My brow crinkles into a frown. I find it hard to believe that anything that burns internally with lava could be alive. I push this thought aside. That’s a consideration for another day. “But a lava monster attacked Asgard,” I protest.
Surt shakes his massive head, the long, curved horns swiping at a few floating embers. “No. The lava monster was not attacking Asgard. The lava monster was there to get you.”
- Chapter Five -
* * *
“What?” I stare at him in confusion. “But that was a little while ago. Why would you send a lava monster to get us?”
“No. I sent my minion to get you.” Surt's mouth settles into a straight line.
I set my fists on my hips. “So you sent it to attack me?”
“No. You’re not listening.” Annoyance creases the gap between Surt’s fiery eyes. “I sent it to collect you.”
“Then why did it attack Elan?”
“Because your dragon is always with you, and I’m guessing she went into defense mode and attacked first.”
“It nearly killed her,” I growl.
Surt’s massive shoulders rise in a shrug. “What can I say? It was defending itself.”
The answer doesn’t sit right with me, but I didn’t see what unfolded when I was within the tunnel’s confines. Although I knew my heart was always going to believe Elan.
He must have read the disbelief on my face. “My pet turned up to collect you. It would have sensed you and followed you. Except your dragon blocked the tunnel you disappeared into, and she attacked it. My pet, or what you call a lava monster, was attacked by your dragon. It was only retaliating and trying to get rid of your dragon so it could get to you.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “That's a rather extravagant way to try to collect me. I don’t understand how you would even know that when you weren’t there.”
His lava-filled smile sends a chill down my spine. “I have my ways.”
“How?” Raising an eyebrow, I press the point. “How could you possibly know what happened?”
“Let's just say I have friends in places, and I received a message.”
Moving out from under Elan’s protection, I uncross my arms. “I still don't understand why you'd be bothered to get me. If you're after Thor, he was there trying to stop this monster from getting me. He was protecting me, and the monster could have grabbed him instead.”
Surt chuckles. “I’m not after Thor.”
I flail my arms out to the sides. “I can think of no other reason why you would want me here.”
Surt gazes at Elan. “Despite that you’ve befriended the dragons and turned them into friends, for not only yourself but also all the other Valkyries and the gods and Asgard.”
I need all my might to clamp my mouth shut and stop my jaw from dropping. Has the result of my small personal quest spread through the nine realms? “Well, yes. I don't see how that is your business.”
He huffs, and light embers shoot out of his nose and float on the air. “That is mostly true. It doesn’t involve me. But the reason I've grabbed you is that, for many years, I’ve been looking for a mate.”
Despite my situation, I laugh, shaking my head. “Your mate is certainly not going to be me.”
“You.” He scowls with disapproval. “No. It's not you. You are too violent and aggressive. You aren’t the most beautiful maiden that I have seen.”
I lay on the sarcasm. “Gee, thanks. I still don't get why you would want to grab me.”
“It’s because you have access to the most beautiful maiden in the world.” His gaze turns dreamy as he focuses on the lava-lit sky.
My mind swirls, trying to figure out who he is thinking about. Unable to come to any conclusions, I say, “You’ll have to help me out. The only maidens I know are Valkyries—and some goddesses, but I have little to do with them.”
He leans over the gap above the cave, his burning lava eyes narrowing on me again. “And that is where you are lying.”
“What?” I bellow in outrage. “I'm not lying!”
“Hmmm!” He sounds unconvinced. “I have it on good authority that you know who I am talking about and you have access to her.”
As though sensing a threat, Elan steps protectively over me, ready to block me from anything he may send my way. I rest a hand on the scales on her chest, a silent thank you before stepping out from under her protection. With nothing to hide, I face him directly. “I honestly don't know who you are talking about. I have contact with hardly any other females, and the goddesses don't pay me any attention.”
“And that is where you are wrong.” His voice thunders down the hole, and his brows crowd angrily over his burning eyes.
With one swift movement, Elan wraps her wings around me, leaving only my face exposed, giving me room to assess the situation.
Something hits the side of the cave, and rocks drop into the cave, narrowly missing us. “I know you have access to Freya.” A threat stains Surt’s voice. “I want her to be my wife, and I can never find her. But one day, she will be my wife.”
The sides of the cave shake again as more rocks drop around us. I wriggle under Elan’s protection to free my arms and blast the falling stones away with my magic.
With an open-mouthed gaze, I find my voice faltering. Pushing past the blockage takes a few moments, but I say, “I don't know why you think I'd know her. As far as I know, she doesn't even live on Asgard.”
In truth, I spent time with Freya a couple of years ago. Despite being the goddess who rules over the Valkyries' natural enemies, the angels of death, she helped me protect Asgard. She instructed our known enemies to fight for Asgard’s safety against the dark elves’ invasion and Loki’s army of wild dragons with dwarf giant riders. From my brief encounter with Freya, I learned she is sensual and thrives on love and understanding, the opposite of the fiery abnormality standing in front of me, the leader of the fire giants. He doesn’t deserve Freya's affection, and I could never see her giving it to him. Furthermore, because she has been kind to us and helped against the attack on Asgard, I could never give up her location even if I did know where it was—which I don’t.
Since my association with Freya isn’t a secret on Asgard, as it’s known that I called her for help, I tell him part of the truth. “I don't know where she is. I haven't seen her for at least two years. As far as I understand, her residence is shrouded in secrecy.”
He clasps the entrance of the cave with both hands and glowers down at me. “But I have it on good authority that you have been to her residence.”
I gulp. Somehow, he has gathered information on me and my movements. “She did have me taken to her location. But I still don't know where that is. I was blindfolded and kept from knowing the location of her camp.” And now that I hear this giant demanding her location, I understand the reason behind that secrecy.
More rocks crash around us as his grip of the cave tightens. Elan and I dodge the falling debris until the chaos stills. I stand on a large boulder that landed near me. If he keeps this up, the level of the rocks will lift us closer to him. A growl rumbles down through the entrance, whose shape accentuates the volume, and I clench my teeth, cringing.