without the girl she’d
once been, I wouldn’t have my brother. Asgard wouldn’t have its war
god. And the tapestry of our unconventional little family would be
devastatingly different. No matter what she’d become, I was
grateful for Runa. I only hoped one day she would be open to seeing
that.

I took a step back and nodded at my brother’s
sister. “Brynn, she’s all yours. Just know I’m here for you if you
ever want to make a change, Runa.” I watched her carefully. Runa
simply glared, but behind the cold look I sensed a flicker of
recognition. And that split second of honesty filled me with
joy.

Maybe someday her spirit would have a shot at
her own happy ending. There was good in Runa yet.

“
Come
on,
hjärtat
.
Let’s get you home.” Forse picked up his sword. He tugged my hand
and I followed him to an open spot in the clearing. Tyr, Brynn, and
our reluctant prisoner followed suit, and we huddled close together
as we prepared to leave the dark realm. Although I felt a palpable
relief to be going home, I took one final look at the realm where
I’d learned I could live up to the gift my mother had given me,
where I’d discovered a strength I hadn’t known I possessed…and
where I’d truly connected with the god I knew I’d love for all
eternity. When my brother summoned the Bifrost, I squeezed Forse’s
hand. I left Svartalfheim with a joyful heart, looking forward to a
future positively teeming with faith, with hope, and with all the
love I’d waited a lifetime to give.

But more
importantly, I left with the god who would
finally
cherish my heart every bit as
much as I cherished his.

“
OH,
SÖTNOS. COME HERE.”
Henrik jogged the distance from
the porch to the clearing, reaching Brynn’s side before the Bifrost
could fully retract. He held out his arm and stroked her back while
she bent over, her face scrunched in concentration as she tried not
to throw up on his shoes. He didn’t mention her Bifrost sickness as
she straightened up; he just pulled her into a hug and told her
simply, “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” She rested her head on
Henrik’s chest, her eyes closed in blissful surrender as she
wrapped her arms around his waist. The color returned to her
cheeks, and when she opened her eyes I surmised the nausea had
passed.

“Let me take that.” Henrik gently removed
Brynn’s backpack and slung it over one shoulder. A quiet smile
passed between them, and I couldn’t help but grin. When they
weren’t off killing things, they were just so sweet together.

“You’re home!” Mia raced down the porch
steps. The early afternoon light filtered through the trees that
stood sentinel around the Arcata cabin, bathing the structure in a
soft glow. The warm green foliage dusted with white snow was a
stark contrast to the practically all-black landscape of
Svartalfheim. As I caught a glimpse of the brilliant blue sky
peeking down from the treetops, my chest filled with joy. I’d
almost forgotten how peaceful our little corner of Midgard was.
Even if it was only temporary, I was grateful to call Arcata
home.

“Brynn and I are home,” I corrected. Mia’s
grin disappeared, and she wrapped her arms around her stomach, her
nails digging into her sides.

“Oh my god,” she whispered. “No.”

“
Oh, I’m
sorry, I didn’t mean that.” I reached out and held Mia’s hands in
mine. “Tyr’s okay. Better than okay, actually, which is kind of a
miracle considering his…we can talk later. He and Forse took Runa
back to Asgard to book her into custody. After they check her in,
they’ve got to meet with Odin’s council so the big wigs can weigh
in before Forse issues her sentence. But they should be home by
morning. Lunchtime tomorrow at the latest.”

“Thank god.” Mia practically wilted with
relief.

I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed
gently. “I’m sorry you have to go through this every time he
leaves. I know it’s hard.”

“I keep thinking it’s going to get easier,
but it doesn’t. At least this time I had Henrik to distract me with
baking wars.” Mia offered Henrik a smile.

Henrik threw his arm around Brynn’s shoulder
and guided her back to the house. “May the best cake win. And by
best, I mean mine.”

“
You
wish. Red velvet
always
comes out on top. It’s a no-brainer.” Mia fell into step
beside Henrik and I followed a meter behind, watching the easy
banter between our human and the Asgardian assassin. Mia was
adjusting so well. By all accounts, she should have run away from
all of our craziness screaming. But, somehow, she’d managed to take
not only our existence, but our sometimes hellish reality, in her
stride, fitting herself into our world as if she’d been a part of
it all along.

The Norns had been right about her. She’d
already proven herself a tremendous use to Asgard, just keeping my
brother grounded. I could only imagine what she could accomplish
once I trained her.

The familiar trickle of anxiety nipped at my
gut, but I shooed it away. I didn’t have to be afraid anymore.
Forse had shown me that unifying could come as naturally to me as
healing, and now that I had the tools to access my gift, I was
eager to pass it along to Mia. With monsters like Hymir lurking,
Asgard needed all the help it could get.

“Are you coming, Elsa?” Brynn held the front
door open. I walked up the porch steps and followed Henrik to the
living room. Brynn nestled onto the couch and Henrik settled in
beside her. I tucked my legs beneath me as I settled into the
armchair, and lay my head back on the cushion.

“Where’s Mia?” I asked.

“Here!” She scurried into the living room,
depositing a tray laden with snacks on the coffee table. “Sorry
it’s not fancier—if you give me a few minutes I can whip up
sandwiches. But the tea’s hot, and the cookies are only about
twenty minutes out of the oven, so they should still be warm. Eat.
Then fill us in.” Mia picked up a teeming mug and sat on the far
end of the L-shaped couch. She crossed her legs at the ankle and
stared at me expectantly. “Well?”

“You said I could have a cookie!” I
protested.

“
I’m
impatient. Henrik and I have been sitting here for
two
days
with nothing to do but
bake.” Mia handed me a cookie, then resumed her anxious pose.
“Now?”

“You win.” I laughed. I bit into the treat.
“Mmm, this is really good!”

“It’s Meemaw’s red velvet cookie recipe. One
point for me.” Mia stuck her tongue out at Henrik.

“Whatever. Brynn, try this one.” Henrik
leaned forward and removed a cookie from the plate. He handed it to
his girlfriend, who took a bite. She closed her eyes and let out a
moan as she chewed.

“
Oh, wow.
White chocolate macadamia?” she guessed.
“
Perfekt
.”

“Point Henrik,” Henrik taunted.

Mia
rolled her eyes. “Obviously this can—and will—go on for days. But
before we all agree I’m the superior baker,
would
somebody please tell me what happened out there?
Elsa, you look like you’ve been through
the ringer. I can see your skin’s already healing itself, but some
of those bruises look pretty bad. Did things not go as easily as
you planned?”

I dusted the crumbs from my fingertips and
shook my head. “Henrik didn’t tell you? I thought Brynn was keeping
him in the loop.”

“I was.” Brynn looked at Henrik
quizzically.

“
I might
have glazed over some of the more
…painful details,” Henrik admitted. “I didn’t want
worry ruining Mia’s baking game.”

Mia shot Henrik a look. “You guys are going
to have to stop protecting me at some point.”

“
And that
point starts now.” I nodded. “Mia’s going to know
everything
now that
she’s starting her Unifier training.”

Mia let out a small gasp. “You’re going to
train me? I thought you weren’t ready. What changed?”

“A lot.” I sighed. “When Runa had me locked
in that tower—”

“What?” Mia’s jaw dropped.

“Runa swallowed a piece of the crystal we
brought as a trade and locked poor Elsa in a tower and tortured her
to find out where we’re hiding Fenrir. Of course she didn’t break.”
Brynn shot me a grin. “We’ll debrief you later, Mia.”

“Oh, Elsa,” Mia clucked. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine. It’s over.” I waved my hand.

“But what does Runa want with Fenrir?” Mia
looked confused.

“
Fenrir’s
destined to play a role in the end of the world, and Hymir wants to
make sure Tyr feels the onus of responsibility for Fenrir’s
crime…whenever he commits it. You know, because Tyr saved Fenrir
way back when. And he’s keeping him alive now.” Brynn
shrugged.

“He’s keeping him locked away,” I corrected.
“Even the Norns say the ribbon that binds him is unbreakable.”

“Yeah, well, if Hymir’s this set on using
Fenrir to destroy Tyr, maybe we’d be better off if Fenrir was out
of the picture,” Brynn mused.

“It’s worth considering.” Henrik ran his
fingertips along Brynn’s shoulder. “But we can talk about that
tomorrow. You need to heal, Elsa. The cut on your forearm is still
raw.”

“I gave it a good dose of restorative energy,
but it’s still healing slower than the others,” I agreed. “It came
from Runa’s lightning-hand power. Gods, if you two could harness
that energy, just think of the arsenal you could build.”

Henrik shook his head. “Too bad you weren’t
able to bring any of the crystal she swallowed home.”

Brynn shot him a sly smile. “After we
finished our first battle with Tosk—the one where Runa took Elsa—I
scoured the soot until I found shards of the broken crystal. It’s
in the plastic baggie in the front pocket of my backpack. Looks
like someone’s having a hot date in the lab tonight. You. Me. Two
pieces of Svartalfheim’s finest crystal, a microscope, and a mini
blow torch.”

“Gods, I love it when you talk nerdy to me.”
Henrik lowered his head to Brynn’s ear and whispered something that
made her cheeks turn red.

“Henrik!” She swatted his arm.

“Okay then, you can wear the—”

“Stop it!” Brynn shrieked.

I laughed. “If you two can hold it together
another ten minutes, we can finish giving Mia the overview. And
then you can get into all the science geeky hanky-panky you
want.”

Henrik let out a long-suffering sigh. “I
guess.”

Brynn grinned.

“Your coms worked, by the way.” I tapped my
forearm. “Runa never knew I had mine on, and Forse was able to send
me pages of my mom’s journals through it. The journals helped us
figure out the key to unifying. I had it all wrong. I thought I was
supposed to perform energy healings to bring people together, but
all I needed to do was communicate directly with their spirits.
Apparently spirits are much easier to work with than blocked
energy. You’ll see.”

Mia blanched. “You’re going to teach me how
to talk to spirits? Like a human Ouija board? I’m not sure that’s
the best idea. Mama doesn’t take that voodoo stuff lightly, and
frankly I’m surprised—”

I shook my head. “It’s not voodoo. It’s
actually a lot like science. There are clear steps to take, and
since you’re predisposed for it, it’ll come naturally to you.
Besides, most spirits are good—filled with light and love. And if
you come across one that’s not, well, then you’ll call me in, and
we’ll deal with it together. But that’s like, years ahead. We’re
going to take this slow and do it right.” I smiled. “We’re going to
need you with us for the long haul. You in?”

Mia
gripped her teacup. “You know I am. It’s just…well, it sounds even
crazier than I imagined.”

“
Things
with us usually are.” Henrik leaned back. “But you’re a
tough
flicka
. You
can handle it.”

Mia sucked in a breath and pulled back her
shoulders. “When do we start?”

That’s our human
. “How about after your spring break? Let’s give ourselves
a few days to regroup. And eat more of your
delicious
cookies. Did you say there was another
batch in the kitchen?”

Mia jumped to her feet. “There are seven
dozen cookies, four cakes, and two pies. Y’all left us alone for
two days, and we had to pass the time somehow.”

“Plus Mia’s parents and brother arrive soon,”
Henrik reminded me. “She wanted to make sure they didn’t go
hungry.”

Brynn
tilted her head. “Your parents and brother must
really
like
dessert.”

“They do,” Mia blushed. “But really, I just
needed to keep myself busy. Henrik knew how to help me do that.
Thanks,” she told him.