Travis winced, regret lining his face. “He’d sent me away on what turned out to be a fool’s errand. I’d been sent to speak with Njord, to see if he’d join us in some silly celebration I don’t even remember now.
Of course he chose not to attend, and everything was over and done with by the time I got back. I…” Travis bit his lip. “I wanted to speak to Loki, to find out why he’d done what he’d done, but Odin convinced me not to.”
“You mean he plied you with apple wine and whispered sweet nothings in your ear.” Logan huffed out a breath. “Thanks for the thought, though.”
Travis ignored him.
Jamie felt a tug on her arm. She turned to find Jordan by her side, a worried frown on her face. “Ask him what the true prophecy is.”
“Why?”
“Because if this whole thing is true, Logan dies.”
“Why would Logan die?”
“Because he’s Loki.”
Her head whipped up to stare at Travis. “What?”
Jeff snorted out a laugh. “This keeps getting better and better. Who are Magnus and Morgan?”
Their brothers looked at Jeff in horror.
“Magni and Modi, the sons of Thor and the Jotun Járnsaxa, meant to carry Mjölnir after their father dies at Ragnarrok.”
“So they knew all of this, all along?” Jeff was glaring at them.
“Yes and no. Odin used the power of the apples of Idunn to blanket their minds, as he did with all of the Aesir and their living children.”
“Can you tone it down, glowbug? You’re giving me a headache.” Jeff rubbed his eyes wearily.
“Yes.” Travis’s glow dimmed even further, his features once more clear. “Better?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Jamie was still reeling, but she had to know. “I thought the apples granted immortality?”
“No. I believe Kir and Logan were the first to deduce that they did not, as they were cut off from the source of the apples.”
“Actually, I knew first.” Val stood. “Before you ask, I’m Vali, the slayer of Hodr and the son of Odin and the Jotun Rindr.”
Jamie sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I’m getting a headache.”
Travis’s eyes immediately cleared, the gorgeous blue returning, his glow dying away completely.
“You need to lie down. This is a lot to absorb in a small amount of time, and you’re still recuperating.” His voice had lost most of the echo, going back to the same old Travis she thought she’d known.
He bent to pick her up, but she stepped away from him. She ignored his fierce frown at her withdrawal. “No. We need to finish this. I need to know why.”
“Why what, sweetheart?”
She ignored the endearment and focused on the facts. “Why did my grandfather torture me? Who are Logan and Kir? Loki and Baldur, right? And why wasn’t I told any of this?”
“Jordan didn’t know either, not until Logan and Kir revealed themselves to her in her office.”
“Why?”
“They needed help proving that Grimm had been lying to the Aesir and Vanir for centuries, and they wanted Jordan to be the one providing it.”
“Because she’s a good detective?”
“Because she’s the daughter of Frey, the step-granddaughter of Grimm and has the reputation of a woman of honor.” Kir stood, tugging on a chain around his neck. He pulled and twisted, and suddenly a six foot spear, complete with glowing tip, rested in his hand. Suddenly he seemed much, much more than the easy-going man she’d known. He radiated a confidence and power that called to her on a level she’d never felt before. If this Kir asked her to jump off a bridge she’d seriously consider it. “Gungnir, the Godspear, the prize Odin covets above all others. Now that I possess it, I am ruler of the Aesir and Vanir.”
“Then where are the other gods? Man, I can’t believe I’m asking that.” Jamie collapsed suddenly, her bad leg giving out on her.
Travis caught her. How he moved that fast she had no idea. “Careful, sweetheart.” He settled her on the chaise, putting her feet up and a cushion behind her head. He then settled in next to her, warning Jeff off with a hot look, and claimed her hand. His other arm went behind her head, encasing her in his warmth.
She tried to ignore the stump where his hand should have been. She’d always believed he’d lost it in an accident. Instead, he’d lost it in the jaws of a giant wolf centuries ago.
Centuries. How the hell was she supposed to wrap her brain around centuries?
“Some have remained loyal to Grimm, others to Frigg. Njord has stayed in the sea, as expected.”
She eyed Val wearily as he sat on the sofa in the spot she’d vacated to go to Travis. Tyr. His name is Tyr. He’s a freaking god. “Okay, who’s Frigg?”
“Grandmother.” Jeff sat down on the floor and ruffled his hands through his hair, making it stand on end. “Frigg is Frederica, Odin’s wife and co-ruler of the gods.”
“Ex co-ruler now.” Logan was watching them warily, like he didn’t know which way they’d jump next.
Travis nodded. “Yes.”
“Sydney Saeter?” Jeff glanced at Logan. “Sigyn, right? Your ex-wife? The one who held the bowl and caught the acid the snake dripped on you when you were chained to the mountain for killing Baldur?” Jeff blinked, his gaze darting to Kir as if just making that connection.
Logan nodded. “Sigyn”
“Sybil Donnar?”
“Sif, your father’s ex-wife and the goddess of marriage, of all things.” Logan settled down into the chair Jordan had been sitting in, pulling his wife onto his lap in the process. He started ticking on his fingers. “Frey is Adam Grey, Thor is Fred Grimm, Frieda Grey is Freyja. Who am I missing?”
“Quite a few, but that will do.” Travis rubbed Jamie’s hand absently, his gaze focused inward. “We have other things to worry about now that the truth is out.”
“Like?” Jamie tried to ignore the liquid heat in her belly, but Travis wasn’t helping.
“Like how Grimm lived through the fatal wounds Val gave him, and what he’s got planned next.”
“Oh. That.”
“And how to free Hel, Fenris and Jörmungandr.”
“What?”
“No way!”
Magnus and Morgan leapt to their feet, their outrage clear in their voices and faces.
Travis looked at them and sighed. “You two are fated to wield Mjölner after your father passes.
Which means you both survive Ragnarrok. In this, you’re on Baldur’s side. Right?”
They stared at one another before nodding briefly, reluctantly. Jamie shuddered at the thought of her big, gruff father dying. He might be under Grimm’s thumb but he’d done nothing but love his children. She frowned again. At least as far as she knew. Did Mom know all of this?
“Knowing that Odin is the bad guy, and has been from the beginning…”
“That doesn’t necessarily mean that Loki’s children will automatically be good guys.” Jeff bit his lip.
Jamie knew her brother was working something out in his mind, but she couldn’t tell what it was. “They were imprisoned for a reason.”
“That reason was prophecy. Especially in Fenris’s case.” Travis stared at Logan, sorrow chasing across his face. “Trust me, I know.”
Jamie saw the look Travis and Logan exchanged, and it was not good. “Then we free them.”
Everyone turned to her. “I know what it’s like to be tortured by Grimm.” She stared at Magnus and Morgan willing them to understand what she was saying. “How do we know he’s left them alone all this time?”