Perfekt Order (The Ære Saga Book 1) (40 page)

I swatted him.

“Did you and Freya get what you needed from
the dwarves?” Brynn jumped to my rescue.

“I guess.” Tyr scratched the back of his
neck.

“What’s wrong?” Henrik turned off the grill
and removed the steaks.

“It wasn’t what I was expecting them to give
us,” Tyr admitted. “It doesn’t seem strong enough to hold
Fenrir.”

“The dwarves have never gone back on their
word,” Forse pointed out. He came out of the house carrying a
platter of crab meat and a bowl of melted butter. “If they say it’s
strong enough, it’s strong enough.”

Tyr rubbed my hip softly. His frown betrayed
his doubt.

“Want to show it to us?” I offered.

“You talking about this ribbon?” Freya
strolled out of her house and walked across the lawn with something
in her hands.

“Ribbon?” Henrik, Brynn, Forse and I spoke in
unison.

“Ribbon,” Freya confirmed.

“You’re kidding me.” Brynn’s eyes
narrowed.

“To hold Fenrir?” Forse stroked his chin.

“Did they think you were talking about
another Fenrir? A wood sprite or something? Maybe it’s a more
popular name than we thought.” Henrik put the steaks down on the
table next to the potatoes.

“Nope. They swear this will do the job.”
Freya laid the ribbon on the picnic table and we leaned over to
examine it.

“It’s pink,” Forse said dubiously. “And
shiny.”

“I know.” Tyr’s face was dark.

“They want you to tie Fenrir up with a shiny,
pink ribbon.” Henrik closed his eyes. “Man, those dwarves have a
wicked sense of humor.”

We stared for a good minute before Brynn
broke the silence. She pulled her shoulders back and put on a brave
face. “If the dwarves say it’ll work, then it’ll work. Right?”

“Right.” Freya nodded. “They’ve never
betrayed us before, and there’s no reason to think they’d lie
now.”

“Then the matter’s closed.” Brynn leaned over
to light the candles in the hurricane vases and sat back down.
“Steak’s done to perfection, we’ve got fresh crab legs, potatoes
are hot, and Mia’s Meemaw’s Mud Pie is in the freezer. Let’s
eat.”

Tyr shifted me off his lap as everyone began
dishing up. The crease between his eyes hadn’t eased, so I
whispered in his ear. “You okay?”

He nodded. But the wrinkles in his forehead
smoothed, and he lifted my hand to his lips for the briefest of
moments. I squeezed his fingers, and he winked at me.

“Elsa’s doing great today,” Brynn interrupted
our silent exchange. “Her vitals are improving hourly—must be the
sea air.”

“Or the proximity to Forse.” The corners of
Freya’s eyes crinkled.

Forse turned bright red.

“Meaning?” I turned to Freya, who’d taken the
seat to my left. I wasn’t about to out Forse. But if the matchmaker
did it…

“Elsa’s had a thing for Forse for, like,
forever.” Tyr rolled his eyes. “Only he’s been too stubborn to do
anything about it.”

“Wait. What?” I turned to the justice god.
“Tyr knows?”

“I didn’t think so.” Forse’s ears were
crimson.

“Mia knows?” Tyr stared at me.

“There’s only so much shop talk you can do on
a boat,” I pointed out.

“True.” Tyr nodded. “So what’s holding you
back, man? If it’s me, don’t worry about it. She’d be lucky to have
you.”

“It’s not that.” Brynn shook her head. “It’s
her, isn’t it?”

“Her who?” I asked.

“A crazy chick burned Forse forever ago, and
he’s sworn off relationships ever since. I keep telling him Elsa’s
nothing like his ex, and this will end happily for him, but
apparently
I’m
not an expert.” Freya tapped her fingers on
the table.

“Can we talk about the ribbon again?” Forse
muttered. He was obviously uncomfortable. I felt bad as he fidgeted
with his silverware. We shouldn’t be talking about his ex.

“Forse showed me some great spots around the
cove today,” I jumped in. “Did you know that rock just south of
here is where the 80s film about the kid pirates was filmed? Do
y’all watch human movies in Asgard?”

“We do.” Forse shot me an appreciative smile.
“And that was a great movie.”

“The one with all the Coreys in it?” Freya’s
face lit up. “I didn’t know that was shot here.”

“I love that you guys watch human movies.
What are your favorites?” I kept the conversational ball
rolling.

It turned out Freya liked superhero movies.
Brynn liked chick flicks. Henrik and Tyr were partial to action
movies, and Forse liked classic films. And
The Notebook
.

“
The Notebook
?” Henrik snorted.

“It’s a deeply evocative film.” Forse kept
his chin high.

Tyr chuckled softly. “My sister loves that
movie.”

From the wistful look in his eye, it was
obvious Forse already knew.

We finished dinner and moved down to the fire
pit, where Tyr lit a massive bonfire. Freya brought out blankets,
and we gathered on the Adirondack chairs. From my perch on Tyr’s
lap, I was pleased to see Brynn and Henrik inching closer together.
Maybe the quiet of the compound would give them the time they
needed to get together. Things were finally calming down—we were
safe in a secret cove with nothing but lapping waves, ocean air,
and a gorgeous bonfire to focus on. In this moment, things seemed
absolutely perfect.

I should have known it couldn’t last.

“
WHAT’S HAPPENING ON THE
dune?” Tyr
shifted me on his lap and squinted over the bonfire.

“I don’t see anything out of the ordinary.”
Freya shook her head and speared a marshmallow.

“The sand’s stirring ten yards north of the
break, and the air above the site is dark. It almost looks like
someone’s aura… oh,
skit
,” Tyr growled.

Henrik looked up from his spot on the grass
with Brynn. She’d been leaning against him, laughing at one of his
animated stories, but now both looked like someone had shoved a
ramrod right up their backs.

“Dark’s bad for an aura, right?” Henrik asked
cautiously.

“What do you think?” Tyr narrowed his eyes
and waited. I stared into the distance, but my human eyes couldn’t
see anything.

Forse rose calmly and turned a slow circle.
After he’d assessed the compound, he turned to Tyr. “The
protections are in place, but he is trying to break through the
west entrance. What do you want to do?”

“Is it…?” I rested my palms on Tyr’s shirt.
Maybe feeling his heartbeat would slow down mine.

“Fenrir’s here.” Tyr didn’t take his eyes off
the dunes. He tilted his head like he was listening for something.
“And he’s angry. He came back to the Arcata cabin after he ported
out, but Elsa wasn’t there. He wants to finish her off and
then…”

“What else? There’s something else,” Henrik
said.

Tyr’s chest tensed beneath my hand. “If we
don’t give him my sister, he’s coming after Mia.”

“Like Helheim he is.” Freya jumped to her
feet. She picked up a rapier I hadn’t even realized was sitting
under her Adirondack chair. An honest-to-goodness
rapier
.
“Let’s go tie up that monster with our shiny pink ribbon.”

“I wish it was that easy.” Brynn stood and
pulled a set of nunchucks from her waistband. Henrik rose to one
knee and reached into a pocket of the blanket. He unearthed two
shiny blades that looked an awful lot like real samurai swords.

The entire party was packing, and I hadn’t
even worn shoes.

“It can be that easy,” Forse spoke calmly.
Like Tyr, he kept his eyes on the dunes. “Fenrir’s judgment is
clouded by his anger. He’s never had anyone slip out of his grasp
before, and he’s furious Elsa lived. But he’s even angrier Mia
escaped unharmed. We might be able to take him down, but…”

“But what? What? What?” I tried not to sound
like a four-year-old.

Forse spoke without looking at me. “With
offspring of Loki, there’s always a price. You know how it is.”

No. I most definitely did not know that.
Nobody had mentioned any prices on Wikipedia, Art History, or in
our little rat-escaping bedtime stories. What was Forse talking
about?

“I already said I’ll pay it,” Tyr muttered.
He lifted me off his lap and set me on the grass. “This has gone on
long enough.”

“What are you doing?” I chased him across the
lawn. “Tyr, are you insane? Don’t go looking for a fight. We’re
safe in here; Forse said so.” I spun on my heel. “We are safe,
right?”

“We are safe,” Forse confirmed. “Nothing has
ever breached my defenses. Doubly so now that we’ve reinforced the
compound.”

“There you go then.” I grabbed Tyr’s arm and
spun him around. “We can just stay in here. He’ll go away
eventually.”

“And then what?” Tyr’s voice was thick. “He
goes after somebody else in my place? Nobody else is dying because
of me.”

“You have to stop—”

“No, Mia. This ends tonight.
I
started
this the day I begged Odin for Fenrir’s life.
I
have to be
the one to end it. Fenrir isn’t taking my sister.” Tyr reached out
and touched my cheek with the back of one finger. “And he isn’t
getting anywhere near you, ever again. I love you.”

My breath caught in my throat. I tilted my
head, and he cupped my cheek, stroking my jaw lightly with his
thumb.

“Tyr,” I whispered. The moisture in my eyes
threatened to spill over.

“I love you,” Tyr repeated. He pulled my hip
into his and tilted my chin up. He brought his mouth down, crushing
our lips together with a force that left me breathless.

“You’re welcome,” Freya called from behind
us. “Also, told you so.”

Tyr pulled back to glare at his friend. “You
gonna give me that ribbon or not?”

“Not.” Freya marched over to us and patted
her back pocket. “It’s in here. And I’m coming with you.”

“Wait,” I begged. “Let me come too. I can
help. Let me be the decoy—I’ll reel Fenrir in, and you can fly down
and tie him up with the ribbon. Or I’ll go get my space gun from
the house, and I can shoot him while you bind him and…” And what?
The space guns didn’t work on Fenrir anymore. And there was no way
Tyr would let me be the decoy. Or get anywhere near Fenrir. Or…
or…

Tyr’s eyes were unreadable as I issued my
silent plea. They narrowed infinitesimally, taking on just a hint
of sadness. It finally hit me, the point he’d been driving home all
along. I was mortal. Destructible. What did I really think I could
do to help the gods?

What would I
ever
be able to do to
help them?

“I really can’t help you with this, can I?” I
whispered. “I can’t… I can’t fix this.”

Tyr kept my chin in his hand. “I am the
protector—I defend the realm against threats. Elsa is the healer,
for the rare cases in which I fail. Freya cultivates love, to give
us hope in the face of loss. The Norns prophesy destiny, so we know
where we fit in our world. Every job,
every single job
, is
of equal importance. When one fails to function at its peak, the
others fall out of sync, and the realms tumble out of the
perfekt
balance we’re sworn to uphold. Do you understand
that?”

I nodded.

“Good. I know you want to fight alongside me.
I get it. But you weren’t born to be a warrior. Trust me,
prinsessa
, there will come a day when you risk everything to
protect the realms, but you’ll do it using your uniquely beautiful
energy in the way
only you
can. Not by shooting some wolf
with a gun. You following me into this fight today isn’t going to
help anyone.”

The enormity of Tyr’s words sent a tremor
through me—could my fate be more entwined with his than I’d dared
to hope? I placed my hand on his chest. “Hold on. Someday I’ll risk
everything to protect the realms, but today you want me to just sit
back and watch? And do nothing? How does
that
help
anyone?”

“It keeps you alive.” Tyr stroked my chin
with his thumb. “I know you’ve been raised to believe you can do it
all. That’s one of the things I love about you. Midgard is
beautiful that way—a human with the right skill and focus can truly
conquer your world. Right now, in this battle with this monster,
you can’t do it all. I’m sorry, but you can’t. Not if you’re going
to live to fulfill your
own
destiny with us. You don’t have
to like it. You don’t have to agree with it. But it’s the way it
is.” Tyr kissed the top of my head, and pulled his hand from my
waist.

“Stay with Brynn. She’ll take care of you.
I’ll be back in a few.” His eyes didn’t quite meet mine.

“Please don’t go,” I begged.

“I have to. Don’t worry, baby. I’ll be fine.”
He walked me to a steely-eyed Brynn and put my hand in hers. “No
matter what happens, I need you to promise me you’ll keep her
safe.”

“I promise.” Brynn squeezed my fingers with
one hand and twirled her nunchucks with the other.

“I mean it, Brynn. Until the day you die.
Look after her.” Tyr kissed my forehead again and stepped back. My
insides lurched, sending a surge of bile into my throat. I
swallowed it back down.
Oh god. He’s saying goodbye.

“Tyr.” I reached for him, but he jogged into
the house. He emerged seconds later wearing the black fatigues from
this morning, a crossbow strapped to his back.

“Let’s roll.” Tyr marched across the lawn and
onto the beach. Freya, Henrik and Forse fell in step beside him.
Tyr said something to Forse, and the justice god made an abrupt
right turn. He ran up the steps to Elsa’s cottage and stood sentry
on the porch. Tyr must have ordered him to look out for his baby
sister.

When the hunting party reached the top of the
dune, I held my breath. They crossed over the ridge so I couldn’t
see them anymore, but I could hear the feral snarl. It made my
stomach drop.