Endre (Elsker Saga Book 2)
THE ELSKER SAGA:
ENDRE
ST Bende
The Elsker Saga
Endre
Copyright © 2013, ST Bende
Edited by: Lauren McKellar and Eden Plantz
Interior Snowflakes by: Eden Plantz
Cover Art by: Rebecca K. Sterling, Sterling Design Studios
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage system without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
First publication: 2013, ST Bende
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Sometimes, finding your destiny means doing the exact opposite of what The Fates have planned.
Winning the heart of an immortal assassin was a dream come true for Kristia Tostenson. Now she’s caught in a whirlwind of wedding plans, goddess lessons, and stolen kisses with her fiancé. But her decision to become immortal could end in heartbreak—not only for Kristia, but also for the god who loves her. While Ull would do anything to protect his bride, even the God of Winter is powerless against the Norse apocalypse.
Ragnarok is coming. And the gods aren’t even close to ready.
To my handsome princes: anything is possible, so long as you believe.
And to MorMorMa. For everything.
To the amazing man who champions all my crazy dreams—thank you for making me your family. You are my happy place.
To my beautiful boys, who bring hope, light and so very much joy everywhere they go—I’m so grateful God gave me you.
Mange takk
to my supportive writing-friends, who held my hand along the way. Especially the brilliant Jacqueline Gardner, who is so much more than a critique partner. Nobody would have met my imaginary friends if I hadn’t met you. This one’s for SP. And a million thank-yous to the truly incomparable Stacey Nash—I can’t even begin to express my gratitude for everything you do for me, so I’ll just promise the next time Inga goes out of town, Gunnar is all yours. Shh!
Thank you to my fearless ‘technical advisor’ Nicki Mullen, who opened my eyes to the Tenth Realm. Heaps of gratitude to Eden Plantz, for always keeping Kristia strong. And many thanks to Lauren McKellar, for pushing our gods to new heights.
Takk
.
Tusen takk
to the readers, bloggers, and fans for continuing to champion this little story. You embraced the
Elsker
crew in ways I never dreamed possible, and I’m truly humbled by your support. RagnaRockstars, y’all rock in every conceivable way. I will never be able to thank you enough for devoting countless hours to rallying behind #Drool4Ull, #ChurchWaffles and #UllInATightSweater. Or for giving Kristia not one, but
two
gorgeous dresses! Your generosity, talent, and overall awesomeness amaze me daily. Thank you for keeping me laughing.
And to Olaug, whose warmth and strength inspired a saga.
Takk
for everything. Always.
“OH, KRISTIA,” THE HORRIBLE
keening voice sneered from the blackness in my head. I stood in a field of ice, surrounded on all sides by tall, dark mountains. The air was a damp-cold that chilled to the bone, and icicles rose from the ground like distorted turrets. The voice was familiar, but my surroundings were completely foreign.
“Where am I, Elf Man?”
“Exactly where I want you to be,” the voice hissed.
“And where is that?”
“Poised to fail. You don’t really think he’s going to marry you, do you?”
“You know entirely too much about my personal life. And hey, didn’t I kill you already? How’d you survive?”
“Sweet Kristia.” His lanky figure emerged from between the ice formations with his hands open in welcome. “It has been too long.”
“Not long enough,” I muttered. “And seriously, I killed you, remember? With this.” I held up my necklace, the silver carving of Thor’s hammer, Mjölnir, which had belonged to my grandmother. “Don’t make me use it again.” I wielded the hammer like a shield but Elf Man just cackled.
“Please.” He waved a hand. “You wouldn’t dare. Because without me, you won’t know how to save her.”
“Save who?” I turned as Elfie made a slow circle around me. I’d never felt more like a caged animal. “Tell me, you creep. Who?”
“Ah-ah-ah.” The demon wagged his finger. “Wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise.”
“Fine. What’s going to happen to
her
, whoever she is?”
“Oh, it will be exquisite.” The man’s glee was sickening. If Webster’s dictionary published photos alongside the definitions, his image would be right next to lunatic.
“You are seriously messed up, you know that?” I pivoted, matching the elf’s pace.
“You have no idea.” He chuckled darkly. “But you will when you lose someone you love.”
“Not Ull.” I squeezed my necklace, and it warmed at my touch.
“No, not Ull. I want him to suffer every bit as much as you.”
“Sif?” I could feel my necklace start to pulse.
“I’m not telling you, poppet.” He spat out the last word. “But I will give you a hint.”
Elfie swirled his hand and mist appeared between us. It acted as a screen, showing a cavernous room I’d never seen. Bars covered the small window of a chipped wooden door. It was some kind of a jail cell. Sparks of light shot from under the door, and I heard a woman shriek. She was in pain—not any pain I’d ever known, but a pain born of torture. She screamed again, her voice frail and hoarse.
“Stop it! What are you doing to her?” I doubled over and shoved my hands against my ears to drown out the sound.
“Oh my pet, this is only the beginning. I will give her an illness that kills her body from the inside. It will eat away her spirit, eroding all goodness within her. When she is nothing but darkness, I will take her body. By then, she will welcome death.”
I looked up from my crouch, squinting through the fog-screen. Elf Man was nowhere to be seen. I jumped to my feet, turning in a slow circle while my eyes scanned the frozen field behind me for a weapon. Unless I was going to kill the creep with an icicle, it looked like I was short-handed. I grabbed a crude weapon anyway, clutching my necklace in the other hand. It had started to glow.
“Come out, coward. I’m going to have to do a better job of killing you this time.”
A ghostly cackle echoed off the mountain ridge, first behind me and then to my right. “But don’t you see, sweet Kristia? You can never be done with me. I will follow you to the ends of this world. And the next. Until I own your soul.” The voice sounded from my left, and I turned abruptly. The deranged creature stood beside me, freakishly long fingers reaching my way. His eyes caressed the contour of my neck, leaving goose bumps in their wake. As his hands twitched in time with my pulse, I narrowed my eyes.
I was not in the mood to be strangled today.
“Oh no you don’t.” I thrust the icicle upwards toward his abdomen, but he chopped it in half with one wiry forearm.
“Is that the best you can do?” His cold hands wrapped around my neck, cutting off the circulation. I waved the broken stump of icicle at his chest, but his arms kept me just out of reach. He lifted me slowly by the neck, my lungs screaming for air as he squeezed. I felt my eyes bulge; whether from shock or pain I wasn’t sure. I wrapped my hands around Elfie’s fingers and tugged. His grip loosened just enough that I could draw one ragged breath.
“How do I save her?” I croaked. Assuming I survived the next few minutes, a lot was riding on the demon’s answer.
“You’d have to destroy me,” Elf Man roared. “Like you ever could.” He raised me over his head with one hand, shaking me violently. My head wrenched from side to side.
“Watch. Me,” I panted, using all my strength to grip the silver hammer that rested at my collarbone. I squeezed as tightly as I could, a pathetic grasp, but it would have to be enough. Heat radiated from my hand as the hammer burst to life, beams of light shooting from between my fingers.
“No!” The elf released his painful grip, and I dropped to the ground. My leg exploded with pain. I opened my eyes to glare at the sharp rock that interrupted my fall.
“No!” Elfie shrieked again. I clutched my bleeding calf as I watched the light from my necklace wrap around him, chaining him with its brilliance. The coils circled his legs and wrists like manacles until he was bound to the icy field. “This is not over, poppet,” he hissed before the light sealed his mouth. His muffled laughter echoed throughout the valley as I was shaken out of the horrible scene.
“No.” I kicked at the air, earning a sharp pain in my shin. I opened my eyes and realized I’d kicked the dashboard. Wait, dashboard? But I’d just been in a frozen hell. At least, it felt like hell—barren, dark, void of any feeling except desolation. Covered in ice. An icy hell?
“Kristia, darling.” I felt Ull’s cool hand on my forehead as he swiftly steered the Range Rover to the closest exit. “Darling, wake up. You are having a bad dream.”
It was a dream?
“Are you having another wedding nightmare? I will rein Inga back in. I know she has been a bit… over-involved in the planning.”
“Wedding nightmare…” I rubbed at my leg, trying to remember why I was in my fiancé’s fancy SUV. That’s right, we were headed to his English country house, Ýdalir, so his immortal grandmother could train me to become a goddess of Asgard. Just your typical weekend away from studies at Cardiff University.
Why did my subconscious have to go and ruin everything?
“Kristia.” Ull’s tone dropped, sending a new kind of chill down my spine. “Please tell me you were having a wedding nightmare.”
I sighed. As much as I wanted to let Ull believe I was a stressed-out bride, I knew better than to lie to him. In less than three months, Ull would allow me to give up my human life and join him in an eternal existence. The only thing he asked in return was that I give him complete access to the disturbed inner-workings of my mind.