I kept my eyes on him to gauge his intent and could see no visible sign he was there to assassinate me. Besides, if he wanted to, there was little else left for me to do but defend myself and hope I killed at least half of the six who stood there watching me in tense silence. Taking a deep breath, I let my sword drop back into the scabbard. The group of Jotunn relaxed visibly when when my hand moved away from the hilt, and I saw that as a good sign.
"I thank you for showing us a sign of trust." The leader bowed.
"Don't mistake my actions for trust," I said softly, looking each man in the eye one at a time. "I have yet to find a reason to trust any of you."
The leader nodded. "I understand. Perhaps I should begin with an introduction. We will explain our position and then you may use your discretion as to whether we leave or stay."
I merely inclined my head at him, then waited for him to continue speaking. I held back a shudder, sure the temperature in the room had dropped several degrees.
The leader cleared his throat. "My name is Sven and these are my generals. I am from Jotunheim, as I am sure you have deduced, but we come to join forces with your army. We come to offer our allegiance to Odin and Asgard." When he finished, he bowed again and so did the rest of the Jotunn.
"Do you really believe all it will take is for you to walk in here and state your fealty? You have given me no reason to trust you apart from expressing your desire to join us." Then I frowned. "And how in the world did you get into Asgard in the first place?" I asked, walking slowly around the table toward Sven.
"We heard the call of Gjallerhorn. And so we came. The Bifrost is open to us because the All-Father has had our fealty for generations." He fell silent, as if realizing there was little else he could say to convince me.
"Is there anyone here, besides the All-Father, that can verify what you say?" I asked, keeping my expression neutral. "I cannot allow you to stay without verifying if you really are who you say you are. Granted, the wards at the Bifrost entrance to Asgard would have stopped your entry if you didn't have the right to enter, but I still need someone from Asgard to vouch for you."
"Fenrir, the Ulfr, will speak for us. And so will the goddess Freya. We have all fought together before, and they are both aware of where our loyalty lies," he said softly. He was calm, not in the least impatient or annoyed.
"Very well, if you will remain here, I will fetch Fenrir." I grabbed the laptop and left the room. There was little I could do to protect the files, but from the looks of the group, they seemed content to stand beside the doorway and wait.
I hurried next door and entered Fen's hall without announcing myself. He leaned against the wall by his hearth, staring into the dancing flames, unmoving. Just by looking at the expression of his face, I could tell he was far away, and I hated to interrupt him.
Before I could open my mouth, he said, "Come inside, Brynhildr. You should know by now you are always welcome." He looked up and met my gaze, giving me a weak smile.
I didn't move. "I need you in the war room. We have guests that I need you to verify." I tried to keep the slight rise of fear from my voice, but Fen was far too astute.
"Verify?" he frowned and pushed off the wall, coming toward me in great big strides.
I didn't answer, just spun on my heel and headed back to my room where the band of Jotunn still stood at the door, waiting in silence. The room was now even colder, and I wanted to hurry to the hearth to try and coax the dying flames back to life. But instead, I waited for Fen's reaction.
He entered the room and came to a halt in front of Sven. The two men grinned widely at each other. Then Sven grabbed hold of Fen around his waist, hugging him so vigorously he lifted the Ulfr general off his feet for a few seconds before dropping him back to the floor. I stepped forward, concerned and curious, but all I saw was the welcome expression that Fen gave the group of men.
"I take it they are okay, then?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I waited while the men shook hands and turned smiling faces in my direction.
"They are very okay, Brynhildr," said Fen as he looked back at Sven. "We are most fortunate to have Sven and his army at our side. I would have expected nothing less from him. Thank you for coming, my friend."
"So he is loyal to Odin?"
"Loyal? He is more than loyal. Sven here will die for Odin." Then Fen slapped the frost giant on his shoulder and led him out of my room, the two already discussing past adventures. Their voices echoed down the hall until they became muffled when they entered Fen's hall.
My mouth curved pleasantly, hesitantly. Frost giants on our side? I shook my head in disbelief.
Who would have thought it were even possible?
CHAPTER EIGHT
As I looked over the spreadsheet, my thoughts kept going back to Aidan. He and his father were the only people we knew who had been directly influenced by Loki. Apart from Mika, that was. I tapped my fingers on the table and sat back. I suspected I was going to regret my decision.
I got to my feet and stepped to the fireplace. A bell pull hung beside the mantelpiece and I gave it a tug. I didn't use it often, preferring to do my own legwork, but I didn't have the time to go traipsing around Asgard in search of Aidan. The Huldra came quickly, appearing at the door with a cheery grin on her face.
Returning the smile, I told her to find Aidan and tell him I needed to see him here in the war room. She gave a small curtsy and peered around me at my table. When I looked around to see what it was that caught her attention, she said, "Have you eaten anything for dinner, Valkyrie Brynhildr?" Her eyes flicked away nervously, but she waited stubbornly for an answer.
"Oh, is it dinnertime already?" My hand was already reaching for a cell phone that was no longer in my pocket. Not to mention the fact that at the moment, neither my long silk dress nor the overdress of chainmail that I wore contained such things a pockets.
The cheery grin was gone, replaced by a look of admonition. Seriously? The Huldra too? "It is past dinnertime, Brynhildr. I will fetch you something to eat first. Before I bring Aidan to you," she said firmly.
I glanced at her, ready to insist she send Aidan first, but the look on her face stopped me. Damn Asgard and all the people here who wanted to take care of me. I remained silent and watched her hurry out of the room in search of food for me. How had I forgotten dinner entirely?
I returned to the laptop, making notes and setting out mission plans for the various teams.
Dinner arrived within ten minutes, and as soon as I began eating, mu stomach told me how famished I was. The platter contained a nicely roasted tiny bird coated with a sweet sauce. I figured it was pigeon or some other small fowl, but it didn't really matter. It tasted like chicken and I devoured it and the roasted potatoes and steamed carrots that came with it. Thankfully, the meal also came with a fork and knife, two things I'd demanded be given to all einherjar and Valkyrie who'd come to Asgard in the last hundred years. I couldn't understand why none of them had requested eating utensils when it didn't seem to be a problem to demand Brazilian coffee or cinnamon buns.
The drink was apple cider and I downed it within seconds, then sat back replete. But I didn't have too long to digest my meal in solitary. Aidan arrived within twenty minutes of the Huldra depositing my food on my table, and I smiled. I wouldn't have put it past her to have waited, giving me time to eat before finding him. I snorted. I'd never met her before and she was mothering me.
Aidan strode inside, all dark tousled hair and gleaming black eyes, to take a seat at a chair opposite me. "Hey. What can I do for you?" he asked nonchalantly, giving me a tempered smile. One that disappeared as quickly as it had come.
I decided to get right to the point. The last thing I wanted was an uncomfortable disagreement with him. "I need to speak to your father and I want you to come with me."
Aidan's expression immediately darkened and he shook his head a little too vigorously. "No way. I'm not going to agree to speak to that man." He sounded viciously angry, and a part of me understood his reluctance.
His father had been the cause of much of Aidan's pain, all through childhood and even into his teen years. He'd sent Aidan to Craven to study me as if I were some kind of animal in the wild, not to mention to decide if I required "termination." What Aidan hadn't realized was his father had already decided Aidan himself required termination. It didn't matter that the man had ordered his son's execution because Loki had told him Aidan was destined to be an einherjar in Valhalla. All that mattered was he'd used his son so ruthlessly that in the end, Aidan could no longer stand to be in the same room with him.
But now I had to force him to do the one thing he'd sworn he'd never do again.
Speak to his father.
"I'm sorry, Aidan. But we need information from him, and you are the only person I know who can possibly get through to him." I felt my heart twist as he set his elbows on the table and sank his face into his palms. For a moment, he was silent. Then he sat up and rubbed his face hard, as if the action would provide him with the courage he needed. "I'm so sorry. I wish I had another option."
He sucked in a breath and then said, "Fine, but I have one condition."
"Sure," I said, so glad he was agreeing that my lips began to turn up in a grin, but I held back and just gave him a small smile. These days, Aidan wasn't into big displays of emotion. Or any sort of emotion.