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Every once in a while, if a diver was lucky, they would find something rare and expensive. I kept these items locked away in the back and only planned to advertise on the black market whenever I could afford it.
Jötun wasn’t the same as Vanir. In Vanir we helped each other because we understood that to survive we had to become one body. It was hardly the best life and could be oppressive in its own way, but after seeing this place and the chaos and confusion that came with it… I didn’t know what to feel. There was a certain sense of freedom here, and I became almost addicted to it, but was it worth it?
I sat down and wiggled my feet, enjoying the soft, warm squirrel slippers I bought at a shop in Rapture City on my way here. My feet still hurt from the running, but this made them feel better than those damp boots from before. I knew it rained a lot here, but I didn’t know what I was getting into. Even now, the drops banged on the shutters and ground outside. It was peaceful, almost enough to lull me to sleep, but I needed to stay awake.
I pulled out the small ball which looked like it was as big as a pair of dice. It was a perfect round ball with strange drawings and runes looping the base. This thing had to be vital for a group of men to hunt us down in the streets for it. I couldn’t think of anyone who would find this thing valuable except the titans. Just look at these strange writings. I was sure it had something to do with them. Jaxon never told me what this thing was, and now it was time to find out. I turned on my PC, which caused the many monitors to flash and come alive. “Time to go to work.”
I thought of Jaxon for a moment and hoped he was okay, that he perhaps had a trick up his sleeve to escape, and he would bang on my door for me to let him in soon. There were no policein this city, at least not down here in the lower levels so there were no one to call for help. And even if there was, what could I say to the police? Help, the men we robbed fought back?
CHAPTER THREE
THORSTEN
I longed for the cold crisp fresh air of home: the rich soil, the forest, and trees. I missed hunting in the woods and running wild and free. My hair loose and blowing in the strong winds. I had come through the portal to this damnable place because I felt the pull. That undeniable force that would lead one to their fated mate. Instead, all I got was a hundred years stuck in this realm filled with dwarves and no sign of my fated one anywhere. This must have been some sort of cosmic joke, one I didn’t find funny at all.
I had woken up every morning and looked down at the city's spiral maze below and its inhabitants; the dirty muck running along the streets like blood flowing through the veins of a great beast. I thought coming here would be an adventure. I would find my fated one and return home victorious, but this land of dwarves had proven to be anything but a nightmare, and one I couldn’t escape from.
To make our lives as comfortable as possible, we created our own castle cities, built to accommodate our height and weight.We followed our laws from home; the nobles ruled together as a council. However, some nobles held more power and sway. I was perhaps one of the most influential of them all, a royal prince. A rare breed, as most of the nobles who had arrived with me are dead.
Our servants turned on us, after seeing opportunities for themselves in this new realm. There were over thirty true nobles when we arrived centuries ago, now there were five including myself.
Heeled shoes clicked along the polished hardwood floors until they pressed against the soft white carpet. The music was loud enough to hear yet gentle enough to speak over without raising one’s voice, and the Absinthe flowed in an endless stream.
A group of twelve comely dwarves lined the far wall, dressed in plain white robes of various styles. I could see the tremble of their hands, yet they remained still as they were told and waited to serve our kind who appraised the youth and beauty of these dwarven people. If chosen, they would become a thrall, and escorted to the household of their new master. Most of these dwarves had come from the black market as children and raised in the school whose sole purpose was to teach them how to entertain. What mattered was their look, manners, and the way they carried themselves.
We did not purchase these dwarves to please us sexually. They were mere pets, creatures to be looked at and admired, dressed up in the colors of your house, and used as accessories and a symbol of one’s power. Good to keep the bed warm and inviting on a rainy night, but to fuck one, even out of curiosity, was going too far.
I watched the men and women with nothing but apathy—the same group of people every single day, the same fancy environments, the same everything. I wondered what the denizens below were up to in their cheap hovels and rainedsoaked streets. Would they be happier if things were different, and we never had come here? I’m sure they would. We destroyed their world upon our arrival. Did they think we did it on purpose? Would they even understand the magic behind being able to transport oneself between different realms? Look at me, speaking as if I’m an expert when this magic had only been discovered two years before we made the journey here. One of our magical engineers had created the traveler’s rune by sheer accident, and it killed him.
I had taken the job of building both the portal station the rune would power as well as a barrier shield to control the unstable rune. I had led the first expedition here, but something had gone terribly wrong. An explosion within the station right as we entered this world occurred, destroying this realm along with any chance we had of returning home. I had lost the rune to the intense seas.
A young noble with wild red hair braided along the sides pressed himself against the wall, looking like he wanted to disappear inside. He must be new to these parties. His father was old but wealthy, and the young man must make preparations to take over the house. I concluded. That meant he would need his own servants and dwarven thralls.
“Darling.” The sultry blonde strutted across the room, turning every gaze on her as she did. She knew every man wished they lined her up against that wall in a white robe waiting for purchase, and she reveled in their wild imaginations. Did they wonder what she would look like with her white pearls wrapped around her naked body?
She planted a kiss on my cheek. “Did you finally find one interesting?” She purred in my ear.
“No.” I gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek.
“Careful, love.” She raised a brow, not at all satisfied. “What would they think seeing you give your soon to be mate such a cold kiss?”
“I don’t care what anyone here thinks.”
“You had better care.” She stood in front of me, her red-colored lips formed the perfect pout. “Power here is fleeting. If you’re weak, they will eat you alive.” She pulled a small grape wrapped in a soaked leaf from the silver tray as the servant passed by and enjoyed the burst of sweet nectar in her mouth.
I glanced around the room; an old titan male with a great white beard was in the corner with a newly acquired female thrall. Another young man, almost the same age as I, did everything he could to maintain his composure. Still, he looked like he was shitting himself.
“Or I might eat them,” I smirked, only to hear the blonde woman chuckle. “Are you here to keep me company or torment me, Freda?”
“Both.” She smiled a cheeky one. “You know, my father is eager to meet with you right now. He told me to fetch you post haste.” She grinned.
“What about?” I asked, already eager to bow out. I just wanted one night of rest and relaxation, not sitting in a room mulling over documents and deals. Power had its perks, but also its drawbacks. Freda’s father was one of the most powerful nobles in the city next to me. The older titan had a good five hundred years over me, despite belonging to a minor house. He had always called on me to aid him in specific business ventures. But I could see right through him. The old man only consulted with me enough to not raise any brows.
The fastest way to make enemies was making moves on your own.
“I think it’s about us.” She pouted once she saw the confused expression on my face.
“Our mating, silly.”
