When Loki's consort and soulmate marries his rival to save their son from a curse, a prophecy leads to consequences even the God of Chaos couldn't predict.
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The Unseelie Goddess of War's revenge against Asgard's Dark Prince puts him in a no-win s...
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"It is wonderful to see you again, Lu," I said as we walked up white stone steps towards an upper terrace.
Head turned towards me, he gave me a close-mouthed smile as he inclined his head. "Any way I can be of assistance, Shannon. Was the jade statue to your liking?"
"Indeed. It has a place of honour in the gardens of my Vancouver home, next to a pool and fountains that Aidan particularly likes to play in," I replied as I reached the top step.
"I am greatly disturbed that your son has been threatened in this manner," Lu said, shaking his head with his brows lowering.
Han, Cao, and Lan had already arrived, and together with Lu, would be joining us on the journey to steal the warhead and travel to the gate. The nuclear warhead. Nerves fluttered in my belly at the thought of handling a weapon that deadly, that frightening. It was probably a good thing Loki hadn't warned me ahead of time. The words 'are you insane' had definitely floated through my thoughts numerous times in the hour since he'd dropped that bomb on me.
I winced. Damn. Speaking of poor word choices. Forcing myself to pay attention, I blinked when Lu walked to the pond with cattails and marsh grass and spoke to several white cranes with black tail feathers and long black necks.
"Would you please fly us to Xi'an?" Lu asked.
"Only the four of you today? What about the strangers?" cawed the crane.
"Just the Xian. The strangers have their own abilities," confirmed Lu.
"Good fishing at Xi'an. Yes, we'll take you," agreed the crane.
"Just as the Valkyrie have their flying steeds, the Eight Immortals have their cranes," Loki murmured, stroking his hand down my back.
"They're riding those birds? They must be stronger than they seem," asked Elatha, standing at my other side.
It made me wish he and Loki could communicate telepathically. Why hadn't Loki finalized the soulmate bond with Elatha yet? He'd had the opportunity last night and this morning. Why would he wait when we needed every advantage within Helheim? Yet, it was a decision he needed to make with Elatha... and it certainly seemed to me that Elatha was willing.
"Yes, the birds must be magically strong," I said to both of my consorts, suddenly realizing they were waiting for my reply.
Each of the immortals stood by a crane, then threw a leg over the spindly white birds. Two flew into the air, Lu and Han astride them. Loki shifted into a midnight black raven, feathers gleaming as he rose to join them, while I wrapped cloud and air around Elatha and me, lifting us into the air. Cao and Lan mounted the other two cranes, then flew behind us as we followed Lu and Han.
Leaving the misty-topped mountain and shining white temple, we flew over sparkling blue waters as the late afternoon sun glinted off the wave tops.
Almost an hour later, fields, factories, and roads came into sight on a flat plane. I was disappointed to see so little natural vegetation, but as we flew further, snow-covered mountains and some forests came into sight. It lightened my heart, and I wished we had more time for me to explore these unfamiliar slopes.
