Page 37

“You two look well this morn,” Helga noted, grinning at us when we joined her, Freya, and my grandmother.

“They do, don’t they?” Freya mused, smiling knowingly.

“I trust you enjoyed the cottage?” Idunn said, smiling as well.

“Very much so,” I replied, certain my memories of everything Tove and I had done there would remain etched in my memory forever. “Thank you, Grandmother.”

Tove thanked her as well and wondered at King Magnus’s whereabouts.

“Overseeing preparations to leave,” Idunn said. “Those who have chosen to go to Norway with you have volunteered to join you and King Magnus when you confront King Alexander. All are skilled warriors and wish to support you in your endeavors regarding the Scottish king, be they battling or diplomacy.”

“’Twill be much appreciated,” I replied, curious to see how many would be joining us.

“I thought whilst we had this brief time together, we might talk of something I think of great importance.” Idunn looked from Freya’s talisman to Tove’s, I still wore openly now. “I could not help but notice the stones you wear around your necks. Might I know the story behind them?”

Freya and Tove glanced at each other, sharing a look of agreement, before Tove revealed how she and her sisters had crossed paths with a gray wolf at the Russian border when they were children. How the wolf had dropped a blade into the deep snow that transformed into three talismans born of the Valkyries.

“That was when we knew we had great Wyrds destined to lead us in separate directions in life,” Tove said in conclusion. “And so, they have.”

“Yet they allow you to communicate with one another via the flames despite the distance betwixt you,” Idunn said softly, glancing from Freya to Tove, in question. “Do they not?”

“They do.” Freya’s eyebrows inched together. “How do you know that?”

“I saw your sister in the flames when we were preparing Tove for her wedding.” Shocking us, she pulled yet another talisman from where it had been hanging beneath her tunic. “And because I too have one, so I know what ’tis capable of, having seen your ships coming via the fire.” Her wise eyes turned to me. “Do you recognize it, Knud?”

“I think mayhap I do,” I murmured, so drawn to the white stone I couldn’t help but touch it, and was startled when memories came flooding back. “I found this.” As if someone pulled a veil back, I blinked and saw that moment all over again. “I was a boy, and it was snowing heavily, just as it was for Tove and her sisters.” Awed that this memory had been lost to me, I recalled the icy wind on my face and how I squinted into the woodland when something caught my eye. “And I saw the gray wolf too, holding a blade, only to drop it in the snow and vanish.”

“Then what?” Freya prompted when I paused, caught off guard by how much more vivid the memory grew. How much clearer.

“I did the same thing as Tove.” I looked her way. “I reached down into the snow and lifted out a magnificent dagger etched with Norse symbols along with the talisman.” Certain of it, I shook my head. “’Twas not a blade turned talisman as it was for you and your sisters, but both.” Startled by a sense of certainty, I met my grandmother’s eyes. “And I kept both, did I not? Somehow, I knew the talisman was yours, and the blade was mine…for as long as I needed it…a gift from the gods. From the Valkyries themselves.”

“Ja.” Grandmother rested her hand over mine. “So, you see how tied into all this you truly are, grandson. How important your role is.”

“So it seems,” I murmured, troubled. “Yet I no longer have the blade, so have I failed the gods?”

“You have not failed anyone.” She placed a bundle wrapped in fur that had been resting beside her on the table in front of me. “’Twas simply waiting for you to retrieve it.”

Unwrapping the fur, I revealed the same magnificent, sheathed blade I had discovered all those years ago. The moment I did, the runic symbols carved into its intricate hilt glowed ever so briefly, and I swore I heard the Norns whisper their approval of this moment in my ear. When my eyes met Tove’s, I knew she had seen and heard the same, forging this moment in an unbreakable shared Wyrd together.

“That’s it,” Freya exclaimed, her eyes widening. “That is the blade we found.”

“’Tis,” Tove confirmed, as awed by it as the rest of us, taken by the symbols carved into its intricate hilt. Her voice grew soft in that way it could sometimes when her gift took over. “And now it resumes its journey back to the shores of its homeland.”

“Ja,” Freya murmured, her eyes a little different as she gazed at it, seeing something only she could see. “Sheathed at the side of a king born of an ancient bloodline until…”

“Until what?” Helga urged when Freya trailed off and snapped out of wherever she had been in her mind.

“I couldn’t say.” Freya shook her head. “Only that there is an until.” Apologetic, she shrugged. “Sometimes ’tis just how it goes.”

“’Tis,” Tove agreed, pride in her lovely eyes when she looked at me. “Either way, ’tis clear enough you should wear it at your side, at least until we return to our homeland.”

“’Twould be an honor.” Unsheathing it, I was as impressed with its weight and well-forged steel as I had been as a boy. This time, however, when I gazed upon it, I felt a surge of divine warmth wash over me and again swore I heard the Norns whisper in my ear. This was all part of my Wyrd revealed and now accepted. Mine to carry forth with pride and honor, knowing I was fulfilling something truly great. Something foreseen by the gods, that would forever humble me.

After taking a moment to close my eyes in prayer and murmur my thanks to my deities for honoring me so, I opened my eyes, re-sheathed the blade, and attached it to my side. Then we resumed eating and talking about the past, having little time before we were told we would be departing soon.

As Idunn had alluded to, quite a few had chosen to travel with us, along with their children. While saying goodbye to my grandmother wasn’t easy, at least now I knew we would still have contact via the flames thanks to the white stone talisman I had given her in my youth, and I could only be grateful.

“Wishing you both luck in the days ahead and safe travels,” Grandmother said to Tove and me. Blinking back tears, she embraced us goodbye. “I look forward to seeing you again via the flames and watching the paths you forge in the coming days. I do not doubt they will be worthy ones.” She looked us in the eyes and stood tall. “Lead with honor and keep your people safe.”