"She named her weaponsdalkrHelaandleifrHela. Her dagger and her heir," Dahlia explained as Hildr nodded, her head tilting to Maude slightly.
"Used together or if the same person holds both," Hildr paused as she faced Maude. "The one slain will be stripped of theirgalderand sent to Hela's underworld, forever out of reach of the gods and Valkyries."
The room was silent as the information was absorbed.
"Theirgalderis stripped from them?" Bryn asked, the horror at the emptiness that would fill her if her air and fire were taken from her heavy in her words.
"I've never heard of such a thing," Liv whispered as her gaze traced over Herrick's throat where the iron had lain. "Until recently, anyway."
Hildr nodded once in approval. "Yes, Vilde seems to have gotten her hands on Hela's runic magic."
"So how does this sword and dagger combination help us if we have no way of getting close enough to use it on Helvig or Vilde?" Hakon asked.
Bryn could feel Maude stiffen from all the way across the room, her muscles seizing up at the very real problem they all faced now that Helvig and Vilde most likely knew where they were and what they were planning. She couldn't help but mirror her sister's reaction. They had no real plan, no idea of how to get close.
Already, their slim chance at victory was being whisked away by the Norns, leaving Bryn feeling nothing but the heaviness of defeat in her limbs. The discovery of Vilde's involvement with her father not only changed things drastically for theirgroup, but the future they had all been fighting for seemed to slip further and further away. A never-ending battle with no clear winner hovered in all of their fates.
She shivered at the bleak road forward that yawned in front of them before Maude broke through her thoughts— a line of fire against the cold despair.
Maude snorted even as the depressed atmosphere grew heavier. It wasn't until Herrick cracked a smile, followed by Liv chuckling, that Bryn began to feel the same slap-happy giggle bubbling up her throat.
Hildr sighed as the rest of their friends joined in, their combined laughter lifting the room from its collective anguish.
"I'm not saying it's going to be easy," Maude started to say between laughing fits. "But after everything this group has experienced, it can't get much worse, right?"
Another fit of laughter.
"We will figure this out," her sister said as their gazes collided. "We promised we would end him together— I'm still in if you are."
Maude extended one hand to her as she stopped in front of her, the silver ink of their blood oath starting to shimmer at the proximity. Bryn clapped her tattooed arm with Maude's and stood as the ink began to dance softly along their forearms.
Hildr appeared at Maude's side faster than Bryn thought would be possible, placing her hands on each of their arms.
"It has been an age since I've come across a blood oath," Hildr whispered, her face tightening as she spoke. "Be weary, for if you fail, it will claim each of your lives. There are few ways for your fate to be derailed… this is one of them."
Though Bryn felt a chill run down her spine, she saw the exact opposite reaction spark in her sister's eyes. Maude had spent most of her life running from her fate, only facing it now because she had been cornered. Already, Bryn could see the wheels turning in her mind.
What had they gotten themselves into?
Maudetried to summon fear about Hildr's warning, but only hope flared in her chest.
Except, if she were to fail, whoever she made an oath with would be affected as well. Something occurred to her then.
"What other ways can a fate be affected?" she asked as she released Bryn's hand, the silver ink flattening again.
Hildr was quiet for a moment, deciding how much information to divulge. Only when the Soothsayer turned to sit on a cushion, her body seeming to deflate a bit, did she answer.
"As you all know, the Allfather is the one who sacrificed his eye for wisdom and is, therefore, able to work with the Norns in weaving fate," she began. Even as the night was coming to a close, the sky lightening to a soft pink, the room seemed to grow darker as the Soothsayer spoke. "After he has declared a path for someone, the Norns begin to weave their tapestry. What is not so commonly known is that the other gods have the opportunity to interfere."
The room grew still.
"What do you mean 'interfere'?" Herrick asked, the tension in his body ready to burst at any moment.
"If any god decides to weave in their plans for someone, they can do so early on before the fate telling," Hildr explained, her words growing more exhausted by the minute. "This is why the ceremony for fate tellings don't occur until the child has lived for one year. It gives the gods time to interfere if they should want to."
Bastards, all of them, Maude thought bitterly.
What a fool she was to think that by going along with Odin's plans, she would be spared further heartbreak. Her thoughts seemed to be mirrored along everyone's faces except Herrick. She tried to discern what his thoughts were, but he had slipped on the mask of the battle-proven General of Rivers. Unreadable, calculating.
