FROST- Jotun Chronicles #1

Ready for Battle

“Charlotte, no!”

My cry did nothing to stop my friend from throwing herself into Davin’s arms.  The frost giant looked started to see her bolting across the snow toward him, then he grinned and opened his arms, and she threw herself into them.  I wanted to feel relieved when he gave her a fierce hug, but could he be pretending?

Surtr grunted in annoyance and thrust his sword forward, “What’s all this about?”

Davin had to gently extract himself from Charlotte. I noticed he continued to hold her hand after though, stepping forward so that he was halfway between the two armies, “We’ve come to help.”

Surtr lowered his sword, his shoulders relaxed and he said gruffly, “well, thank the gods for that. Didn’t want to fight a bunch of bloody wolves.”

The wolves were an ever shifting presence behind the small group of frost giants behind Davin. The biggest one moved forward gracefully, standing right next to Davin, his coal black coat contrasting starkly against the snow. I stiffened. It had to be Fenrir. The wolf opened his mouth and spoke in a deep  gravelly voice that sent a shiver down my spine, “We have come to alley ourselves with you, sons of Muspellheim.” He stalked forward, heading directly for me. My feet were rooted in the snow, his dark eyes weighed me down, pinned me to the spot, “Hello again, ice princess.”

Was he mocking me? Cold anger flooded into my chest, emboldening me, allowing me to take a step forward. My voice came out unexpectedly steady, cold even, “Fenrir, surely you don’t intend to sit on me this time?”

The wolf snorted, the equivalent of laughter, “No, daughter of Niflheim. Not this time. We are merely here to help.” He stepped closer, and I noted that Fenrir’s head nearly came up to my shoulder, he was massive. The wolf probably weighed twice as much as me, maybe more. I swallowed and straightened my shoulders.

“Why?”

“Because we hope when you are Queen, you will remember,” Fenrir said gravely, “we are tired of being hunted and used, ice princess.”

I paused. They were here to extract a promise from me, gambling on the fact that I would win and become Queen, “If we win,” I said slowly, “and I become Queen, I promise you, there will be no more hunting of wolves.”

Fenrir stared at me for one long moment, black eyes weighing my words, measuring my worth. It was obvious what was going on in his head. Could he trust me? At last he backed away, “Very good.”

One of the frost jotun stepped forward, a woman cloaked in light blue, her silvery hair woven into a long thick braid. I recognized the brilliant blue eyes and faintly lined features. Kiera, the witch woman, “Will you invite us inside, King Surtr? We have much to tell you.”

Surtr looked startled, then his cheeks flushed, “Ah, yes, yes. Forgive me. Still getting over the shock of…” he gestured at the wolves and then shook his head, turning, he beckoned over his shoulder for them to follow him back into the courtyard, “come on, then.”

Kiera caught my eye and smiled slightly. I tried to smile back, a little spooked by how knowing her eyes were. We all turned and followed Surtr. Charlotte clung to Davin the entire way, babbling excitedly.

The wolves stayed outside in the courtyard, settling into the soft snow and curling up beside one another, their thick black coats keeping the cold at bay. Fenrir was the only one that followed us inside, and his sharp nails clicked on the stone floors. We poured into the great hall, taking forever to trickle in, there were so many of us. The newcomers crowded around the fire, and Surtr bellowed at the servants to bring hot food and spiced wine for them.