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If he guessed what she was planning to do, if it worked and Kai didn’t ever return to their realm, then Odin wouldn’t gain the warrior for his halls.
Ever.
Which would mean that the outcome for Ragnarök was still in balance. One less jötunn, one less dragon.
Eir had to admire Loki for his games. In this case, her interests were aligned with his. So, she kept quiet and let him advocate on her behalf.
“You win either way, Odin,” Loki said. “As generous as you are, perhaps you would restore her wings for the next sun cycle. If only to let her savor the joys of freedom so that hell would taste that much bitter.”
Breath-held silence blanketed the Great Hall as they all awaited Odin’s judgement.
Finally, the Great Father decreed:
“So be it.”
~ * ~* ~ *~ * ~* ~ *~ * ~
Celestial Palace of the Jade Emperor.
“Empty-handed yet again,” the Master murmured, one hand pulling on the end of his long white mustache, which was almost indistinguishable amongst the fulsomeness of his long white beard.
Ere, Sorin and Kai stood in their human forms in the middle of the Celestial Palace, facing their “guardian” of sorts.
Or the Jade Emperor’s butler, as Ere liked to think.
As always, they were the only beings in the cavernous space, a fantastical cosmos swirling beyond the clear dome overhead.
He didn’t seem particularly angry or disappointed, Ere noticed, except for a twitch in one eye and that constant beard stroking, his gaze considering.
“Add that to my debt,” Ere said. “There are always more quests for me to go on, right?”
The ageless old man squinted at him and replied, “Not always. There is an end for every beginning. Balance must be maintained. Because of your failure, Balance is lost.”
Ere narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like the sound of that.
“What is the Wish of Wonders anyway?” he wanted to know. “Can’t you reveal the secret now that the quest has come and gone?”
The Master cocked his head slightly, assessing him. Then, his shrewd gaze landed on Kai, before returning to Ere.
“You didn’t know?” he challenged. “I find that surprising. Especially since you gave it all away.”
“You mean the apple seeds?” Ere asked.
The Master didn’t confirm or deny.
Instead, he said, “You could have easily completed your mission, but you decided to battle an ancient monster instead.”
He aimed a dark beam of annoyance on Kai.
“That was not what you were sent to that realm to do.”
Normally, Ere suspected that Kai would have shrugged and grunted to show that he didn’t give a fuck. But presently, the big warrior was staring off to the side, his expression frozen in a stoic mask.
He must be thinking about Eir, Ere thought.
Their disappearance from the Viking realm, like every other quest he’d been on, was jarring. One moment they’d been gathered around the ground beneath which a Frost Giant was buried. And the next, they were transported back to their own world. Well, at least a “heaven” of sorts from their own world.
Ere wanted to gohome.
