Shadows seeped into the air around him. “It won’t work. The bridge would never hold that many people. And a large number is more likely to slow us down. You just said you trusted me to solve this problem, didn’t you?”
“I’ll go with you then,” I barked. As the others began to object, I held up a hand. “That’s final.”
“Very well,” said Galin. “Ali—the Empress—and I will travel to Jotunfjell. The top of Mount Steton is where we find the Bifrost.”
Wonderful. It seemed I would be spending some time with my ex—after he’d moved on.
Chapter 9
Galin
Across the room from me, Ali slowly nodded. “Okay. Whatever it takes. We’ll leave in the morning. Swegde, can you organize hiking equipment?”
Swegde nodded, and my gaze slid back to Ali. I studied her—silver hair pulled up in a ponytail, eyes slightly narrowed. Her outfit was familiar assassin’s garb: leather pants and a black jacket that fit her curves perfectly. Everything was splattered with mud, but she didn’t seem to care. She may have only been Empress for a month, but already she was accustomed to being listened to. She looked strong, powerful. More confident, more poised than I remembered.
The members of the council listened carefully when she spoke, even the murderous twins. I would have to ask her how they’d been chosen to represent the High Elves; their family was known for castrating their enemies. Still, even with Harald and Sigre in her council, Ali was clearly in charge, a natural leader.
And in her new role, she had made it quite clear that she’d easily moved on from me.
And this is why I had to sever the mating bond—to find out that deep down under that sexy exterior, you’re still a monster.
I smiled grimly. At least she’d called me sexy.
It didn’t matter what she said. With the mating bond cut, anything I’d felt had withered away like vines in the frost.
“Galin,” she said. “We need to talk. In private. Will you walk with me back to my room?”
I nodded and followed her into the hallway. As we started walking, she glanced at my chest. No—she was staring.
“So when are you going to put on a shirt?” she asked. “It’s distracting.”
A smile ghosted over my lips. “Distracting? Why would that be? Is it the sexy exterior that’s a problem?”
Her cheeks reddened. “No. As we have both agreed, neither of us feel anything for each other. Right? Anything that happened before was just magic. Now you might as well be …” She gestured at a candle in a sconce. “You’re like that candle. That is how much emotion I feel.”
“Right, we feel nothing at all. And yet you seem flustered,” I murmured.
“Did you get a bit of an ego as King of the Dead, or did I just never notice how bad it was before?”
“I was just repeating your phrase,” I purred. “Sexy exterior. Your words.”
She shook her head, a strand of silver falling before her eyes. “I meant sexy in an objective way. Other people would say you are sexy, probably. Simple-minded people. What I meant was that your bare chest is distracting because of the runes. They move in a distracting way.”
“The runes are a gift from the goddess. A shirt would disturb them.”
Her jaw tightened, and anger shone in her eyes when she looked at me. Jealousy? “A gift. How nice of her. What a lovely woman. Are they what allowed you to disappear?”
“With them inked on my skin I can move from one place to another without calling a portal. But they bind me to Hela, as well.”
Ali nodded, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Like branding an animal. You’re her beast of burden. It’s quite the relationship you two have.”
Irritation sparked. So this was what she was like without the mating bond.
An absolute nightmare.
“Why exactly did you ask me to speak to you in private? Was it to talk about my chest, or to insult me? I could do without either. Considering neither of us feel a thing for each other, perhaps our time could be better spent getting ready for the journey.”
“No.” She shot me another nervous look, her face flushed. “I think we might have gotten off to a bad start. If we are going to go off together, we should probably be on better terms.”
“And how do you propose to make that happen?”
She lifted her eyebrows hopefully. “Are you hungry?”
We’d reached the door to her quarters. I frowned, unused to feeling anything at all. But I did feel a hollowness in my stomach. Hunger. “Famished.”
Ali led me inside. When I was in her quarters before, my senses had been adjusting to Vanaheim, the sunlight, the scent of living things. I hadn’t really looked around me.
“This is the old Emperor’s chambers,” I said.
My memories stirred. The old Emperor had attacked Ali, tried to have his way with her. She killed him, but it was close. I couldn’t imagine why she’d want to stay in the same rooms where he once lived.
“Yes,” said Ali. “All Vanir Emperors have lived in these quarters. Hundreds, I’ve been told. Swegde said there was no other option.”
I gritted my teeth, increasingly certain I didn’t like Swegde.
But as I looked around, I saw that Ali had been busy decorating. She’d brought in more plants, and some large crystals that I assumed must have been from the Shadow Caverns.
She’d even hung a painting of a goat on the wall—one that appeared to be standing on top of a large purple mushroom. I looked closer. Was it drinking a beer?
Ali pointed at it. “That’s Jeremy the Alcoholic Goat. Barthol painted it for me. You see? The world cannot live without his talent.”
She was making a joke, but I could hear the worry in her voice. “He will be fine. Hela wants me to return. As long as I go back to my place as King of the Dead, I don’t think she’ll hurt him.”
I surveyed the rest of the room. I recognized the double doors that led to the pool. Nearby was a shelf arranged with a large collection of LPs and a small record player.
In the dark ashes of my chest, something stirred. “You have a whole music collection?”
“Yes,” said Ali. “Okay, it might be indulgent, but they asked me what I wanted for my room. And I wanted music from Midgard. I haven’t had a chance to see what they chose for me yet.”
She crossed over to the records. When her arm brushed against mine—for just a moment—I thought I felt a quickening of my heart. I watched as she pulled out an album I hadn’t seen in a thousand years. She stared at the cover.
“What is this?” she murmured. “All these men in strange costumes with flowers. It’s pretty.”
Ali pulled the record out and dropped it onto the player. Wonderful music filled the air—songs from a time long ago. As it played, she walked to the door. Under the song, I heard her speaking to a servant outside, ordering dinner for us both.
She crossed back into the room with an uncertain smile on her face. Once my mate, now we just felt awkward around each other. She bit her lip. “I really like the tune, but the lyrics don’t make any sense. Is it about stars?”