“By ‘everyone,' do you mean your own father?” Modi bit. “The one who sired Jörmungandr, Fenrir, and Hel, all three of whom will play their part in Ragnarök?”
He turned to me, anger splotching his cheeks. “There’s a reason Odin wanted to execute those three. Loki and his offspring have an ugly tendency to get everyone killed.”
I was pretty sure I was having an out-of-body experience, sitting between two gods arguing over how exactly the end of the world would come about while a scratchy speaker above us implored the panicked passengers to stay calm, and something about whale sightings.
“None of this matters,” I said softly, reaching a hand out to either side. Bjarni grabbed mine without thought, Modi more hesitantly. “We need to save Saga and Magni. What comes after that, we’ll worry about then.”
Fourteen
Bjarni
We took a train from Chicago to Seattle. Modi flat-out refused to get on another plane after we finally landed in O’Hare, and I wasn’t about to start arguing.
I’d not flown a lot during my time in Midgard, but what little experience I had was enough for me to know that I strongly preferred both my feet on the ground, even if it was covered in snow.
The urgency of getting to my father had anxiety clenching at my gut, but when I looked down at Annabel who’d nestled up by my side, I regretted not insisting we stop and rest before continuing our journey. It’d been too many hours since any of us had gotten any rest, and we were all feeling it.
“Can you not take up so much space?” the little omega growled next to me as she squirmed to get comfortable in her seat. “I still have a crick in my neck from that godawful flight, and I just want to breathe! You’re like a goddamn furnace.”
“You allow her too much leeway,” Modi said from his seat across from us. He stared disapprovingly at Annabel’s irritated scowl. “No omega I’ve met has dared give an alpha this much lip.”
“Maybe you’re just not used to omegas who aren’t afraid to tell you when they’re tired of your shit,” Annabel hissed.
I sighed, pulling her closer to me despite her squirming to put distance between us. “You, settle down and go to sleep. It’s fucking freezing out there—be happy you’ve got an alpha to keep you warm. And you.” I leveled Modi with a stare. “Try to not antagonize an omega running on zero sleep and an entire plane of existence’s separation from her mates, hmm? You’re supposed to be better than that, right, Thorsson?”
Modi had the good grace to look away, heat I chose to read as embarrassment coloring his cheeks.
Annabel, on the other hand, huffed out an insult about overbearing alphas, but a few moments later she stopped squirming and settled against me. It didn’t take long before her breathing turned slow and steady.
I leaned back in my seat with a sigh, wishing I too could catch some sleep. I looked across at Modi, noticing how his gaze rested on Annabel’s sleeping form. Irritation fizzled in my chest, but I smothered it. Even a prick like Modi would find it hard to completely ignore the primitive yearnings this little omega provoked.
“I’ll take first watch,” I said, drawing his attention. When he realized I’d seen him staring at Annabel, he flushed again and narrowed his eyes defensively. As if I didn’t know how impossible it was to keep your attention off her.
“You think I’ll sleep while you keep watch over me?"
I arched an eyebrow. “It’s a two-day ride. I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna need some shuteye or I won’t be worth a lick of salt. Pretty sure we can both agree it’d be dumb to kill each other before we’ve freed our brothers.”
His lips flattened in resigned annoyance. “I guess I’ll need my strength when we face Loki.”
“For what? He’s my father—he’ll help us.”
Modi stared at me incredulously. “You actually think we’re just gonna walk in there, tell Loki that Odin wants him brought back in chains, and he’ll voluntarily come along to get executed?”
“Of course not,” I huffed. “But he is the God of Mischief. He’ll come up with a plan, or some sort of illusion to avoid death. He’ll come with us—he’s not gonna let Saga and Grim die.”
Modi was silent for a long time, his eyes never leaving mine. Finally he said, “You really believe that. You think Loki, the betrayer who brought about the literal end of the world, cares enough about anyone to risk his own skin? Have you had a hard look around at the other creatures you share blood with? Did he care when Narfi was murdered? Why would he care about you three when he doesn’t for anything else he’s fathered? Or mothered, for that matter.”
I frowned. I’d never known my half-brother Narfi. Loki had only mentioned him once during a visit when we were young. He’d laughed as he'd told the story of how Odin sought to hurt him by having one of his children killed, yet the god-king still happily rode around on Sleipner, the eight-legged horse Loki had given birth to after some misadventure with a vengeful Jotunn.
But Narfi had died long before any of us were born. My father was never a warm man, but he’d ensured Grim, Saga, and I were well-cared-for as we grew up. He’d even visited us semi-regularly and gifted us Arni and Magga.
I glanced down at Annabel and breathed in deeply as my gaze dropped to her still-flat belly. One day she’d bear us children, and even now, I knew I’d lay down my own life for them without a moment’s hesitation.
“You know very little about my father’s motivations, Thorsson, but know this: He is not behind Ragnarök, whatever you’ve been told. He has gone out of his way to attempt to secure our survival, ensuring the omega fated to stop this madness was brought to us.
“What has your father done to see you through the end of the world? Nothing. His plans for you are to feed you to Sutr’s army and watch you die. Don’t worry about what my father will risk for his sons—worry about what will happen to your own family if we fail to stop Ragnarök.”
Modi’s stare turned hard, but he didn’t argue. After a little while, he twisted in his seat and turned his shoulder to me, his eyelids closing.
It took nearly an hour, but eventually, his breathing slowed as he allowed himself to drift asleep, his sworn enemy watching over him as he did.
The sky was dark when we arrived in Seattle, yet the local time was just after noon.
I glanced up as we stepped out of the station, shielding Annabel from the howling wind flinging more icy snow at the already blanketed city. Above us the clouds were thick and gray, and I breathed a small sigh of relief. Miserable as the blizzard was, at least the sun had yet to be swallowed, plunging Midgard into darkness.
Which meant we still had some time.
“I’ve never seen the city this quiet,” Annabel said as she stared at the abandoned streets thick with ever-amassing snow. “Looks like even the cafes and bars have closed down.”
“You know this place?” Modi asked. He was taking it in with both eyebrows locked in a frown, mouth set in a grim line.
“My parents live a couple of hours west. They took me here often when I was growing up,” she said, her voice quieting. One look at her face and I knew what she was thinking.