Vindicated by Bella Klaus

Chapter Twenty

My mouth dropped open, and I spun around to find us completely encased within the cave. The only source of illumination came from a fire deep within its recesses, triggering old feelings of claustrophobia.

Thor’s panicked breaths grated against my eardrums. Unease skittered across my skin like tiny claws.

“Have you seen this happen before?” I whispered.

“No.” His voice shook. “Even when my father and brother ventured in here, the cave’s jaws remained open.”

“Then what?” I asked.

“Then they never returned.” His voice rose an octave.

I swallowed over and over, trying to digest our situation. We were trapped. Trapped within a cavern of Queen Hel’s making, within Fenrir’s inner world, which also happened to be his prison. The notion was so topsy-turvy that I had to splay out an arm for balance.

“Are you sure this cave isn’t Fenrir himself?” I asked.

“Why would all the wolves leave food if there wasn’t a beast inside?” he moaned.

I wrapped my arms around my middle. “Fenrir,” I said into our bond. “If you can hear me, please open up the cave.”

Of course, there was no reply.

“Are you all right?” Thor asked.

“Just thinking,” I murmured. “What if we’ve just stepped into Fenrir’s jaws?”

Claws scrambled toward us in the dark, and I clutched my chest. Thor stood at my side and pressed something flinty into my palm.

“Stay alert,” he said.

“Right.” I wrapped my fingers around the hilt of a dagger.

Two spots of fire emerged from the darkness, hurrying toward us at an alarming rate. I held my breath, hoping this was Wolfette.

“Who’s there?” I shouted.

Someone barked.

“Is that your wolf?” Thor asked.

“I have absolutely no idea,” I muttered.

“What kind of shifter doesn’t recognize the other part of their soul?”

My skin tightened. I came here to free my mate, not justify myself to a stranger in the dark. “Most of the time, I’m either inhabiting her body or she’s in the depths of my soul,” I snapped. “This is the first time we’ve been two separate beings, so excuse me if I haven’t committed the tonality of her bark to memory.”

“All right,” he whispered. “I only asked.”

The fiery eyes continued toward us.

“Bark twice if that’s you,” I said.

The owner of the eyes let out two enthusiastic barks.

“That doesn’t prove a thing.” Thor stepped in front of me, holding aloft his flint hammer.

I shoved past him. “You’re not hurting my wolf.”

“This could be one of Fenrisúlfr’s minions, ready to feed us to his god.”

“Then we’ll have to deal with him if he attacks,” I tightened my hand around the hilt of the dagger.

The approaching wolf let out a burst of flame, illuminating Wolfette’s hairless face. All the tension drained from my body in an instant, and I lowered my hand. “It’s her.”

Thor’s breaths quickened, and he stepped forward, tensing for an attack.

“Hey,” I snapped. “Did you hear—”

“What if there are two fire-breathers?” he asked.

Rolling my eyes, I broke away from him and strode toward the approaching wolf. “Are you here to hurry me up?”

She barked again.

“Sorry,” I murmured. “The cave closed in on us, and neither of us wanted to venture any farther until we were sure it was safe for non-wolves.”

Approaching my side, Wolfette made an I-understand-what-you-mean whine.

“Thanks.” I placed a hand on the back of her neck and sank my fingers into her fur. “Do you know why the cave decided to lock us in?”

Her non-committal bark offered me absolutely no comfort, but I trusted her. And Fenrir, to some extent—the man, but not necessarily his wolf.

The god I’d fallen in love with had enjoyed the benefit of being able to leave the pocket realm when anyone made an offering in his name. If Thor was to be believed, the wolf trapped within this cave had remained here for two thousand years.

Flames curled from Wolfette’s mouth, illuminating our passage through the narrowing chamber.

“Thanks for coming back for me,” I murmured.

She yipped.

Thor’s nervous chuckle filled the air. “She’s just like a wolf.”

“That’s what she is beneath the wings and fire.” I tickled the back of her neck. “And she’s all mine.”

The temperature dropped as we continued through the downward slope of a three-foot-wide passageway. Thor’s teeth chattered, and he rubbed his hands together.

Guilt tightened my chest and thickened the back of my throat. “Sorry.” My voice echoed and I huddled close to Wolfette’s warm body. “You’d be nice and warm if I hadn’t taken your tunic.”

“I’ve wondered what happened to my friends for years, but this is the first time I’ve gathered the courage to come down here.”

“Do you think Fenrir would eat people he recognized from Asgard?” I asked.

“Being imprisoned here without our powers changed us all,” he replied with a long outward breath. “Before the Tree of Life was torn asunder, I would never have hidden behind the protection of a maiden and her wolf.”

My brows drew together into a tight frown. I could understand why the Great Divide happened—the god who ruled the angels wanted to take out his competition. That should have been an opportunity for everyone to band together. But then, nothing ever made sense about Queen Hel.

“Why would Hel take advantage of your moment of weakness?” I asked.

“She was always bitter about her physical appearance,” Thor replied. “Imagine going through life as both the fairest beauty and a withered carcass.”

“That’s still no reason to imprison and torture a bunch of gods,” I muttered.

“Hel was the weakest and most wretched among us,” he said. “Odin relegated her to one of the lowest duties a god could partake in.”

My mind conjured up images of her mopping floors and scrubbing toilets in an orange jumpsuit. “What did she have to do?”

“Preside over the mortals who died mediocre deaths,” he said.

“Like what?”

“Accidents, sickness, old age,” he replied. “Odin and Freya kept the noblest souls for themselves—”

Low growls filled the air, increasing in volume as they echoed through the walls. The lining of my stomach trembled, and I curled my fingers in Wolfette’s fur.

“What’s happening?” I whispered.

Before anyone could answer, two pairs of glowing red eyes emerged from the dark, belonging to six-foot-tall lupines with teeth longer than my fingers.

“Who are they?” I whispered.

“My father’s companions, Geri and Freki,” Thor whispered back. “Although when I last saw them, they weren’t so large.”

My wolf bounded ahead and barked at them to calm down, her flames illuminating a chamber the size of the suite I shared with Fenrir.

Geri and Freki both lowered their heads and trotted to the sides of the other chamber. My brows rose. Who knew she was such a badass?

“She really is his mate,” Thor said, his voice breathy with awe.

“Why would we make up something so outlandish?” I turned to him with a frown.

He raised his shoulders. “There are few females in this place, and most of them have committed their afterlives in service of Fenrisúlfr.”

“And you thought I was one of them?”

“I was hoping you weren’t,” he said under his breath.

My wolf barked at us to hurry, and I crossed the passageway and stepped into what appeared to be a vestibule. The two giant wolves sat on their haunches at the door-sized entrance to another vast space.

Heavy breathing filled the air, making all the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Fenrir was close, but either the acoustics of this cave were spectacular or his wolf had grown larger in the centuries he’d been confined to this dark prison.

“Are you sure you want to go in?” Thor whispered.

“No matter what’s happened to Fenrir, he won’t harm me,” I said.

My wolf trotted through the entrance, leaving us alone with Geri and Freki, who remained in place. Keeping my gaze fixed on the door, I strode past the giant wolf, only to come in contact with the outline of a being longer than Nivalis Row.

Fenrir’s turquoise irises were the same as his alternative form’s, only on a grander scale, and the gold flecks within their cerulean and white striations danced like flames.

A series of intricate knots knitted through my stomach, and I placed a hand to my chest. This situation was so similar to being in the presence of Marchosias, except that Fenrir’s wolf wasn’t trying to talk.

“Fenrir?” I whispered.

“Fenrisúlfr?” Thor said.

Fenrir’s wolf made a low rumble of acknowledgment that bordered on a growl.

Another difference was that I could see parts of Fenrir’s wolf, whereas Marchosias had been completely encased in darkness, except for his teeth and the smaller parts of him that he’d wanted me to see.

I was sure his fur was pale, because why else would I be able to see him in such dim light? He lay on his belly, with his snout resting on one paw, and his nose pointing in our direction. Tilting my head backwards and up, I took in his full majesty. His head was four stories tall, perhaps even larger.

“Fenrir.” I cupped my hands around my mouth. “Do you recognize me?”

He made a happy rumble, which I took to mean yes.

“We’ve come to free you.”

The giant wolf made a low whine that made tiny chips of rock fall from the ceiling.

I held my breath. If he made any more sound, the cave was likely to bury him alive. What on earth had Queen Hel been thinking? This was inhumane.

“No wonder the mortals bring him so much food,” Thor muttered. “He’s even bigger than Valhalla.”

“How the bloody hell does something like this happen?” I asked.

Thor shook his head. “Gods always need to use their magic one way or another. I suppose Fenrisúlfr channeled all that pent-up power into his size.”

“How am I going to free him?”

Wolfette barked twice.

I glanced down to meet her fiery eyes. “Do you have an idea?”

With a nod, she launched herself into the air and blew out a plume of fire that illuminated Fenrir’s wolf.

Instead of the white fur I had expected, the wolf was covered in rock. Stalagmites stretched down from the dark and attached themselves to his body, making him seem part of the cave. His pelt consisted of matted clumps that had mingled with their surroundings over the centuries to form root-like structures that covered his body.

I placed my hands on the base of his snout. Warmth radiated beneath my palms from within an outer layer of smooth stone. A shudder ran down my spine. Had Queen Hel intended to transform him into a statue, or was this a consequence of being exposed to the elements?

“This is worse than the chains,” I whispered.

My wolf sat atop the tip of Fenrir’s nose, stared down at us and barked.

“Do you want us to climb up?” I handed Thor back his dagger.

Thor slipped it into his leather belt. “Why does she want us to join her up there?”

She barked again.

“Maybe she’s found a way to free him?” I stepped back several paces, trying to meet the wolf’s eyes. “Fenrir, we’re going to climb up and see if we can break you out of your chains. Is that all right?”

His happy rumble made the air tremble.

An ache formed in my chest, and my heart clenched. Every instinct in my body wanted me to offer Fenrir comfort, but where did I start? Based on the size of his head, he was larger than any building I’d encountered in Lunaris. If stalactites covered all parts of his body, breaking him free would be an impossible task.

My wolf barked at me to hurry up.

“All right.” I jogged to Fenrir’s snout, wrapped my fingers around one of the calcified clumps of fur, and pulled myself up.

“What if he eats you?” Thor asked. “Maybe that’s how my brother, Baldr, and my father disappeared.”

I placed a foot on a makeshift ledge within his fur and reached for another handhold. “Fenrir wouldn’t hurt us,” I said as I made my way to the top. “He knows we’re going to set him free.”

When Thor didn’t reply, I continued climbing at a steady pace with my wolf barking every so often to remind me to hurry.

“This is more difficult than it looks,” I said through clenched teeth.

In time, I built up to a steady pace, with the warmth of Fenrir’s body radiating through the stone. Throughout this, the giant wolf made a rumbling sound. I tried speaking to him through the bond but he didn’t reply.

My arms ached from the vertical climb, and sweat poured down my brow. I glanced down to find I was two-thirds of the way up with Thor several feet behind me.

“You never told me your name,” he said.

“I didn’t.” My gaze locked with the yellow eyes of my wolf, who stared down at me from her vantage point and panted. “But it’s Lydia.”

My wolf barked.

“And I call her Wolfette.”

Thor paused a few moments before asking, “What are your plans for leaving this place?”

“Fenrir opened a portal for me to come inside. He’ll let us out once we’ve freed his wolf or if time runs out.”

“What do you mean?”

As we continued the rest of the climb, I told him about Queen Hel’s abduction of the villagers and her demand for Fenrir as ransom. “She’s given him until dawn to step out of the wards. Fenrir wanted to sacrifice himself, but I wanted to give him the opportunity to fight back.”

Thor whistled. “Fenrir must have changed over the years. The wolf I knew was considered a threat.”

“Why?” I reached the top, eliciting a happy yip from my wolf.

“Mostly because of Loki,” Thor replied. “The mischief god was always creating monsters and making them perform his mischief.”

Clenching my teeth, I scrambled over the edge and righted myself to stand on a snout longer than the grounds of the alpha’s compound. Fenrir’s eyes shone out at me like twin moons that burned with a mix of blue and yellow flames.

My breath caught, and I placed a hand on my chest. If I thought the man was beautiful, the wolf was exquisite. Or he would be as soon as I freed him from all this rock.

“It’s nice to finally meet you.” I cringed as I said those words. This was the other part of Fenrir’s soul, and I was treating him like an acquaintance.

His eyelids lowered in a slow blink that loosened chips of rock. I think this meant that he was pleased to meet me, too.

Several moments later, Thor climbed up to my level and stood at my side. He placed a hand on his chest and asked, “What next?”

My wolf jumped into the air once more and flew over Fenrir’s long snout, passing the space between his eyes, before landing on his head. Her happy bark indicated for us to follow.

“At least it’s just an uphill hike,” I muttered.

As Thor and I walked side by side over Fenrir’s nose, I turned to him and asked, “Did it ever occur to you gods that Loki’s children were only following the orders of their father?”

“How do you explain Hel?” he asked.

“Obviously, she’s evil, but did Fenrir deserve this terrible fate?”

He remained silent for several moments, seeming to think over my question. I ground my teeth and glared into the side of his face. How difficult was it to answer?

“Fenrir is fair, pure-hearted, and loving,” I snapped. “He’s just as much a victim in this situation as any of you.”

“I didn’t say he wasn’t,” Thor growled.

“Then why didn’t you answer?”

“It’s confusing why he has a human body at all,” he muttered.

I quickened my pace up the slope of Fenrir’s snout. “He said it might have been a side effect from swallowing pieces of Midgard as it shattered, but his outer shell might be part of the prison for his wolf.”

“What happens if you break him free?” he asked.

Threads of doubt wove through my stomach, forming tight knots. I clutched a hand around my middle and suppressed a groan. Back when I imagined Fenrir’s wolf as the size of an elephant or a dragon, the thought of releasing him into our world hadn’t been so daunting. We would have found a way to make our relationship work.

But Fenrir was larger than either of us could have ever fathomed. I continued walking towards his eyes under the yipping encouragement of my wolf.

Thor’s gaze bore into the side of my face. I still hadn’t answered his question.

“Listen,” I said with a sigh. “Whatever happens here, Fenrir is going to hand himself over to his sister and her minions. If I can unlock even a fraction of his power, then he has a chance of returning to me.”

“What if he’s stuck as this wolf?” he asked.

“His other body will retain its form.”

“You don’t sound so sure.”

“What’s the alternative?” I snapped. “Letting Fenrir suffer centuries of imprisonment?”

“I just wanted to be sure you knew what you were doing.”

My shoulders drooped, but I continued walking. I had no idea what would happen when I freed Fenrir or if the man I loved would still exist, but it didn’t matter. Part of my mate was suffering in this dank cave and the other part was about to experience more of the same.

“Fenrir is a god.” My voice shook. “And an extremely powerful one. I’m sure he’ll work out a way to keep the integrity of his body.”

We continued the rest of the way in silence, filled by my wolf’s continued barks for me to hurry. I broke into a jog, mainly to get away from my thoughts. Even without a way to track the passage of time, we still had a deadline.

The landscape at the top was like standing in a wide valley with Fenrir’s pointed ears forming twin peaks. Stalactites stretched from the top of his head to a ceiling so tall that the stone structures disappeared into the dark. The thickest of them was blackened with soot.

I glanced down at my wolf. “Did you try to burn him free?”

With a bark, she ran to the stalactite and circled it.

“What’s she saying?” Thor asked.

“Looks like this is where she wants us to start.” I walked over to where she had stopped.

The Norse god continued at my side and extracted his hammer from his belt. “Stand back.”

I glanced down at his array of tools. “Can I have the dagger back?”

“No need.” He rolled his shoulders, making his muscles flex. “I’m an expert in smashing things with blunt instruments.”

My wolf gave me a nudge. I did as both of them said and stepped back to give Thor space. She settled at my side on her haunches with her jaws parted, and breathed out curls of flame that illuminated this section of the cave.

Holding the hammer in a two-handed grip, Thor pulled his arms to the side and then gave the column an almighty strike.

Nothing happened.

The man’s entire posture deflated. “This stone is enchanted.”

“Can I give it a try?” I asked.

He turned around and swept his gaze up and down my form. “What could you possibly do?”

I bristled. “When Queen Hel chained Fenrir to a hut, I used a hammer just like that one to break him free.”

Thor raised his tool. “What do you mean?”

“It was double-headed like that one. With a complicated design of knots and spirals woven around that went all the way down its metallic handle.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “What did it feel like when you touched it?”

“It hummed with power,” I said.

My wolf yipped.

His gaze dropped down to her. “You saw it too?”

As she nodded, I replied, “She was inside me at the time.”

“Summon it,” he said.

I reared back. “What?”

“Imagine that power and command the hammer to return to your hand.”

My eyes narrowed. “You realize I’m just a mortal shifter.”

“Did Fenrir not teach you anything?” he snarled.

Irritation tightened my skin and raised my hackles. I wasn’t about to allow this supposed god to disparage Fenrir, but if he had information that might save him, I would swallow my pride… just this once.

“Would you care to explain?” My words were clipped.

“If you’re mated to a god, then you can access a portion of his power,” Thor said, his voice even. “That includes the ability to summon objects across realms.”

“And Fenrir was supposed to know this how?” I snapped.

“You’re right.” He blew out an exasperated breath. “I apologize for suggesting he’s a bad mate. Now, will you summon my hammer?”

Suspicion snaked around my skin, and my eyes narrowed. “What if it’s the object that holds all your power?”

“It is.”

“Then you’re going to snatch it back?”

“It belongs to me,” he snarled.

My hands curled into fists. I was desperate, but not gullible. People did crazy things for power, and I wasn’t about to bring forth a magical object that he could use against Fenrir or me. I folded my arms across my chest and raised my chin.

“What will you give us in return?”

His eyes widened. “In return for my own hammer?”

“I wasn’t the one who stole it,” I said. “Consider me a delivery service. Now, what are you going to pay us?”

“What do you want?” His voice was hoarse.

“One.” I counted it off on my finger. “The chance to smash all those stalactites imprisoning my mate.”

He nodded. “All right…”

“Two, I want you to help us defeat Hel.”

“Not a problem,” he snarled. “I’ve been aching for a way to tear her in half. Anything else?”

It was my turn to nod. “Three, I want a promise that you won’t cause any trouble for Fenrir or me or the shifters under our protection.”

Thor’s eyes softened. “Fenrisúlfr is a lucky wolf to have found such a considerate mate.”

“Do you agree?”

He offered me his hand. “I swear to you on what’s left of my honor that I will help you free your mate and defeat our mutual enemy. And when our business is concluded, I would very much like to be friends with Fenrisúlfr.”

Thor sounded genuine enough. He had good reason to work with us to defeat Queen Hel, and he didn’t have any animosity toward Fenrir. His wolf also hadn’t reacted badly to Thor, which made me think he was probably honorable.

I glanced down at my wolf, who gave me a yip of approval.

“All right, then.” I took his hand. “Show me what to do.”

“Draw upon your bond with Fenrisúlfr, and pull his magic into your heart. Then remember the weight of my hammer in your hand.”

“How?” I spread my arms wide. “Since entering Midgard, we haven’t been able to communicate.”

His brows rose. “But you are standing atop the source of his magic. Put it into you, and I will guide you through the rest.”

Heat rose to my cheeks. Why hadn’t I thought of that? “Right.”

I closed my eyes and focused on the heat radiating through the soles of my feet. My wolf sat beside me, her body warming my side. I slipped the fingers of one hand into her fur and opened up my senses.

Power seeped through Wolfette’s skin, into my hand, and up my arm, where it filled my chest. At that moment, I felt both the warmth and compassion of my wolf with Fenrir’s fierce loyalty. I felt the magic as a tight ball in the center of my chest, which twisted and spun and expanded until every nerve ending in my body sang with strength.

This was just like the time Fenrir had reached into my chest and touched my soul, like the times he’d filled me with power and returned my wolf. This was exactly what Thor had suggested.

The time was now.

Drawing upon my memories of rescuing Fenrir from the chains, I imagined the heavy metal hammer, the thrum of its magic, and the uneven textures on its metallic surfaces.

The air around me crackled, and every fine hair on my body stood on end with a burst of static electricity.

“That’s it.” Thor placed a hand on my shoulder. “Now, curl your fingers and command it to appear.”

I sucked in a deep breath and grabbed the hammer in my mind’s eye.

Its heavy weight settled in my hand.

“Thank you,” Thor said, his voice thick with emotion.

My eyes snapped open, and I met the god’s blue eyes, my grip tightening on the hammer. “Once I’ve broken the stalactites, you’ll get this back.”

“Of course,” he said with a gentle smile. “But please hurry, I’m anxious to be reunited with my magic.”

I rolled my shoulders and held the hammer in a two-handed grip. “Hold tight, Fenrir,” I said, my gaze locked onto the thick column of stone. “I’m about to break you free.”